Dove, Inc.

Have you noticed all of the domestic violence arrests lately in the newspaper? Do you see that many of them have a long record of multiple domestic violence arrests? Now is the perfect time to learn more about domestic violence isses, what causes it and how to help eliminate it in our community. If you were to be called to be a juror and the case was a domestic violence case, do you understand all the dynamics involved in these cases? Get involved!! Mark your calendars for our next training. We have a great need for volunteers in our program!! Some of the areas you could be of assistance after completing the required training are answering the hotline, covering the shelter, co-facilitating a support group, filing, assisting with orders of protection, assisting with groups, and more. Please make every effort in helping us recruit participants for this training. Think about all the groups of people you personally are associated with at work, school, your...

Silvia Comfort shares this information from the TRIAD National Office.  Contact Silvia for information about the DeWitt County TRIAD group, 217.935.2241 .     Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors Financial scams targeting seniors have become so prevalent that they’re now considered “the crime of the 21st century.” Why? Because seniors are thought to have a significant amount of money sitting in their accounts. Financial scams also often go unreported or can be difficult to prosecute, so they’re considered a “low-risk” crime. However, they're devastating to many older adults and can leave them in a very vulnerable position with little time to recoup their losses. It’s not just wealthy seniors who are targeted. Low-income older adults are also at risk of financial abuse. And it's not always strangers who perpetrate these crimes. Over 90% of all reported elder abuse is committed by an older pers...

We at MAX are helping as many people as we can in the Macon County area. In January we were able to help about 120 families with about $3800 in assistance.   This assistance was in the form of dental and clothing vouchers, vision vouchers, bus cards, prescription help, and other specific needs. We are also the local site to check into Warm Neighbors/Cool Friends Program funding for power bill assistance in Macon and DeWitt Counties. MAX funding comes from a mix of generous churches, individuals, foundations, and corporate grants. MAX would not exist without the support of so many great people and groups and volunteers. For the month of March you can support MAX by eating at the Bob Evan's Restaurant.  Easy way to support the program!  Rev. Shane Hartman, MAX Coordinator    

ILLINOIS CERTIFIED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROFESSIONALS, INC. APPROVED 40-HOUR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRAINING JANUARY 22 B 31, 2014 My start date for Dove Domestic Violence Program was suppose to be January 6, 2014. I say A suppose to be @ because that was the first day of our big snow storm. So I had a snow day for my A assumed @ first day of work and began on January 7, 2014.  In order to be capable to perform the duties of my position as Domestic Violence Shelter Specialist, it was required of me to take the 40-hour domestic violence training. The 40-hour training was held in Bloomington, Illinois. It was very interesting, informative and, last but not least, very eye-opening!   Each day we had interesting speakers present with power point presentation and A on-the-job @ experience related to their areas of expertise.   I learned that Domestic Violence is a pattern of abuse which may include verbal, emotional, physical and se...

We are so excited to let you know that RSVP was awarded a $62,768.00 grant to support senior volunteer activities from the Corporation of National and Community Service (CNCS). These funds were awarded as part of a competitive grant process for RSVP, one of three Senior Corps programs administered by CNCS. Established in 1971, RSVP engages older Americans in volunteer opportunities across the country. These volunteers have been a critical resource for nationwide response efforts—in everything from hunger prevention to natural disasters including Hurricane Sandy. RSVP has been sponsored by Dove, Inc. since 1975 in Macon County and 2001 in DeWitt County. There are currently more than 600 active RSVP volunteers in Macon and DeWitt County who support our local communities in areas like Education, Veterans and Military Families Support, Healthy Futures, Disaster Services, Economic Development, and Environmental Stewardship. RSVP volunteers alone served more than 120,000 hours in t...

As we observe Valentine’s Day this week, much of society’s attention is directed toward relationships. While the true winners on this occasion are no doubt the florists, card shops, candy stores and jewelers, many people judge the strength of their relationships on the size of their gifts.    In the eyes of some, the size and cost of the gift determine the health and strength of the relationship.   This, however, is not one of the hallmarks (no pun intended) of a healthy relationship. Relationships, like people, come in all shapes and sizes.   There are romantic relationships, family relationships, friend to friend relationships, workplace relationships……and the list goes on.   When most people talk of relationships they refer to the romantic relationships.   What is a healthy relationship?   Do they truly exist?   How do you make that happen?   As a domestic violence advocate/counselor, I see unhealthy relationships daily.   Somet...

RSVP Staff and Volunteers did!   Military families stationed overseas are often living on one income and money can be scarce. To help, RSVP is collecting coupons!    We = ve collected all varieties of coupons -- from all manufacturers, current and up to six months past their expiration date.   We've shipped the coupons to different military bases across the world.  Then, the military families can purchase items such as food, diapers, cold & flu products, even dog food at the base PX. Thanks to the community = s generosity RSVP has been able to ship over 500,000 coupons to struggling families overseas, but we still need your help!!!   We need people to keep sending us the coupons and we are also looking for financial donations to pay for the postage when shipping the flat rate priority boxes. Collecting and preparing these coupons is much easier than shipping. Shipping cost, like all postage, has gone up again! One large flat r...