Author: Ashley Manning

February 2018 (click here..)

Graduation Time Again!

On February 17th, we will be holding our seventh graduation! Ricky J. has worked hard to obtain and maintain his recovery during his time here with us. He has restored relationships with his family, maintained employment, and saved well over enough in his Resident Savings Account to move to his own place after graduation. Ricky has truly shown a commitment to his recovery and we are so proud of all he has accomplished! Follow us on Facebook to show Ricky some love! As always, we read all of the wonderful comments and words of encouragement to our graduates during their ceremony! Then, tune in on the 17th to see Ricky’s graduation streaming live and celebrate with us!

Urgent Need

We love our new property! It has allowed us to double our capacity and helped us reach more residents than we were ever able to before. We look forward to continuing to
renovate and expand upon our facility, but right now, we are unable to move forward. With summer quickly approaching we are in urgent need of your help. All (..yes, all) of our HVAC units need to be replaced. The estimated costs we have received are anywhere from $13,000—$15,000 for three new units. We currently have 16 residents in our program and a power bill of over $1,000.00 a month. The purpose of our move to a larger facility was to create a better atmosphere for our residents. The house, the landscaping and the location are all perfect for this goal, but no one is very loving when the air doesn’t work!

We are asking for donations to begin a payment plan on new HVAC units by March 31st. We will not be able to supply the funds to replace these units without your help. Please share this letter with friends, family or anyone who you think might be able to give. Big or small, every donation is one step closer to reaching our goal and having a home
comfortable for all of our residents!

You can donate in the following ways:

Cash or Check:  Checks made payable to Favor House Ministries

Mailed to PO Box 48102 Athens, Ga 30604

PayPal: On our website, click on “How To Help,” then “Donate Now” to donate directly to our PayPal account.

August 2017 (click here…)

August 2017

We had such a wonderful time with all of our recent graduates! There was food, fellowship and fun as we gathered around to celebrate all of their wonderful accomplishments! Unfortunately, Josh W. was unable to attend the graduation ceremony due to an illness, but we look forward to celebrating with him as soon as he’s feeling better!

 

 

Coming Up…

We are excited to be a participant in Athens Recovery Fest again this year! Don’t forget to come by and check it out at Georgia Square Mall on September 30th from 2:00pm—6:00pm! There’s music, food and lots of fun. We hope to see you there!
The Atlanta Men’s Workshop is coming up the first week of October, and we are determined to send all of our residents. This workshop is a weekend packed full of intense step work, fellowship and all things AA! The full cost to send all residents will be around $1,500.00. Check out our Facebook page to donate directly to our fundraiser! All funds received will go towards ensuring each resident is registered for this event!
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do!

June 2017 (click here…)

June 2017

First of all, we want to take a moment and thank all those who have shown us such love and support during our transition to our new home! From donations to encouraging words shared, we appreciate it all! We must say, moving day was an interesting one. Our residents were up bright and early working together to load up two U-Haul’s! By the end of the night, we celebrated with pizza and called it a day! Slowly but surely, our new home is coming together. We still need your help! Being that this home was originally built as single family housing, we need to add on. From plumbing upgrades to more washer and dryers, we still need you! Right now, we are seeking monetary donations to cover the cost of adding additional plumbing lines, and upgrading the current ones. We also need another washer and dryer unit as well as another refrigerator. If you have any of these items you would like to donate please contact us at thefavorhouse@gmail.com or contact us by phone at 706-521-8552.

 

Graduation Time!

In the midst of all of our moving activities, we are celebrating another graduation! David Mitchell entered our program on July 1st of 2016 and has successfully achieved one year sober! We are so proud of all the progress David has made in his time here at the Favor House. He has obtained full time permanent employment, rekindled a relationship with his family and created a new walk with the Lord. David is going to remain on site as an example for other residents coming through our program that recovery is possible! We would also like to shout out to Canvas Church where Pastor Bryan Townsend has agreed to allow us to use their facilities to host David’s graduation. We look forward to hosting the next graduation at our own facility!

Let’s show David some love on our Facebook! Head on over and leave a comment under our “Graduation Day” post to show David how proud we all are! We’ll be sure to show him each and every comment left!

April – May 2017 (click here..)

We’re Moving!

We are so excited to be announcing our big move!  We are moving from our current location in just two weeks!  Our new facility will offer us the opportunity to expand our reach in the community and beyond.  We will be able to house three times more residents that we are currently able to house.  With our partnership with the Geo Group in full swing, we are going to need the space.

Our new location is a beautiful home with a peaceful, down south feel!  We are so grateful that God has provided us this perfect location to fulfill our vision for Favor House Ministries!  We are looking forward to what the future has to hold.

We need your help!

With this move to a much larger facility, we need your help to make our residents feel at home.  As many of you already know, there are numerous “behind the scenes” costs associated with moving.  From the power bill to a new lawnmower for our new front yard, we need your help!  We are asking for donations, either monetary or household items.  As always, you can donate directly through our PayPal Account by visiting www.favorhouseathens.org, then clicking on the link “How to Help.”  We also accept cash or checks by mail at P.O Box 48102 Athens, Ga 30604.  If you have a household item that you would like to donate, please contact us by phone at 706-521-8552 or by email at thefavorhouse@gmail.com to schedule either a drop off or pick up arrangement.

We are looking forward to getting settled in at our new forever home.  It couldn’t have been done without all of your prayers, love and support!

 

Thank you all for your generosity and unwavering support of our ministry!

 

March 2017 (Click here…)

March 2017

We are continuing to see God’s Favor fall upon us here at the Favor House. We have been blessed to intake eight new residents so far in our first quarter! With your help, these residents have all been able to receive the supplies they needed to get back on their feet and find employment of their own!
We are also tremendously blessed to be able to partner with The GEO Group from Florida. The GEO Group is a global provider of prison services that works diligently to serve men beyond their sentence by helping them get the treatment they need. We have been chosen to be the preferred vendor for their re-entry program. We look forward to working with them and expanding our reach further than ever.

 

In March:

Our volunteers from last month’s newsletter are at it again! They are aiming to host a Spring picnic for our residents and their families. We love holding events like this and meeting everyone who loves and supports our residents. We are asking for donations to help provide the food, utensils, charcoal and all the other items needed to host a huge cookout! We need your help! You can donate on our website by clicking “How to Help” followed by “Donate Now” to be taken directly to our PayPal account! We would also love gift cards to purchase these items to stores such as Kroger, Walmart or Ingles. Any donation no matter how big or small makes a difference!

With our influx of new admissions and our partnership with The Geo Group, we are trying to get a head start on resident supplies. We supply each new resident with bedding, linens, a pillow and basic hygiene products upon arrival to our program. We are asking for donations of new or slightly used blankets and sheets to fit twin size beds and donating is easier than ever! You can simply go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2NC83JR8BC9IK/ref=cm_wl_list_o_0 to view a list of items and have it send directly to us all from the comfort of your home!

Governor Nathan Deal signed on Wednesday legislature to make Narcan, a lifesaving drug used to reverse prescription drug and heroin overdoses available over-the-counter without a prescription. If you or someone you know is currently struggling with an opioid addiction head on over to                                                                                    http://www.georgiaoverdoseprevention.org/get-a-kit to learn more.

 

Thank you all for your generosity and unwavering support of our ministry!

 

February 2017 (click here..)

February 2017

We had such a fantastic time celebrating our first graduation of 2017! From Bojangles to gifts and cake, graduation was surely a success. Jessie Hurley was not only able to find and maintain steady employment throughout his duration with us, but he was able to rebuild broken family ties and start fresh! We are sad to see him go and will miss his smiling face, but are so proud to watch him walk in God’s Grace! Jessies Graduation 1
We are looking forward to planning our next house trip in the near future! We use house trips to reconnect and create lasting bonds within recovery. If you have any suggestions for upcoming trips throughout the year, we would love to hear them! Send us an email at thefavorhouse@gmail.com today!

 

Volunteer Spotlight:

We would like to take a moment to highlight some of our most involved volunteers! Charles and Jennifer Ogle, better known as Papa Charles and JenMa came to be involved with our program through Canvas Church. For years, Papa and JenMa have held monthly luncheons for residents of the Potter’s House and have welcomed our residents with open arms. Beyond the monthly luncheons, they are now providing our residents with a good old fashioned home cooked meal each week!
Coming from a recovery background himself, Papa Charles has forged positive relationships with many of our 16711487_1803487016643476_3683041660058564803_nresidents. Both Papa and JenMa are always welcoming with encouraging words and prayers for our residents, and they are both respected by everyone in our ministry! We are so lucky to have them on board with us as we strive to serve men in the recovery community.
If you or someone you know would like more information on ways to be involved, please feel free to contact us anytime at 706-206-2838 or by email at thefavorhouse@gmail.com. From driving, to being a part of our regular meetings, there are plenty of ways to be involved. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you all for your generosity and unwavering support of our ministry!

January 2017 (Click Here…)

January 2017

 

We hope all of you are having a wonderful year so far! Here at the Favor House, we have seen substantial growth within our program. We have a lot of exciting events planned for this year and are looking forward to see what all God has in store for us! Favor House Ministries will be moving out of its current location in June of this year, and we are aiming to find the perfect facility suited to our needs. We want to expand our reach within the Athens-Clarke County area to be able to help as many in need as possible. We are currently narrowing down our options and look forward to presenting them to you soon!

In January:

This year, we are planning numerous exciting trips and gatherings for our residents. These events serve as a more relaxed environment for our residents to get to know each other and to create life-long bonds within the recovery community. We are hoping to go bowling, take another trip to Helen for tubing, movies, cookouts and more! We look forward to creating these lasting memories!

Many of our residents are scheduled to graduate this year, with the earliest being in March! Graduations are our favorite events of all as we get to see the glory of God through the redemption over addition. Right now, we are scheduled to have 17 graduations in 2017! Our graduations consist of family, friend, food and an award of completion for our residents to take with them. We work especially close with residents in the last three months prior to graduation to ensure they have all of the tools necessary to continue on with their life long journey in recovery.

We want to give back! All of you have helped our ministry and our residents beyond our wildest expectations this past year, and this year, we want to ensure that we give just as much as you! We want our residents and staff to be active in giving back to the community we live in. If you or anyone you know would like to help plan or facilitate an outing throughout this year, or know of an organization or cause that our residents could assist with, please feel free to contact us anytime at thefavorhouse@gmail.com.

As always, we couldn’t do this without YOU! THANK YOU!

November 2016 (click here..)

November 2016

So far the holidays at Favor House have been a blast! Most all of our residents were able to travel home to be with their loved ones over Thanksgiving. For those residents who did not take a pass to visit loved ones, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ogle provided a home cooked Thanksgiving meal! We want to give a huge thank you for them and their continued support of our ministry!
We were also blessed to enjoy a night off from cooking ourselves as New Haven Baptist of Athens, GA provided all of our residents with pizza night! Pastor Bryan Townsend meets with our residents weekly to hold a Bible study. We appreciate New Haven going above and beyond to show their love and support!

In November:

We are so excited to say that four of our residents, David S., David M., Timothy L., and Stuart E. were all baptized at New Haven Baptist Church! We are so proud of their decision to follow Christ and we are truly honored to be able to witness this part of their journey.

Favor House has offered our recent graduate Roddy Payne a position as our first Servant Leader. As a Servant Leader, Roddy will remain on property as part of staff and be a mentor to our newer residents coming into our program. He will also be able to help with driving, scheduling and in other areas where his talents and skills can be most beneficial. We are so blessed to have him as a part of our team!

We asked, and you provided! We are ready to roll with our Christmas decorations! Just like with Thanksgiving, our residents will be given the opportunity to visit with their families over the Christmas weekend. For those who choose otherwise, we wanted our house to feel like their home! We are so grateful for all of the donations we received in November for this holiday season! A number of our residents have already mentioned their excitement over helping decorate! We are looking forward to it!

As always, we couldn’t do this without YOU! THANK YOU!

October 2016 (click here…)

October 2016

October has continued to bring remarkable growth for us here at the Favor House! We have welcomed Lisa Waldron onto our Board of Directors. Lisa comes to us with years of experience in corrections and leadership on other boards and we are truly blessed to have her on our team!
As always, with our rapid growth, comes more need for your support! We are currently in need of new or slightly used work clothes and winter boots, deep freezers, bunk beds and house hold items (toiletries, linens, pillows, cleaning supplies).
We could not accomplish any of this without all of your support. Thank you for your generosity in giving!

In October:

Not only has the funding from our Scholarship Program been able to allow one man to come into our program, begin his recovery journey and since then obtain employment, but it has GROWN! We are proud to say that we now have the funds to be able to help at least two other residents who may not otherwise be able to get the help that they need! For those who don’t know, residents who are allotted funds from the Scholarship Fund enter the program and upon obtaining employment they repay the fund for the next resident who may need it! What a wonderful example of paying it forward!

All of our residents were up bright and early on Sunday, Oct. 30th to help set up the Fall Festival event held at Grace Fellowship Church! They helped set up inflatables and other activities and we want to send a special thank you to Grace Fellowship for providing them all with a delicious hot breakfast! If you or anyone you know needs volunteers for an event this upcoming season please feel free to email us at thefavorhouse@gmail.com! We are continually looking for ways to give back!

Beginning in May of this year, we made some changes to our program which included us providing all of our residents with 3 meals a day! Of course, taking on cooking for so many has come with its own obstacles, but with the help of planning and The Food Bank of North East Georgia we are proud to say that we have served over 8,000 meals so far!

We are looking forward to see what God does next month! We are so blessed and excited to be on this journey with all of you!

Don’t forget to like and follow us on Facebook

 

September 2016 (click here..)

Ministry Update

September has proven to be one of our most remarkable months so far this year! We have seen a rapid increase in the number of residents applying for entry into our program and we are so blessed to have been able to accept them all!
We are currently working towards expanding our facilities to include a second apartment! With this move, comes a need for more household items. We are asking for twin size mattresses, linens, pillows and other household items frequently used such as laundry detergent and cleaning supplies! Any and all donations are appreciated and 100% tax deductible! Contact Charles McDonald at 706-612-8296 to schedule a pick up or a drop off today! You can also donate through PAYPAL on our website now!

In September:

We are so blessed to have our Scholarship Fund up and running. We have received $550.00 in donations towards this cause! Our scholarship program was created with one purpose in mind, to create a way to help those who did not have the means to help themselves. This fund has already served its purpose as one resident has already received funds out of the account! After a resident receives these funds, he seeks to find employment immediately and the funds are deposited back into the scholarship account to be used for the next resident who needs a helping hand!

Recovery Fest 2016 was a success! We enjoyed food, music and fellowship with all those who came out to show their support! We are grateful to have been able to participate in this wonderful event.

One donor has made a promise to donate $300.00 monthly throughout December to be used for much needed literature and study materials for our residents! We are always searching for individual material that will help each resident at the point that they are at in their recovery!

We couldn’t do any of this without all of your support! Thank You all!