Letter From the Director
Dear friends,
Thought I’d begin by writing that I hope everyone is staying out of the heat and away from the mosquitoes. But decided against writing something so stupid, given the inevitability of both. This is Texas. We live on the gulf coast. Yep.
Anyway, we’re busy and excited about many things. For openers, our Pearland office is finally open again. It’s been down since Hurricane Ike, so Kathi has been working exclusively out of our Alvin office. She’s once again splitting her time between Alvin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Pearland on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Her Pearland # is still the same – 281 485 0934 – and the office location is the same – the Pearland Neighborhood Center building – but the building has been totally refurbished. Congrats to the Pearland Neighborhood Center staff, Board, and volunteers whose efforts really paid off. The building is lovely! For Kathi’s part, she and a couple of friends are decorating her office with an eye toward comfort and security.
Also, I earlier mentioned the Operation Sleep Safe, Sleep Tight pajama/diaper drive that David Moore, the Victim Services Coordinator at Adult Probation, was conducting for us. We join David in thanking so many of you who participated in the drive, making it wildly successful again this year. It yielded over $800 in cash donations, 179 pairs of new pajamas, 54 packages of diapers, 28 containers of wipes, and many packages of kids’ underwear. These items are a real blessing to shelter residents, most of whom come to us with only the clothes on their back, most of whom come to us feeling really bad about things to begin with (and having to sleep in somebody else’s pajamas doesn’t help one bit!). So, David, from all the staff and hundreds of victims who will not be named here: thank you very much – you rock!
Finally – the biggie – August 12, 13, 14, and 15 are the dates for the 8th annual Biker Fundraiser, which benefits one of our shelters, Serenity House. This year’s event will be held at the Fairgrounds and it looks to be bigger and better than ever with all kinds of tournaments, bands, food, and fun. Three questions most frequently asked of me: 1) when is the cook-off? Saturday, with judging from roughly 11 am to 1 pm and trophy presentations following shortly thereafter; 2) when is Tin Man’s live auction? Saturday afternoon starting at around 3 p.m. and extending until the essentials are gone – either the auction items or Tin Man’s voice; 3)what about food and drink sales? (This is the question I always ask!) some will occur throughout the event, but at 11 am on Saturday bar-b-que plates go on sale. If you have questions of your own, do not hesitate to call the Angleton, Alvin, or Pearland offices. If you’d like to volunteer to help in some way, please do the same. I know there are still a few cook-off team slots available. And, yes, I know it is not a biker fundraiser. Many event organizers are not bikers. And most participants aren’t, either. I just think biker fundraiser has a nice ring to it and this is, after all, my column! Please come in out of the heat and mosquitoes and join us August 12, 13, 14, and 15.
We love you guys,
Vicki