Dove, Inc.

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 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 fr...

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 ...