THE HOME PLACE NEWSLETTER 2005

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! "They" say that time flies when you are having fun. I think I'm having too much fun! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day have all come and gone since I last sent any news to you.

Thanksgiving was a quiet day. The residents did have a great Thanksgiving Dinner that week. The staff and some volunteers walked in the GRATEFUL GOBBLER WALK on Thanksgiving Day. We haven't received a check from the Homeless Coalition yet but, I hope it will be a big one. If you want to get involved in walking in the Thanksgiving Day walk, call Sister Adamarie at 495-7282. We had our Christmas Party on December 21, 2004. The residents decorated the tree and the house inside and outside. It really looked good. Ray, a volunteer, and the residents prepared a Christmas dinner for the party day. We had turkey, dressing, beans, potatoes, rolls, and I think corn. We all ate as much as we could and there was still leftovers. Of course they were gone by the end of the week. Volunteers, Ron, Ray, Fr. Vick, Faye and John Martin, Doris Mann and the staff from Catholic Charities Office came to celebrate with us. Even with this big crowd, we DID miss Judy and Dick Smith. They were out of town celebrating Judy's mother's birthday. They brought their gifts and those from other St. Jude parishioners early so everyone received gifts. Doris Mann coordinates the gift-giving from St. Stephen and OLPH parishes and Father Jim Vick always brings his own  gifts to the residents and staff. We are grateful to all the wonderful people who made our Christmas a happy and holy season.

January was a quiet month except that for the fact that Dennis Westmeier became a Volunteer for THP. We are very grateful for him. He started to work immediately. February 2nd was Larry's birthday and did we have a party! Ray Barney, another new Volunteer, planned a fantastic dinner with Judy and Dick Smith. Larry was most appreciative. He even got a "red velvet cake", his favorite. I think the next birthday party will be June 3rd. Call Victor to inquire about birthday dates: 698-9079. Please make note of our office phone numbers. You won't find us under The Home Place. You can find Sister's number listed under Memorial North Park Hospital, however.

Thanks so much to our Volunteers for all the time and treasure they give to the residents and The Home Place. Thanks OKs, SFO MEMBERS, JUDY & DICK SMITH, FAYE & JOHN MARTIN, DENNIS WESTMEIER, RAY BARNEY, RONNIE  ?,  RON BOHR, LARRY CASTLEBERRY, DORIS MANN, FATHER JIM VICK, MARSHA THOMPSON, JOHN & COLETTE KILLEBREW, SISTER CELINE OSBOURN, BRIAN TUNE, LEO KLAES, LUKE BARLOWE, JIM MEADE, THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS (ALL COUNCILS), CINDY CARROLL, SHIRLEY BARNETTE, KATHY & DAN JACOBSON, AUDREY JEFFERIES, RHETA CLIFT, TOM TOEHILL, OLIVIA  MILSAPS, HUMPHEREYS FLORIST, GIL & CURT FLOWERS,

SPECIAL KUDOS TO  ROBERT JACKSON WHO CREATED AND MAINTAINS OUR WEB SITE. Robert has been a Board Member and a Volunteer since our beginning. We appreciate you, Robert and Mike Lees. 

THP participated in the Health Fair day at Notre Dame High School on February 2, 2005. We had a chance to educate the students about The Home Place and about HIV/AIDS.  I think we gained some volunteers from the students. It was a very good day. On February 9, 2005 we will participate in the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness & Information Day at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The speaker at this Conference will be J.L. King, a national HIV/STD prevention activist and best selling author of ON THE DOWN LOW.

The Advisory Committee will start meeting in March to prepare for our ANNUAL DINNER/AUCTION. It will be held at St. Jude Church on AUGUST 27, 2005. Please mark your calendars. If you can help us find items for the Auction, please call Sister. We want to be sure that merchants are not called upon by more than ONE  person. That will be more information later.  We'll have our book sale again this year probably in October. Marsha Thompson will head that event. She always plans a good event. Keep your ears open for more information. 

VICTOR BROWN continues to work fiercely to keep THP in great shape and is doing a tremendous job with our clients. He is a very dedicated person. Victor is A BLESSING to us. Please tell him so when you see him.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY !

I told you I would let you know what we made on the GRATEFUL GOBBLER WALK so here it is: $847.23. That's two hundred more than last year. Thanks to all who walked for The Home Place on Thanksgiving Day! It is fun so I'd like to see more of you this year - Thanksgiving Morning 8:30am at Coolidge Park. Mark your calendar!

I don't think I have introduced the individual members of the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) so here are those wonderful people's names.

Mary Coleman, Rita Cooper, Song Davis, Tim Davis, Linda French, Joan Frost, Susan Iorio, Gail Campbell, Ellen Lennon, Faye Martin, John Martin, Joanne Ortner, Ann Respess, Sandy Weaver, Father Evan Eckhoff is spiritual assistant to the SFOs.

I inadvertently failed to mention the SFOs earlier when I told you about our Christmas Party. They were very generous in helping with gifts for the residents.They also cook a meal once a month for our clients. We are very grateful to them.

If you need PINS for EASTER or MOTHER'S DAY, OR ANY OTHER OCCASION, I have some.

If you know someone who would like to receive our Newsletter via email, please send their email address to us at akost@att.net. I’ll talk to you again next month.