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Special thanks to our
supporting churches
Barnegat Bay Assembly of God
Bayside Chapel Cedar Creek
Community Church Forked River Baptist
Church Jackson Baptist
Church Lacey Christian
Assembly Lighthouse Alliance
Church Manahawkin Baptist
Church Osborneville Baptist
Church Pinelands Community
Church Waretown United
Methodist Church
GRACE for today August 2010 F O R F R I E N D S O F G R A C E I
N I T I A T I V E S
Grace Initiatives 314 S. Main St., Unit A Forked River, NJ 08731
609.242.0131 www.graceinitiatives.org
SAVE THE DATE
and
because GRACE is just
what they need.
Saturday, October 10, 2010 Gille Park
Manchester Ave. Forked River NJ
Registration 8:30 AM Walk begins @ 9:00 AM
Watch your mail and church bulletins for brochures and get
walking! With your help we expect to raise over
$25,000 for GI!
As a 501c3, your contributions to Grace Initiatives
are tax deductible as allowed by law.
BEFORE
Grace Initiatives is
proudly affiliated with
Heartbeat International
“An Interdenominational Christian Association of
Life-Affirming Education and Pregnancy Resource Providers”
www.HeartBeatInternational.org
Board of Trustees
Gretchen Davis - President
Pastor Glenn Swank - Vice President
Anthony J. Semeraro, Jr. - Secretary
Donna Mutch - Treasurer
Pat Semeraro - Past President
Advisory Council
Tammy Swank, RN, LCSW Counselor, Private Practice
Anne O'Connor, General Counsel - NIFLA
Anne Pierson, Loving & Caring, Inc.
Peter Tomko Founding Board Member
Visit us on the WEB
graceinitiatives.org
TEXT us at 609.661.9390
Visit us on FACEBOOK
Grace Initiatives OR Grace Initiatives - PREGNANT?
Ashley 10.2
009
Walk for Grace
AFTER
Ashley & Audrey 07.2010
Christopher 12.2008 Christopher 07.2010
Working @ Chapter2
Becky & Jake 06.2009
Becky & Jake 06.2010
Continue praying for our moms and
their babies! Thank you for supporting
this vital ministry to young pregnant
women and their children.
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Page 2
August 2010
Programs and Services of Grace Initiatives We offer 2
PROGRAMS—Residential and Non-Residential
We offer 4 SERVICES within those programs
Titus Home Program (Residential)
Housing provided to pregnant youth, 11-21 years old. Avg. 4-5
month residential stay, provided through a network of host family
homes. One client placed per home with trained, screened and
approved families. Required participation in all program
services.
Choosing the Best Program (Non-Residential)
Non-residential program for both pregnant and parenting local
youth, 11-21 years old. Voluntary participation in any or all
program services
My Baby and Me Counseling - Service
One-on-one peer-counseling program taught through a six-workbook
series. Focusing on Decision-Making, Parenting as a Single Teen,
Making an Adoption Plan
Earn While You Learn - Service *
Over 100 classes available, covering topics such as pregnancy
health and nutrition, infant care, child safety, sexual health,
financial management, food planning/preparation, housekeeping and
insurance
Job-Skills Training - Service * Weekly job-skills curriculum.
Teaches and uses practical hands-on implementation of 22 different
social-skills important to obtaining and retaining gainful
employment. 4-6 hours/wk of practical experience in Chapter2 Thrift
Store; Supervised and evaluated by staff.
The Real Deal - Service * (*Volunteers Needed)
Young parents support group. Meets weekly for 2 hours.
Discussion of topic/lesson relating to issues which challenge young
parents of young children. (i.e. Parenting While Living w/ Your
Parents, Continuing Your Education w/ a Child, Choosing Daycare,
Healthy Relationships With Boyfriend and/or Father-of-Baby, etc.)
Followed by 1+ hour of group social interaction or recreation
between all participating moms and their children.
BOWTIES & BOAS
COMEDY GALA JUNE 11, 2010
You raised over $10,000 for the ministry of Grace Initiatives
and added 24
MEGa partners to our roles!
THANK YOU!
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If you would like to provide any of the above items or have
other ideas for the ministry of
Grace Initiatives, please call at 609.242.0131 or email
[email protected]
Page 3
August 2010
be close (less than .5 miles) to Rt. 9 and should also be
located in either, Barnegat, Waretown or Lacey Townships to remain
central in Ocean County.
In order to make this vision a reality and to cover the
increased annual cost of operating a group home, Grace Initiatives
began soliciting
friends for its MEGa Partnership program in January 2010. MEGa
Partners are donors who commit to an on-going monthly electronic
donation.
Our MEGa Partners provide ongoing, reliable funding for our
daily operations. To date, Grace Initiatives has gained 76 MEGa
Partners, giving a total of $3,700 per month, or over $44,000 per
year.
Additionally 11 area churches have pledged support totaling
approximately $10,000/year.
Consider becoming a MEGa Partner today, and speed us toward
opening a group home and expanding our ministry for Christ-centered
maternity housing at the Jersey Shore.
From the desk of Rhonda Tomko, Executive Director
How you can help...
Pray for our ministry to be effective Become a MEGa Partner
(Monthly
Electronic Giving Partner) Volunteer in the Thrift Store or
at
Grace’s Place, teaching classes Bring your friends or Pastor for
a
tour of Grace’s Place Donate gift cards for
Target or Wal-Mart Wawa Movie theaters or restaurants Wawa for
gas Local grocery stores
Provide a home big enough for 6 clients & a houseparent
family
Provide property to build on Donate house wares and
gently-used
and laundered clothing to Chapter2 Ask for a House Bank and fill
it up
with coins Volunteer to run our online store at
Ebay.com, raising money for GI AGAIN, pray for our ministry
Your partnership is priceless!
“We could not
operate this
ministry without the
generous and
professional
dedication of our
volunteers.”
Rhonda Tomko
Executive Director
The Bischoff Family Our newest Titus Home
Aimee, a valuable volunteer at Chapter2 Thrift Store
A B I G T H A N K Y O U
t o
I n n o v a t i v e E n g i n e e r -
i n g o f W a l l T o w n s h i p
N J , o u r f i r s t
C o r p o r a t e M E G a
P a r t n e r
Our Chapter2 Thrift Store located at 314 South Main Street (Rt.
9) in Forked River provides learning opportunities to pregnant
young women as a job-skills train-ing program. Our clients
participate in classroom education, and learn the skills and
behaviors necessary to gain and retain a job. Each week they then
have the time to practice and apply those skills as they learn all
facets of running a retail store. You can volunteer or be a donor.
Call Kelly Fitzpatrick, Store Manager at 609-242-3001. (Accepting
donations of clothing and house wares.) Our hours are Tuesday -
Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM.
SEE YOU AT THE STORE!
Chapter2 Thrift Store
After 6 years, Grace Initiatives is in the market for a home...a
large group home for our young women who choose to parent their
babies. Our current Titus Home program can house about 3 to 4
pregnant young women each year, but we need long-term housing
solutions for our moms with babies.
The perfect home will be spacious enough to house 6 residents,
two house parents, and one relief houseparent. Space for offices,
classrooms and counseling rooms are a plus. It must
76 MEGa
Partners give
a total of
$44,000 each
year
mailto:[email protected]
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314 S. Main St., Unit A
Forked River NJ 08731
F O R F R I E N D S O F G R A C E I N I T I A T I V E S
In 2010, over 20,000 New Jersey teens will become pregnant and
82% of these teen pregnancies are unplanned. About 7,000 of these
young women will deliver a child. The rising rate of teenage
pregnancy is such a hot topic that MTV, the pop-culture media
giant, has begun its 2nd season of the popular documentary series
16 and Pregnant. Each episode follows a teenager and her family and
friends as she navigates the bumpy terrain of adolescence, growing
pains, rebellion, and coming of age– all while she deals with being
pregnant. 16 and Pregnant is a gritty and emotional reality show
about teen pregnancy but it’s also a glimpse into the reality of
the lives we see every day at Grace Initiatives.
Although our primary mission is housing, in 2008 we began our
non-residential program, Choosing the Best, for local pregnant
teens who don’t need housing. Since its inception, Grace
Initiatives has counseled and mentored almost 20 local pregnant
young women through Choosing the Best. This program is available to
local pregnant young women, still living at home, who need support,
education and fellowship with other pregnant or parenting
teens.
In January 2009, we added The Real Deal to our services as a
weekly support group for young parents and over 80% of the pregnant
young women we serve during their pregnancy choose to continue on
receiving counsel and accountability from our staff and
volunteers.
If your know of a pregnant or parenting teen who would benefit
from support and encouragement, have them call 609-242-0131, text
us at
609-661-9390 or visit us on Facebook at “Grace Initiatives -
PREGNANT?”
16...and pregnant? (or 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, etc.)
Christ-centered maternity housing at the Jersey Shore
Mary participated in our Choosing the Best program for local
pregnant teens.
After the birth of her son, Christopher, she continues on with
Grace Initiatives, attending The Real Deal, a support group
for young parents.
We’re on the web
graceinitiatives.org
gracesplace.info
facebook
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT NO. 254
TOMS RIVER 08753
A d d r e s s S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d
