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February
2011 Meet Our Volunteers!
Rev Donna Huie: Donna is married
to Dick Huie and they have two daughters and two grandchildren. She has been a high school teacher and helped
students transition from high school to work in order to become productive members of society. After teaching high school
students she went back to school to be certified in school counseling. She was a counselor for eight years before answering
the call to ministry. Donna is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. She has been and is supportive
of women and children all her life. Her passion is to assist them in having the basic needs of life met. Donna
has served in churches in her call to ministry but feels her calling is best met by reaching outside the doors of the church
to the community in which she lives. Oasis has provided her with the opportunity to answer God's call to do this.
Rev Catherine
Luck: Cathy is married to Mike Roth and they have four adult children: three sons, one daughter, and
a grandson. Cathy has been a pastor in United Methodist churches since 1974. Addiction and Recovery became a continuing
education focus interest early on when she served an open country church in Iowa, Zion Congregational Church, located
next to a men's residential drug abuse treatment center housed in a former elementary school. For eight years,
Cathy and Mike foster parented teen girls hoping to obtain independent living status. Ministry to the marginalized in
the communities where Cathy served was her God-given passion. Currently Cathy is on a disability leave from ministry,
but out of gratitude for those who provide for her existence, is voluntarily making her vision, skill and experience
available to help with this much needed mission start-up in northwest Arkansas.
FEBRUARY 2010
"FIND YOUR WAY HOME"
Event
About 30 people gathered Friday
night to kick off for our capacity building event, “Find The Way Home” on February 19th. After
we introduced ourselves to them, Becca
Stevens (the founding director) and Gwen (a graduate of Magdalene and Thistle Farms employee) told stories about
the successful rehabilitation for women living on the streets of Nashville, TN.
A significant learning was that everything is furnished for the women luxuriously and free of charge! Currently,
Magdalene has 8 residential houses in the community. Primary funding comes from grants, one annual fundraising event,
and Thistle Farms sales. While being paid wages, the women are encouraged to set up savings plans for a car, a home, etc. Rather
than expecting to be self-supporting, Thistle Farms is a program arm of Magdalene, Inc. You can learn more at www.thistlefarms.org
On Saturday, we exchanged a round table format for the panel discussion originally planned. Everyone
participated, including representatives from AAUW, Peace At Home Family Shelter, and Decision Point (SWS and the
Springdale Transitional Housing unit). We agreed that the need for women's transitional housing and employment
services is greater in NW ARkansas than what is already provided. Thistle Farms products were purchased by many attendees to supplement payment to Magdalene
for their expense in coming to NW Arkansas. Also thanks to many who helped out with the event, including: Arkansas
State Branch American Association of Women, The NW Arkansas Center For Psychology and Dr. Virginia Krauft,
the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Beverly and Bill Williams (The Inn At Bella Vista), First
United Methodist Church of Bella Vista, Sue and Tom O'Neal, Rev. Donna Huie, Tim Summers, Heather Coleman, and Sean Roth,
Rev. Laura Fleetwood, Sandy Fitch and Linda Farrell. See March 1, 2010 blog and upcoming events on oasisofnwa.org for
more about this event and follow-up.
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