Newsletter – SPRING 2018, Edition 10
Letter from the President
Dear ARM of Carers!
We can’t say it enough… “We couldn’t do what we do without YOU!”
Not only have our winter months been filled with both sunny days and rainy days, but so have the lives of many of those whom ARM of Care serves. We have seen youth and young adults struggle with what seems to us the simplest of tasks and have also seen them succeed with a brand new challenge.
A high school foster care boy who was once embarrassed because he didn’t even think he could draw a line is now excelling in school in his drama program. A young woman who always gets nauseous when she exercises because of the physical abuse she has incurred, doesn’t give up, keeps wanting to exercise the next time we come, and finds new ways to move that make her feel better. A high school girl at Juvenile Hall sits and keeps her head down the whole time we are doing a movement program and at the end, displays the tiniest of smiles when we use our imaginations and pretend to give her a bunch of flowers.
We are grateful for every opportunity to be in front of the over 100 youth we have served so far in 2018. We made prayer flags as an offering to welcome a new year. We created Valentine’s cards for ourselves and others while finding things we love and appreciate about ourselves and others, used clay to depict the shape of our emotions, danced with a professional dancer, and got to use a local Pilates studio to teach classes on the Pilates equipment.
We have lots of fun activities to look forward to! Some of our Special Events include: our All Girls Prom in April, a Mt. Diablo hike in May, a theatre performance in June, a Giants game this summer, and surfing in August and September.
Your support enables them to receive hope through therapeutic play and personalized tools which help them care for themselves on a daily basis. On behalf of all those we serve, please hear their voices thanking you in splashes of bright colors, in unique shapes and waving thick and cozy fabrics as a sign of their gratitude.
Kim Carroll has been a devoted supporter of ARM of Care and Board Member for the last three years. In her words, it’s her contribution to “paying it forward”. Kim Carroll is a Certified Hospice Nurse with her Masters Degree, an Approved Educator for Hospice Care and End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Trainer. Starting her career working in a large medical center Burn Unit, Kim has been in a variety of healthcare settings over the past 35 years, with a focus on education. For the last 14 years, she has had several roles with hospice care. Her primary focus is to empower families and facility staffs with knowledge and support, to care for loved ones at End of Life, be they extremely young or very old. She not only helps us in an advisory capacity, but also helps us with the hands-on work with different agencies that we serve. She brings much compassion and insight about trauma to our team. We wouldn’t want to be doing this work without her and her family’s generous support.
Northgate Human Trafficking World Changers
We ❤ and THANK our Donors and Volunteers!
Tonya Amos and Michelle at Aspire Pilates Allison Wade and Rose Young for their Senior Project of our first All Girls Prom Love Never Fails Community Store and Princess Project: (special thank you for providing prom dresses for our upcoming Prom ) Northgate (Sophomores) Human Trafficking World Changers: Abby Young, Kylie Durham, Sydney Lloyd, Matthew Reyes, Teddy Wu, Frances Lofranco, Morgan Enos, Eva Smith, and their teachers. Karen Britz, Rachel Ebert, Linda Ritz, Hal Beck, Kim Carroll Benjamin Lins and Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church Natalie Small and Groundswell The Tahoe Unit Staff at Juvenile Hall Martinez Ted Clement at Save Mt. Diablo Anna Kroeker, professional dancer and teacher
