Volunteers gathered with gift donations for the New Life Center.
Ed and Barb Lavin
New Life Center is a shelter right here in Goodyear where women and children escaping domestic violence come from all over the country. The families are housed in small casitas and, upon arrival, they are assigned an advocate who works with them and helps them through their trauma. The women are given help with a resume, help looking for employment, job skills, parenting skills, etc. They can stay for up to four months and are helped with their next step which is usually transitional housing or an independent apartment.
We have a group of about 100 volunteers who take food to the shelter to complement the main entrée which New Life Center provides. We also take crayons, coloring books, puzzles, etc. (all from the Dollar Store) to give to the little ones and spend time with them. The children love our attention and we, of course, love giving it to them. We have enough volunteers so that most of us go only once a month and it is a 1.5-hour commitment. Many of us enjoy bonding with the residents and go more often. We also periodically do an extreme makeover of the casitas.
On November 25, we got together at the ballroom in Eagle’s Nest. We brought gifts for the moms and children and Hope’s Closet (which is affiliated with New Life Center) brought their truck for us to load up. We also brought appetizers to share as we discussed our commitment to New Life and exchanged stories. We all agreed that this commitment has brought so much meaning to our retirement! We get back so much more than we give!
If this sounds fun and interesting to you, please contact Susan Allen at [email protected]. Tours are given several times a month. If you have questions, please feel free to call us at 623-536-5636 or email us at [email protected].