Thanksgiving Count Down Begins

In about five weeks many families and friends will come together to share in their traditional Thanksgiving meal. Some are already planning their dinner: oven-roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams and corn. Just imagining this elaborate meal can bring smiles and butterflies as you anticipate what a wonderful holiday you'll have.

But this year, there are so many families in Washtenaw County that are dreading this day. With each passing day, they become more fearful--afraid that they won't have ANY food, afraid that they'll have to tell their children the sad reality.

As those families wonder where they can find help, they remeber that SOS provides a special Thanksgiving food give-a-way. They know that they can come to the Crisis Center and recieve food items, so they can prepare a meal.

Please help SOS to give families a reason to smile. This year we are asking for gift cards from your favorite grocery stores so that our families can purchase food for the holiday. If you don't have time to shop, you can always make a donation.

Gift cards and checks can be sent to: SOS Community Services, c/o Chelsea Clark, 101 South Huron St., Ypsilanti, MI 48197

We are so thankful for your support!

This story was featured in the Washington Post. It's absolutely shocking; a must-read article!

Link to article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100501296.html?referrer=facebook

Surge in Homeless Pupils Strains Schools

Here's a recent article in the New York Times about homeless children and school.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/education/06homeless.html?_r=2&hp

The Telling It Program Received Top Honors!

Pictured above (left to right): Faye Askew-King, SOS Programs and Services Director; First Gentleman Daniel G. Mulhern; Governor Jennifer M. Granholm; Rebecca Fried, from U of M Residential College; Deborah Gordon-Gurfinkel, Creator of Telling It; and BMC, from the Ozone House.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration, which is organized by Michigan Campus Compact, honors exemplary alliances that are undertaken by a college or university and a community group. Their collaborations address vital areas of public need.

This year the partnership of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor with SOS Community Services, Ozone House and COPE Alternative School was one of three finalists for the Carter Award. The other finalists were Grand Valley State University - Westown Jubilee Housing, and Kellogg Community College - HandsOn Battle Creek.

"Telling It" is a collaboration between University of Michigan's Residential College and three organizations serving runaway, homeless and high-risk youth in Washtenaw County. For this program college students are paired with children and teens ages 7-18 to engage in art projects to help increase their literacy skills, self-esteem and likelihoood of graduating school to pursue higher education. Over the years, "Telling It" has involved more than 150 college students to help more than 200 young people.

All of the finalists were recognized at the 2009 Governor's Service Awards. The "Telling It" program collaboration was given a Certificate of Tribute by the Governor Jennifer M. Granholm in honor of "the exceptional accomplishments through volunteerism, and exemplary efforts to improve the lives of others."

Click here for more information about the Carter Partnership Award. Also, to learn about the Governor's Service Awards check out the official website.

Homeless in the Suburbs

In a special report on Parenting.com, an article explores the challenges families endure when they are homeless. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Eleven-year old Devin Bodiford's eyes blink open in the back room of a suburan Denver church. The clock reads 5 a.m. when his mother whispers that it's time to get up. His little sister and brother stir in their cots next to him. Two trash bags filled with the family's clothes are stashed in the corner; a tube of toothpaste, an alarm clock, a bottle of shampoo, and schoolbooks line the only table. For five days this has been home. In three more he will move again, to another church, to another cot in another room.

"Being homeless," the fifth-grader explains, "means you don't stay in one spot and have to move around a lot. It gets kind of confusing."

To read more of the article click here.

SOS Crisis Center Received Award

SOS Crisis Center received the Superior Service Award from Washtenaw County ETCS(Employment Training and Community Services). Washtenaw County ETCS is a unique government department that recognizes that community action and workforce development are essential to economic development. SOS Crisis Center was honored for being an ETCS Access Point, a place where consumers can come in and access the National Talent Bank and other job searching resources. Only 3 other agencies received the award: Jewish Family Services, Faith in Action, and Manchester Community Resource Center.

Freudenberg-NOK Gives to SOS

From Left to Right: Antje Sickenberger, Manager, Human Resources; Joe Grima, Director, Corporate Facilities; and Katharina Bergman, Marketing Specialist, proudly display a sample of the painting project.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Freudenberg-NOK organized volunteer projects at the following sites: Plymouth Township, Plymouth Community Opportunity Center, and SOS Community Services.


"Our mission and our guiding principles stated, it is very important to the company to support the communities in which we operate," explained Antje Sickenberger, Human Resources Manager and the Project Leader. "We think that your organization is a great organization and therefore we want to support you."


The company decided to do a major restoration of the historic SOS Crisis Center. Volunteers from Freudenberg-NOK spent about two days fixing up the Crisis Center doing ceiling repairs, painting, installing chair railing, and much more.


Katharina Bergman, Marketing Specialist at Freudenberg-NOK, suggested SOS as a volunteer site. "When my company, Freudenberg-NOK, was looking for non-profit organizations that might have projects for our associates to help out with and give back to their communities, I immediately thought of SOS," said Bergman. As a resident of Ypsilanti, Bergman started volunteering at SOS special events in the beginning of this year and instantly found a comfort and ease in working within the community. She now volunteers as a Crisis Counselor.


To prepare for this massive project, Joe Grima, Director of Corporate Facilities at Freudenberg-NOK, assessed what improvements could be made at the Crisis Center. "A project like this allows me to share my talents and experiences with an organization dedicated to serving others in need," says Grima.


In addition to the volunteer work, the company made a coporate contribution and participated in collecting food, baby and toiletry items for SOS.


The SOS Crisis Center staff is thrilled about the improvements and donations. "We see people in some of their darkest times, and just coming into a more welcoming atmosphere is helpful," says Normea Banner, SOS Crisis Services Supervisor.

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Donated Items