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Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary
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| Harold R. Burroughs, President |
I t is a distinct personal privilege
and honor to have the opportunity to write to you about
The Haven of Grace and to highlight the many truly exciting
developments which have occurred over the course of
the past year. The Haven completed a $2.6 million capital
campaign in 2007 and broke ground in September on the
construction of two new apartment buildings. These new
buildings will provide much needed transitional housing
resources for graduates of The Haven's residential program.We
look forward to commencing construction of the third
building and renovation of the adjacent building at
2619/2621 Hadley later this year. We are deeply indebted
to Kathy Betz and all of the members of the Capital
Campaign Committee, to Brian Murphy and his cohorts on
the Building Committee, to Bob Morris for two years of
solid leadership as President of the Haven's Board of
Directors and, of course, to all of our donors, for The
Haven's progress on these undertakings.
Perhaps the most exciting development, however, was
simply the continuation of The Haven's core mission
to serve homeless pregnant women and their children
in the St. Louis community. The Haven provides an exceptional
home and program to its residents at a time of great
need. While it is easy to celebrate the impending additions
to The Haven's physical plant and the expansion of The
Haven's services, we have not lost sight of the importance
of the essential safety net The Haven's residential
facility provides.
In 2007,we also had the pleasure of
acknowledging the tenth year of Diane Berry's tenure
as the Executive Director of The Haven of Grace. We
are grateful for Diane's enthusiastic leadership and
her commitment to The Haven and its residents.
As The Haven commences the celebration
of its twentieth year of service to its residents, its
after care clients and the St. Louis community in general.
The Haven remains blessed by a loyal and dedicated staff,
an active and engaged Board of Directors and a remarkably
generous and consistent group of donors, friends and
other supporters. For each of these blessings, I have
the further privilege and honor of saying a word of
thanks to each and every member of these essential constituencies.
This solid foundation of staff, directors and donors
has enabled The Haven of Grace to pursue an array of
ambitious initiatives over these past twenty years which
have greatly expanded The Haven's programs and enhanced
its physical facilities from The Haven's modest beginnings.
The Haven's core programs have grown
from providing a simple safe haven for homeless pregnant
women for a period of up to six months, to a process
whereby its residents receive careful individualized
counseling in the realm of child care, nutrition, exercise,
personal finance and other essential life skills. Each
of The Haven's residents is in the process of pursuing
educational goals, many with the support of scholarships
provided by The Haven, or participating in employment
training opportunities. You can be proud of their opportunities,
their ambitions and their accomplishments. We certainly
are.
Thank you for your support in 2007.
We look forward to building on 2007's successes in 2008.
With best regards,
Harold R Burroughs
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