Harvest for the Homeless & Terrapin Fundraising Event!

	Terrapin's Casktopia Come out to Terrapin and give our cask your vote! What tops a beautiful Autumn afternoon outside with good friends, good beer and a good cause? Come drink some beers and VOTE FOR THE AAHS BREW at Casktopia! We're adding some of our kiddos' favorite flavors to our cask of Hopsecutioner: pumpkin, cinnamon and vanilla. Then we're adding a little adult spice with some pepper heat! check our our event page on facebook! Friends and Family of AAHS, What an Autumn it's turning into!  Here at AAHS we have already provided shelter, housing, employment services and financial education to over 400 men, women and children this year.  We've a packed shelter, we're supporting families all over town getting back on their feet in apartments, we've been holding financial literacy workshops and classes and one on one counseling, providing employment assistance - it's been busy down on Barber Street, to say the least.   We can't do it without our community, without your support.  We're gearing up for our annual fundraiser, Harvest for the Homeless, and kicked it off last month with a fantastic (and free) magic show! The show marked the start of our countdown to the Culinary Catchall Raffle - win 52 gift certificates to local restaurants and dine out free for a year!  Thanks so much to Mr. Kevin O'Neil (not only the most fun magician in town but also our Board Chair Extraordinaire) for putting together such a great show, and thanks to Ted's Most Best for hosting us.  Most of all - thank you to everyone who came out to laugh and have a great time - it was a packed patio and we could hardly keep up with raffle sales!  What a great start. Next up in our Harvest celebration is Casktopia at Terrapin Brewery!  What could be better than an Autumn day outside with good friends, good beer and a good cause?  Bring your friends, have some laughs and VOTE FOR THE AAHS BREW!  If we're elected crowd favorite we have a chance to win money that will go directly into programming for the kiddos at the shelter.  And in that spirit, we picked some of their favorite flavors to add to the brew - pumpkin and cinnamon and vanilla (and then a little adult spice) - a true harvest celebration!  And don't worry - you can get your Culinary Catchall raffle tickets at the event.   Finally, our Harvest party itself is Friday, November 14th - mark your calendars now!  It promises to be even more fun than last year, with the Classic City Swing Band, dancing, cocktails, wine tastings, food, auction, raffle drawing - - it's going to be a great night and we sure hope to see you there.  All proceeds, of course, go directly into our programming.  An evening of fun to support positive change in your community?  Hard to top. Thank you so much, Athens, for supporting our work.  You make a difference. Sincerely, Shea Post Executive Director Buy Harvest for the Homeless event tickets and raffle tickets at helpathenshomeless.org

Summer at the Shelter!

Join us in cheering on  the Classic City Roller Girls  on July 19th to benefit AAHS!  Purchase tickets today.  Thank You to Our Loyal Donors, Partners, and Volunteers! Advoparr, Inc., American Pest Control, Ashford Church, Athens Academy, Athens Area Association of Realtors, J.L. and E. Barton, CC of Israel, Charter Communications, DanceFX Athens, First AME Church, First Baptist Church of Athens, Halloran Masonry, Inc., Hill Chapel Church, UGA Hillel's Challah for Hunger, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, JJ Harris Elementary School, June B. Cawthon, Lone Star Builders, Living Waters Church, My House Athens, Nancy Travis Childcare Project, Northeast Georgia Presbyterian Church, Orkin Pest and Termite Control, Pathfinders, Inc., The Catholic Center at UGA, Water 911, Women's Ministry of Ebenezer Baptist Church West, Woodruff Foundation Trivia Battle Success A big thank you to everyone who participated in the 2014 Trivia Battle! We raised enough for five young children to attend daycare and seven elementary age children to attend summer camp. Special thanks to the Porterhouse Grill for being incredible hosts! Shop for AAHS! Save money at businesses and restaurants across the Athens-Clarke County! Each purchase helps fund local organizations, including AAHS. Get yours today! Signing up for Kroger Community Rewards  allows you to support the shelter with every grocery run! Thank You to Our Shelter Providers Lew and JoBeth Allen, Hortense Bates, Tamara Bowman, Elizabeth Bryant, Emily Carr and Dale Hoyt, Samanta Carvalho, Charlsie Churchwell, E. Scott Coulter, Larry B. Dendy, Andrea Dennis, Will and Tommie Farmer, Paul Heald, John and Ruth Hocking, Thomas P. Holland, Patrick and Stephanie Jones, James and Nancy Kissane, Margaret Leary, Eric Loffland, Bryan and Alison McCullick, Julia A. Nathanson, Michael Odom, Stanley and Maxine Peaks, Kathy Prescott, Lucy W. Rainey, Jeffrey and Jane Rattray, Martha Schimmel, Paula J. Schwanenflugel and William B Whitman, Catherine and Allen Seymour, Joel Siebentritt and Carter Vest, Nancy Sims, Tim Smalley, Brad and Jane Smith, Patrick Snead, Charlton Stewart, Alice Vernon, Eleanor Walker, Jennifer and John Wares, Stephanie Weldon, Natalie Wellman, Juergen Wiegel Dear friends and family of AAHS,  Wow - what a summer we're having here at the shelter and in all of our programs!  Halfway through the year and we've already provided services to over 500 individuals in Athens Clarke County!   AAHS is so much more than a shelter - our programs attack poverty from all angles, and all of our services work hard to stabilize at-risk families. Our All My Money financial literacy program has really taken flight! In the first year, we've provided 45 families with individualized financial education.  Not only that, in partnership with Action Ministries andThe ARK, we've provided group money management classes and general financial information sessions to well over 200 individuals!  Collaboration is truly a powerful tool in creating positive change in our community.   Meanwhile, our Going Home program has supported 40 families so far this year in securing safe and stable housing. We kicked off a new donation program of Going Home Kits - please take a moment to watch this video. Our employment program, JobTREC, served over 100 people this year despite taking a funding hit.  And last but certainly not least - our Almost Home shelter program has a full house right now, with moms bustling to work and school, and newborns to teenagers in day camp and day care.  Life is BUSY here at AAHS! Despite living in shelter, our kiddos get to have a healthy summertime experience, thanks to grants from partners like The Nancy Travis Childcare Project, and local businesses like Porterhouse Grill and Full Contact Trivia for making our trivia fundraiser possible.  Thank you, Athens.   Most recently we worked with Interfaith Hospitality Network to provide a mutual client with new dentures.  With a healthy mouth and new-found self confidence, this client will be ready to tackle the work world!  Again, collaboration is a powerful tool and we at AAHS are proud of all of our partnerships. If you're reading this note, then you are one of our partners. You've contributed your time or your money to the families that we assist, and you are a part of each success.  Thank you so very much.   One final shout out: our very own Classic City Rollergirls are donating proceeds from their bout on July 18th to AAHS! Please come out and cheer on our girls, and know that your ticket price is helping your community.  What could be better? Lots of fun for a great cause!  I look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Shea Post, Executive Director Save the Date Dinner Spots Still Open Our July and August dinner calendar has plenty of open dates. Make it a community effort and bring your family, church group, or co-workers with you for an evening of cooking for our residents! Summer Childcare Opportunities Love to play with kids? Help keep our children occupied this summer by signing up as a volunteer babysitter! Gardeners Needed Summer is the perfect opportunity for volunteers with green thumbs to share their skills with AAHS! Find the perfect time to come by. Our Wishlist Support AAHS by purchasing items from our Amazon Wishlist Amazon Smile Link your Amazon account with AAHS and automatically support us with every purchase! Become a Shelter Provider! ·  Visit helpathenshomeless.org to participate through PayPal  OR ·  Contact your bank to have a direct deposit sent each month OR ·  Fill out and return the form below.  YES! I want to be a Shelter Provider!  I authorize my bank to transfer each month the amount selected: $5         $10       $15       $20       $25       Other_____ Please write a check for your first shelter provider gift. Beginning the 2nd month, your bank will receive notice to charge your account Name:               ________________________________________ Address:            ________________________________________ City, State, Zip:  ________________________________________ My authorization to charge my account at my bank shall be the same as if I had personally signed a check to AAHS. This authorization shall remain in effect until I notify my bank or AAHS in writing that I wish to end this agreement and my bank or AAHS has had reasonable time to act on it, or until my bank or AAHS has sent me ten days written notice that they will end this agreement. A record of each charge will be included in my regular bank statement and will serve as my receipt. cut out and return with check to 620 Barber Street, Athens, GA 30601

Spend time with AAHS this summer

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Hey Smartypants!

Spend time with  AAHS this summer! Provide a meal There are a lot of days that still need meals provided in late May, June, and July.  Get your neighborhood, family, church, office, or club and pull out those cooking skills. It's an easy way to get involved in the shelter once, twice, or on a regular basis! Check out our calendar for dates that need volunteers.  Schedule a work day We've had amazing groups equip our grounds with gardens, green areas, and an awesome playground but we need help keeping it up! Schedule your group to spend a morning with us cutting grass, cleaning out gutters, and tending to our gardens . Email us if you're interested in setting up a work day at volunteer@ helpathenshomeless.org! It's time for the 2nd Annual Athens Area Homeless Shelter's Trivia Battle!  Start your summer off with some fun at Porterhouse Grill and help us send our kiddos to camp and daycare this summer!  We can't do it without you, Athens, so please get a team together and join in! Check out your competition and awesome prizes here!  Register online here or call us at 706-354-0423! Have some fun, help your community, enjoy great food and drink, and prove  you and your pals are the smartest in  the land! Donate wishlist items Help us restock our outdoor toys - we love having basketballs and kick balls for our kids and volunteers! Purchase home items for a  family moving into our Going Home program

Spring updates!

Dear Friends and Family of AAHS, Can you believe that summertime is right around the corner?  We can't!  School is out next month and things get a little nutty around the shelter, with kids of all ages running about! Kick off your summer with some fun and some new clothes, all while helping our kids here at AAHS have a great summer too!  What could be better?  See below for details. Sincerely, Shea Post Executive Director Other spring happenings at AAHS May 3 is Belk's annual charity sale - purchase a $5 ticket at AAHS to shop  store-wide sales for 20-70% off Saturday morning!  Contact tickets@helpathenshomeless.org for more information. Going Home Kits Our newest donation opportunity is to help put together furniture kits for our families moving into the Going Home program. We're hoping to turn empty rooms into homes, but can't do it without your help! Learn more about Going Home kits here: Special thanks to the 2013-2014 LEAD Athens team and to Jackson EMC for helping us start this project. Volunteer Summers are slow volunteer months here at the shelter, and we need your help to provide babysitters for our evening programs and meals for our shelter  throughout the summer! If you have a small group, family group, office, or other group of people that would like to get together and provide a meal or service opportunity at AAHS, please contact volunteer@helpathenshomeless.org or check out our volunteer opportunities here:

A winter Note

Thank you for your help this winter! Thank you to our partners! Dear family and friends of AAHS, As you might imagine, snow days at the shelter can be a bit (read a LOT) chaotic.  Fourteen kiddos running about playing, shouting, and living?  A frenzy to be sure.  And a fun one, at that.  Why so fun?  Because our kids are warm and healthy and happy.   It's a challenge to provide a nourishing and enriching environment in a transitional, group living situation.  Our families come to us at a rocky point in their lives - possibly the most rocky yet.  One part of our job is to provide a sense of safety and stability, from which they can relaunch into independence.  All of our programming at AAHS, from the shelter to our financial literacy counseling to our rapid rehousing to our employment program, is designed to launch clients into sustained independence. Today I've been here at the shelter during the snow storm.  The kids have toys to play with, hats and gloves to brave the snow in, and warm food in their bellies.  They've ransacked the play area and have grins on their faces.  Our 14 year old teenager is curled on the couch watching a movie while her mom sits next to her, working on a paper for her BA degree.  Early this morning in the bitter cold I helped a different mom scrape her car so that she could get to work despite the ice and snow.  Just a few moments ago I heard another mom mutter to herself as she navigated her third online job application of the afternoon.  The shelter smells like bacon and kids... like a home?  I think so.  Like a safe environment from which one can tackle challenges and successfully reboot.   Our families have a lot of needs.  It takes a lot to relaunch a life.   You contribute to this launch.  If you are on our email list, you have given your time and/or your money to AAHS and we value your contribution so very much.  We know that you give a little piece of your heart each time. Thank you for being a part of our family and community. Sincerely, Shea Post, ED