Dove, Inc.

Every once and awhile, we have amazingly cute kids with amazing families stop by the shelter. Purpose - to drop off their donation for children who will be staying in the shelter. These kids have had a birthday party with friends - cake, games, balloons, etc. - but the difference is that the birthday child has asked their friends to donate something for Dove instead of presents. How sweet is that? Thanks to the parents who have shared generosity and helping those in needs lessons with their children. Thanks to the kids, those that bought the presents and the one who gave them all away. Here are two kids who recently stopped by with a great collection of sock and jammies. Thanks!

The Recycle Center closed for the holidays and is re-opening next week!   Beginning January 24, the new hours will be Thursdays Noon-5pm; Fridays and Saturdays 8am-Noon.   A few exciting changes have been made: ·          Look for friendly RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) faces to greet you and take care of your aluminum cans! ·          Some cosmetic improvements are being made in and around the building to make it more welcoming. ·          There are plans for more community involvement with the Recycle Center. ·          Look for upcoming special events at the Recycle Center, such as Earth Day in April!   We are currently paying .40 per pound for aluminum cans.   Keep us in mind when recycling your cans!   You can help the earth, yourself, and Dove all at the sa...

Are you handy with a paintbrush? Do you have some free time that you’d like to spend volunteering? If you answered yes to both of these questions, we would love to have you come and help us out. We have numerous projects involving a bit (or a lot) of painting that would be perfect for a few hours of volunteer time! We have other projects, too, of course, but a great deal of them center around painting things. Or if you have a green thumb, and are busy until spring/summer, we have gardening projects that could use a master’s touch (or even an amateur’s touch if you just enjoy gardening). See our webpage for more details on projects, or call Barb Blakey at 217-428-6616.

January marks the 1 st anniversary of our blog! We hope you have enjoyed reading about what’s going on at Dove. (Please check the archive for past postings.) 2013 is sure to be full of change, goals we make and implement and things that come up that we cannot imagine right now. But what will stay the same is our dedication to providing services to those who are homeless, to those who are in unsafe relationships. We will continue to provide support and guidance to neighborhood groups, the groups making Decatur a better place to live. And we will engage the help of many many volunteers who will help folks pick out clothing for their children, assist folks with financial emergencies, who will teach valuable life skill lessons to area children, who will recycle your aluminum cans, deliver Christmas Baskets, haul coats and more! Please learn about our services so you can lead those in need to help. Please continue to support us with your donations, we cannot survive without ...

January 2, are you back to work?  Waiting for classes to begin again?  Retired and looking for new volunteer opportunities?  Wondering what's up in your neighborhood?  Maybe it would be a good time to spend some time looking around Dove's website, and in doing so, maybe find a great fit for you -- many ways to support Dove and there are many ways to volutneer for Dove.  Best of all, there are short and long term committments.  BABES Volunteers (Beginning Awareness Basic Education Studies) will be getting started in classrooms soon.  Neighborhood group are meeting to make plans for the upcoming warmer months and many are busy with activities now.  We'll be seeking volunteers for the 1/24/13 Point in Time Survey.  And RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program), well there is always something interesting to do with that group.  Later in March, we'll host the next Domestic Violence Education and Volunteer Training.  You can be...

I have to admit, this blog is going to be short and sweet because we are so busy with the Christmas Basket Drive!  We partner with Northeast Community Fund each year to provide food, toys, hats and gloves to families in need.  This year, we are preparing over 350 baskets!!!  This morning agencies picked up baskets for their clients and today we are filling the rest of the baskets in preparation for deliveries tomorrow.  It has been a busy and crazy week, but so worth it.  From all of us at Dove, Merry Christmas!!!  I'm headed back to "grand central station" to work on the baskets some more! 

If asked, my co-workers would undoubtedly tell you that my favorite holiday is Christmas, and has been as long as they've known me. I do love Christmas. I start counting down around the beginning of July and it drives everyone around me just a little bit nuts. I do my Christmas shopping throughout the year most years, so I don't have a huge list of things to buy all at once. I decorate around Thanksgiving time. I try to get all of the big stuff done and out of the way long before the actual day, so that I can sit back and enjoy it. But I have to admit that the last few years, I've been looking more forward to New Year's than to Christmas. It's not because I'm a big partier. To be honest with you, I've never been to an actual New Year's Eve party. The most I've engaged in on New Year's is playing a few rounds of UNO with my family. So why has this become my favorite holiday? As I've gotten older, I've begun to look forward...