Saturday, June 26, 11-5

Fun in the Sun!

Don't miss the first annual Matthews House art and craft fair.

Sixteen local art and craft vendors will have items for sale inside and outside the house. All are seasoned professionals who were juried into this event. A great variety will be represented; pottery, jewelry, stained glass, wood, bookmarks, cards, prints, handmade clothes, purses, scarves, soaps, lotions, lavender products.

20% of arts and craft sales will go to support the Matthews House programming.

Arts & Crafts!

Food and fun for the whole family!

Facepainting!

Please join us at the Matthews House, 726 Mathews St, Fort Collins.

This past weekend one of our youth was given the opportunity to pursue her dreams.

Growing up, she knew only abuse and abandonment, living in cars with her mother and never having a stable living environment. Since then, she has lived in multiple foster homes, seeking adoption.

In the last few years, she's become a cheerleader at her high school. She attends practice and games every week with the squad. This is one of the first times in her life that she's been able to be just a teenager with no other worries. Cheerleading has become not only a diversion, but a passion and a place where she finds community and confidence, and where she finally feels a sense of belonging. One of her dreams is to meet professional cheerleaders and to experience cheerleading on the next level.

At the Keeping Dreams Alive Banquet this past weekend, Realities for Children made this dream a reality. This young woman will be participating in a 7-month cheerleading training camp with the Denver Bronco's Cheerleaders! She'll be fitted for her very own uniform and will have the opportunity to cheer at 4 home games with the team. Two of the Bronco's cheerleaders were on hand to present the award to a very excited young woman at Saturday's Banquet.

This is just one example of how Realities for Children, really is Keeping Dreams Alive for youth in our community who are coming out of a childhood marred by abuse and neglect. As the Matthews House staff helped with the nomination process, this young woman told us that "Every time I have wished for something it has not come true…" For this young woman, this is her first opportunity to really see that dreams are worth having because they really can come true.

Read more about the relationship of the Matthews House to Realities for Children here.

Local Nonprofits are working together to raise awareness during Mentor Month.

The Larimer County Mentoring Coalition is celebrating January as National Mentor Month. Mentor Month is a national campaign, first introduced in 2002, which is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project, MENTOR, and the Corporation for National and Community Service and focuses attention on the positive impact mentoring can have on young lives and the need for mentors in our communities. This campaign helps identify how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities, and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for our young people. “At any given time there are hundreds kids on mentoring waiting lists in Larimer County. Some of these kids get very discouraged, waiting years for a match.” said Kathleen Vasa, Volunteer Program Coordinator, Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services.

"Thank Your Mentor Day" is January 22, 2009, which many mentoring programs select as a day of recognition for their volunteers and for Mentor Month. We encourage you to think of the mentors in your life—a team coach, teacher, concerned neighbor, or another caring adult—and take a few minutes to thank them and then consider becoming a mentor yourself. The Larimer County Mentoring Coalition consists of multiple mentoring organizations committed to raising awareness of the need for mentors, and to recruiting and retaining high quality mentors for children and young adults in Larimer County. Mentoring opportunities range in time commitment and availability to ensure there is an opportunity to fit any lifestyle.

Larimer County Mentoring Coalition members are Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services, Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County, The Matthews House, Partners Mentoring Youth of Larimer County, Turning Point Center for Youth and Family Development, Larimer Center for Mental Health, and Larimer County Human Services, Children, Youth and Family Division.

“It’s our goal to become a one-stop-shop for all who are interested in becoming a mentor in Larimer County.” said Vasa, “Individuals who are interested can call 970-472-9630 for more information about mentoring and the mentoring opportunities in Larimer County.”

Written by

Kathleen Vasa, Volunteer Program Coordinator,

Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services
(970) 472-9630
voarsvp@frii.com

If you are interested in mentoring or volunteering at the Matthews House, we'd love to have you. Please contact Steve

Throughout the month of January, Rodizio Grill in Fort Collins will be spreading the word about and raising funds for the Matthews House.

Every guest at Rodizio this month will have the opportunity to make a donation to the Matthews House and receive an equivalent amount in "Rodizio bucks".

So here's what that looks like,

1. You enjoy a delicious dinner at Rodizio Grill.

2. When you pay your bill, you donate $20 to the Matthews House.

3. You receive $20 toward your next delicious dinner at Rodizio.

That's like making a donation, without giving away any money.

I already know they've got some pretty tasty food, so this sounds like an amazingly good deal to me.

If you haven't been to Rodizio yet, now is the time.

If you have, it's a great time to come back to the table and bring some friends.

This month we want to tell you that we are thankful for our September Volunteer of the Month, Bob Addleman, who serves the Matthews House as our volunteer bookkeeper. His dedication and service above self is a tremendous asset to our organization. Bob has an incredibly caring heart for the youth and staff of the Matthews House and he humbly spends countless hours making sure our books are in order and our bills are paid.

Most people involved at the Matthews House will never see Bob, but he plays a critical role in the daily operations at the Matthews House. Because of the time and bookkeeping skills Bob generously shares with us, we not only have detailed and accurate books, but our administrative costs are kept much lower, which results in a higher percentage of each dollar raised going directly to program costs. That means that more of the hard-earned money you donate to the Matthews House goes straight to critical things like training mentors, helping youth apply to college and teaching job skills – just to give a few examples.

Thanks Bob for all you do and for your servants heart!

And thank you to all our volunteers and donors who make it possible each day for lives to be changed forever at the Matthews House!

Recently United Way of Larimer County awarded $35,000 to the Matthews House in the name of decreasing poverty in Larimer County. An abbreviated version of this announcement has been published in the Coloradoan, but for a little more info you can read the entire press release from United Way of Larimer County below.

United Way of Larimer County to Support Self-Sufficiency for At-Risk Youth
Often Overlooked Population Living in Poverty

[Larimer County, Colorado] – United Way of Larimer County announced today the organization will provide $35,000 to The Matthews House, a nonprofit organization in Fort Collins, as part of the effort to accomplish the goal of it’s Pathways Past Poverty initiative.

The funding for The Matthews House will come from United Way’s “Bridging the Gap Fund.” This fund is specifically for projects or work being done to address poverty from a multifaceted approach that works. The organization serves 16-21-year-old youth who have virtually no family, including those who are aging out of the foster care system and youth on parole.

“The Matthews House brings together the strategies to really address poverty for this population and gives them the skills to become self-sufficient,” said Gordan Thibedeau, president and CEO of United Way of Larimer County. He points out that The Matthews House serves an often overlooked population when it comes to poverty.

“We do everything that a parent would have done for them; life skills, job readiness, education,” said Jerri Howe, executive director and founder of The Matthews House. “We work with them so they can become independent.” Howe says the group currently serves more than 70 youth and the need is increasing.

The Pathways Past Poverty initiative is a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to poverty with the goal of turning the trend of increasing poverty around in Larimer County. During the last three years, dozens of community volunteers worked together to determine 12 goals for Pathways Past Poverty. Now, dozens more are researching and developing strategies to accomplish these goals.

Howe said, “I want to see that these youth have a different pathway and that their life is better and not dependent on numerous services so they can learn to be self-sufficient.”

United Way of Larimer County’s focus as an organization is to help people who are in need now while also working with community partners on ways to reduce that need in the future resulting in true community impact.

To learn more about Pathways Past Poverty and the 12 goals, visit www.pathwayspastpoverty.org.

The Wild West Relay is finally here!

Tomorrow morning, 1560 runners will start outside the Budweiser tour center and head towards Steamboat Springs Middle School, 200 miles away. Each team is made up of 12 runners who will each run three separate times, rain or shine, up and down mountains, across the continental divide, through the night – nothing short of an adventure to be sure.For our two teams, this is a trek that will take between 25 and 30 hours. We’re not going to win any medals, but we will be enjoying a chance to run in amazing scenery, enjoy the company of great people, and raise some money for a great cause.
Now that all the preparations have been made, there is just the actual event to come. Before the sun even thinks of coming up tomorrow, we will be piling in the vans that will be our homes for the next day and a half. Once Runner #1 sets out around 6:30am, the trek is on and everyone will take turns running until we reach Steamboat, sometime Saturday afternoon.

I want to thank all our dedicated runner/fundraisers and all those who have generously donated to the Matthews House by supporting these runners. We’ve reached nearly $6,000 already, with one more week for donations to continue flowing in. (Please join us by making a donation.)

Join us at Everyday Joe’s Coffee House tomorrow night, July 29th at 7pm to hear some great music, eat homemade desserts and bid on fabulous silent auction items. This event is being put on by the runners on the Matthews House Wild West Relay teams to raise money for the Matthews House.

Music – Eva Holbrook and Aaron Strumpel

Desserts – a variety, homemade by Matthews House friends and volunteers (just fyi – our volunteers make amazing food!!)

Silent Auction – learn to play the piano, get a massage, acquire some new art for your home…

And all to support the Matthews House and the youth of our community.

Everyday Joe’s Coffee House, 144 S Mason St, Fort Collins

Wednesday, July 29, 7pm

$10 suggested donation

This weekend at 921 N Taft Hill Rd in Fort Collins there will be a gigantic yard sale to benefit the Matthews House. The sale will run Saturday and Sunday (July 25 & 26) from 7am to 2pm – please plan to stop by.

Thanks to all who have donated their gently used items to the cause and thanks to all who will come by to search for treasures.

On June 4th, thanks to the generosity of Mountain Whitewater Descents, we were able to take 6 youth along with 3 staff members for an exciting half-day rafting trip on the Cache la Poudre River. The water was high and fast and the rafting was excellent.

This was the first whitewater rafting experience for most if not all of the youth – and once we all got over looking silly in our wetsuits and the few butterflys that had congregated in our stomachs after seeing all the rapids on the bus-ride up the canyon – a great time was had by all. This was a great chance to see the importance of working together and to face and overcome fears.