Come join us at Lydia’s House VOLUNTEER HAPPY HOUR!

In honor of our amazing volunteers, our in-kind givers, and the wonderful people who help Lydia’s House every day, we would like to extend an invitation to join our Volunteer Happy Hour at Urban Eats on Thursday, July 28th from 5- 7 pm.

Feel free to bring a friend or just briefly stop by on your way to dinner! We would love to personally thank you and share other volunteer opportunities that will be available in the coming months!

Details: Come and go event

When: Thursday, July 28 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Where: Urban Eats

Address: 3301 Meramec Street St. Louis, MO 63118

BLY’s mission is to assist young college-bound women and men by supplying them with dormitory and off-campus living supplies.  BLY supplies each approved applicant with a “trunk” of bedding, personal hygiene supplies, and even a pair of flip-flops for the shower!  They also provide mentoring and guidance for those kids who might need some help making that big transition.

How cool is that?  BLY is a small all-volunteer nonprofit that is stepping in to be another member of the greater village needed to ensure all of us have the opportunity to become all we are meant to be.

We strongly believe that a solid education is one of the best ways to reduce vulnerability to violence and poverty.  We strive to strengthen the connection between our kids and education at every level.

But the kids at Lydia’s House often come into the program carrying pretty heavy burdens of trauma and grief, coming from disruptive and violent homes.  Fortunately, once their lives stabilize, school attendance and performance increase, and some even consider the possibility of college.  We want to use whatever is available to help our kids make the connection between a secure future and higher education.

BLY is one of those tiny projects that can give our kids one more boost that might help them invest in themselves.  For a kid who has had a topsy turvy beginning, having the right bedding might help seal the deal.

Periodically in this spot, I will be writing about some of the partnerships that help us fulfill our mission.  In so many, many ways, it truly does take a village, and sometimes the missing piece comes from a little known project with a huge heart!

When I think about domestic violence and the ministry that takes place at Lydia’s House, I think we are dealing with a lot of mustard seeds. We aren’t always able to make huge differences in the lives of the women and children we serve, but we do plant a lot of seeds. I always hope that with time these seeds will continue to grow, and we will end up with a bush of sorts. In this case, that bush symbolizes the positive changes these women and children are able to make in their lives while at Lydia’s House and in the years after they leave.

And mustard seeds also remind me that the things we do for and on behalf of the women and children at Lydia’s House may not always seem like much to us, but these acts of kindness add up so that together we have planted enough seeds to become a field of thriving and healthy bushes. May it be so.

Lydia’s House Volunteers turn an old office room into an elegant living space

Before: Urban Mission Experience work group paints the living room

After: Professional Women’s Alliance Transformation!

Lydia’s House would like to thank the volunteers from Urban Mission Experience and Professional Women’s Alliance (PWA) for dedicating their vacation and weekend time to bring hope and healing to our women! We have been in the process of reconstructing our older transitional homes, since the end of December 2010. This particular apartment was used in the past as an office space, but we realized that we were going to need to transform it into an apartment to make room for another family (very quickly!) Urban Mission Experience helped coordinate volunteers to paint rooms and thoroughly clean the space, which had not received repairs in 12 years. The savvy business women of Professional Women’s Alliance came armed with decorations in one hand and a hammer in the other. They took the time to carefully choose furniture from our storage space and requested their members to donate items, which would make this space a warm and inviting space. In short, they made it home.

The transformation made me reflect on the experience that our women have as they make their journey to Lydia’s House. They come, broken in spirit, looking for encouragement and our amazing advocates help them to realize they are of immeasurable worth and value. After two years at Lydia’s House, these women are transformed into strong, confident women. Despite their history of pain, they have discovered that they have the acumen, physical and emotional strength to be successful. We are grateful to all our volunteers for helping encouraging the women through creating a beautiful living space.

Your financial support makes these transitions possible, to find out more about this project and support our renovation efforts, click HERE!