Dove, Inc.

Time is the most precious commodity, the giving of one’s time in their community bestows many blessings and helps communities thrive. As the Director for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, I am in awe of the time many volunteers donate throughout their communities. As the holidays approach many organizations will hold community events to collect donations from canned goods to new toys and Dove Inc. is no exception. Agencies ask you to help purchase items needed to make a family’s holiday just a little brighter, a little more hopeful, filled with a little more love,   and boy do you ever rise to the occasion, and for that we are thankful but, we also cannot create the magic of Christmas for those in need without the gift of time from volunteers.   As Christmas speeds towards us Dove Inc and Northeast Community Fund work together to make magic for more than 350 families. We accomplish this because of the time, gifts, and money so many donate. We have several volunteers who

I recently had the honor to hear Frank DeAngelis speak. For those that don’t know Mr. De (as I comfortably referred to him as, because honestly, he is THAT guy. He was the principal to all of us in 1999 and we will always be his kids) he was the principal of Columbine High School from 1996 to his tearful retirement in 2014.   It was on April 20, 1999 that he became more than just the principal to Columbine High, he became the principal to us all and we became his kids. I was a junior at Novato High School in Novato, California in 1999. I really have no idea what was planned for my day, but I do know whatever it was it did not happen. We were an hour behind Colorado timewise, and somewhere between 9 and 11 o’clock the school went into a weird, silent mode. 13 kids in Littleton, Colorado had been killed. Two armed teens stormed into their school, after their original plan of setting of bombs failed, and began killing their fellow students. We didn’t have phones. The only internet

The Heritage and Holly Historical Home Tour has been a part of the Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition for many  years. Formerly a fundraiser for NWRAPS, it was given to Dove in 2017 because of our long association with neighborhood groups and because of the Anna B. Millikin Home, Shelter and  office space for Dove, right in the middle of the historic west end.  This fundraiser will support all the programs of Dove - what a fun way to support to do that and to enjoy this holiday tradition! Tickets are on sale for the 28 th Annual Heritage and Holly Historical Home Tour, in Decatur, Illinois. The 2018 event will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday the 24th, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.   $18 Advance Tickets are available at the following locations through 1:00 p.m., November 21: All Things Beautiful, 219 N. Main Street Dove, 302 S. Union Street Land of Lincoln Credit Union, 4850 Prosperity Place, 3130 E. Mound Road, 2890

Jesus once said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and in the years doing Christmas Baskets at Dove, Inc., I’ve found that to be true. I look at my life, at my home, and I know that I’m more fortunate than a huge percentage of the world’s population. I have a loving family, a house to live in, heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, a job that I love, food on the table each day, a dependable car to get me where I need to go, and relatively good health. I am beyond grateful for all that I have. I’m also grateful for the knowledge and awareness I have of those who aren’t as fortunate as I am, because it puts me in a better position of helping. Did you know that the nationally, the average age of a homeless individual is 9 years old? According to feedingamerica.org, more than 40 million families in the United States struggle with food insecurity, never knowing if or when they’ll have their next meal, let alone receive a gift for Christmas. The number

2018 Coats for Kids drive has begun and we will be collecting new and good, used coats for families in need through November 30. Participating Cleaners will make sure the coats are clean and fresh and ready for the clothing rooms to distribute. (All addresses Decatur unless noted otherwise.)   WAND and Dove have teamed up each year to collect the coats!  The clean or new coats are taken to participating clothing rooms for families to choose.    Donate and make it a warmer winter for everyone! 　 　 Participating Cleaners Classic Cleaner, 2474 N. Main   Peerless Cleaners, 519 N. Monroe   Pride Cleaners and Launderers 2553 N. Main 1804 E. Eldorado 912 W. Eldorado 2056 Mt. Zion Road Waite's Dry Cleaners and Launderers 1004 S. Main, Decatur 664 W. Eldorado 115 Magnolia, Forsyth Drop off sites Decatur Public Library, 130 N. Franklin   Decatur Township Offices, 1620 S. Taylorville Road   Good Samaritan Inn, 920 N. Unio

I was recently driving home on a beautiful fall evening, one of those days when a perfect blue sky was giving way to a beautiful sunset.   As I admired the glorious colors of fall as evening approached, I also noticed the warm lights coming from neighborhood houses, making them all look inviting.   I pulled into my driveway and felt that familiar feeling………………it feels so good to be home.   Home should be that place where everyone is comfortable and knows that they are loved and wanted and accepted.   Sometimes the chaos of dinner, homework, ballgames, housework can intrude on the peacefulness of home, but even with that, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz was right……………. . there’s no place like home. Unless……. you live in a home where domestic violence exists.   When you live there, you probably drive home without noticing the beauty around you.   You are not anticipating being at home with joy; you face it with fear.   What am I walking into?   What have I done wrong today? ……I don’t

“Why do they stay in that relationship?”   “What is wrong with them?!?”   “Do they like it??!!”     “You would think they would leave if they didn’t like it!!”     “Why would someone stay with a person who constantly puts them down, calls them names, hurts them over and over physically, emotionally and even sexually?” Sound familiar??   There is no easy answer to these questions.   Sadly, these are thoughts and questions that some have about domestic violence victims.   How wrong they are in their way of thinking!!    I can guarantee we will never meet the victim who tells us they “liked it”!!   I would like to challenge your way of thinking – instead of asking and dwelling on “Why do they stay or why don’t they leave”? – I would like to rephrase that question to “What are the barriers that are keeping them in that relationship?” Think about when they first met.   Things could not have been better.   He/she was charming, affectionate, thoughtful, romantic, and respectful.

Please mark your calendar and join us at one or all of our Annual Candlelighting Ceremonies, in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. All our events are open to the public. Shelby County Thursday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 201 N. Chestnut, Shelbyville DeWitt County Thursday, October 11, 6:00 p.m. Christ Lutheran Church, 701 S. Mulberry St., Clinton Macon County Thursday, October 18, 7:00 p.m. New Vision Church, 550 N. Van Dyke St., Decatur Piatt County Wednesday, October 24, 7:00 p.m. 1st Presbyterian Church, 214 S. Charter, St. Monticello Moultrie County Thursday October 25, 7:00 p.m. United Methodist Church, 216 W. Jefferson St., Sullivan 　 　

As we are approaching yet another October – being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month – I have to wonder.   What is different?   What has changed?   Are things better?   Worse?   Are we making progress in our neighborhoods, our community, our world? I recall back over my nearly 28 years of working in this field of domestic violence.   I was ignorant when I began.   I even asked those same questions in my head – “Why would someone stay in this type of relationship?   Why don’t they just get out?”   I had the “new energy” of wanting and believing that I could fix things – I would do all I could do to make things perfect for that victim – so that when they left shelter – or left our building from a counseling session, they would now understand and move on – knowing that they deserved way more than what they had been settling for in their relationship.   It was time to turn a new leaf.   Time for change.   Before Dove developed and implemented a Code of Ethics Policy, I admit

Have you heard the news? We have sent 1,900,642 coupons to families overseas with your help!!!! We are still going strong and would love to hit our goal of 2 million coupons by the end of 2018 but we still need your help. We collect manufacturer coupons only, please no store specific or restaurant coupons. We ask that they not be expired for more than one month. This gives us time to collect, clip, sort, and ship to families and they have more time to use them. Families can use manufacturer coupons up to 6 months after their expiration dates. Postage donations are always welcomed. One box cost $17.40 to ship and can contain up to 25,000 plus coupons.

As we embark on the busiest month of our year (September) for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), I cannot help but feel thankful and blessed. Thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who help to make our communities better. Blessed to be the Director of a National Service Program who harnesses the wisdom and talent from some of the most wonderful people one could ever hope to meet.   I have met lifelong homemakers, mechanics, scientists, and accountants, teachers, and farmers, our volunteers come in all shapes and sizes and range from 55 and older.   I have met men and woman who can crochet the most beautiful afghans. Talked with service groups who provide scholarships to children. I have seen the handy work of skilled woodworkers and I am always amazed at how generous and loving each volunteer I meet is to me and our community.   I look forward to September even though I know how busy the month will be because of the vast amount of time I will get to spend with t

Every day we encounter numbers, lots and lots of numbers. From the date on our calendars to the mileage odometer in our cars we see numbers daily. Some numbers make us smile such as the Christmas countdown my coworker Angie Williams keeps. Angie is great at keeping a countdown to Christmas. As the Christmas Basket Coordinator, it is essential for her to track but secretly between you and me she LOVES Christmas!! Numbers are part of life, but we often overlook their significance. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program has lots of numbers that are important to us and to our community. Like the number 42, this is the number of years Dove, Inc. has sponsored the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, a National Service Program that serves others in our community. Or the number 10, did you know that 10% of our active volunteers are Veterans who served our country. We also have 76, which is the average age of volunteers who performed volunteer hours this last fiscal year. We have sign

My name is Pastor Shane Hartman. I have had the opportunity to coordinate the MAX program for the last five years. In that time, between the MAX program and Ameren's Warm Neighbor Cool Friends, MAX has had the opportunity to help over 5000 families with close to a million dollars of financial assistance. I have been able to help seniors get medicine, help people keep their homes, help struggling students complete their GED’s, keep water on for Moma’s and their babies, help people get out of the cold or heat for night, give the gift of new glasses, help people get teeth pulled, assist people with bus passes and keep the lights on for many. Don’t tell my boss, but I have the greatest job ever. I get to directly impact people’s lives in the moment of their crisis. When people come into my office there are having the worst day of their lives. Hopefully, when they leave they have hope and a little joy in their lives.   This is only possible with the generous support from ch

Domestic violence has long been an issue that was shoved behind closed doors and preferably never discussed.   Society’s attitude was that it was a personal issue or that what happened in the home was only the business of the people who lived in the home.   Fortunately, over the past decades that idea has begun to change.   Domestic violence has begun to be considered the crime that it is, and people are beginning to realize that it truly is everyone’s business.   The revelation of all the abuse cases in the entertainment industry has given birth to the #metoo and #enough movements.   Press coverage of all types of abuse has increased dramatically and victims of both sexes are feeling safe enough to come forward with their stories.   This is a refreshing and long-awaited change. Just four short years ago, domestic violence was virtually ignored in the world of collegiate and professional sports. In February 2014, Ray Rice, a Baltimore Ravens running back, attacked his fiancée (n

Since October of 2012, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has been collecting, sorting, and shipping coupons to families overseas in support of the Expired Coupons for Overseas Military Families or (ECOM). Military families do not have access to manufactures coupons overseas. Having no coupons is a challenge since they have limited shopping options and often must pay more for the same item that we do in America. The bonus for families stationed overseas is if they can get their hands on manufactured coupons they can use them up to six months past the coupon expiration date at the commissaries/PX/store on base. This helps the families stationed overseas save money that can be used for other needed items for their families, including those ever-expensive phone calls back home to their cherished loved ones. When RSVP started this project, it was just a small way to help a few families. No one ever imagined the incredible response to the call for coupons. In short, we u

The 12th annual Domestic Violence Counts Report is in.   On 9-13-17, 1,694 out of 1,873 (90%) identified domestic violence programs in the US participated in the National Census of DV Services.   The following are some of the figures that represent the information provided by these 1,694 participating programs during this 24-hour period.   •              72,245 victims were served in one day •              40,470 adult & child victims of DV found refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing provided by local DV programs •              31,775 adult & child victims received non-residential assistance and services that included counseling, legal advocacy and children’s support groups •              20,352 hotline calls were answered (an average of 848 calls per hour or more than 14 calls per minute) •              In the past year, 531 of the programs surveyed (31%) laid off or left unfilled 1,077 staff positions nationwide.   Most of these positions

MAX, Macon County Assistance eXchange, is a joint effort   to provide a centralized location to provide monetary support to persons in the community who have a verified emergency need. MAX provides a systematic way to verify their needs and respond in a timely manner to those needs.   Financial support is from area congregations, individuals and foundations.     MAX also works with AMEREN IP to distribute funding through the Warm Neighbors Cool Friends Program, which assists persons with payment of their power bills, in Macon and DeWitt Counties. Most people seeking help are sent to MAX from the 211 program, social service agencies and area congregations with anticipation of helping clients.    Others seeking assistance have learned about the program from family, friends and public/social media. MAX Volunteers work with those seeking assistance, helping them fill out an application for assistance.   The client then meets with the Coordinator to review the need

Volunteering is sometimes viewed as an entirely selfless act, with the assumption that you’re sacrificing your time and resources to help others without any benefit to yourself… But, as many of us that volunteer already knows, this is far from the truth. Although our primary goal through volunteering may be to help others, we also know that the experience of helping others feels incredible! Volunteering in your community can help the older American stay healthy, active, and connected to their community. That is why Dove’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a vital part of Macon and DeWitt Counties. We help volunteers 55 years of age or better find meaningful volunteer opportunities that fit a volunteer’s passion, expertise, and time. Volunteers willing to serve ensures that needed services are available to those in need. Before getting started with a volunteer opportunity, it’s important to ask yourself what you’d like to learn or accomplish from volunteer service.

Older Americans Month 2018: Engage at Every Age For 55 years, Older Americans Month (OAM) has been observed to recognize older Americans and their contributions to our communities. Led by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, every May offers opportunity to hear from, support, and celebrate our nation’s elders. This year’s OAM theme, “Engage at Every Age,” emphasizes the importance of being active and involved, no matter where or when you are in life. You are never too old (or too young) to participate in activities that can enrich your physical, mental, and emotion well-being. Dove RSVP has opportunities for older Americans to engage in their communities in Macon and DeWitt Counties. We offer a variety of opportunities that are tailored to all ranges of abilities. Isn’t it time for you to engage? It is becoming more apparent that remaining socially engaged can improve the quality of life for older adults. Dove RSVP will use OAM 2018 to focus on