From Coleen Globke
I am a member of PW at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Marion and the executive director of All About U Adoptions (AAU), the only privately run state adoption agency in South Dakota.
In November of 2018, when we did our Thank Offering and Mission program at our monthly PW meeting, one of our members asked why AAU had never applied for any of the grants from PW. At the time, I didn’t even know they existed, so this is where our gentle nudge from God began. Fast forward six months, my staff and I worked to complete the PW Thank Grant application which we submitted. Then the long wait until notification in March! We were asked to do an interview in February, and then received the notification that we had gotten the $50,000 grant! We were beyond excited and sincerely humbled to be chosen as recipients of this precious money!
We have a significant need to assist our pregnant clients with housing. Our plan is to purchase a house in Sioux Falls to be called Nevaeh House, after the first child this agency ever placed.
Our agency has three expectant mothers that would directly benefit from this transitional housing. One is homeless and begging friends to sleep on their couch; another is incarcerated without any idea of where she will go upon release; and the third is struggling from a physically and emotionally abusive relationship but remains because her alternative is to be on the street. We are faced with the desire to help, but various limitations that influence ability. Nevaeh House would meet the most basic of human needs for these individuals to provide them with temporary housing during pregnancy.
Nevaeh House will be a place where women will have local support and have access to help applying for jobs, finding reliable transportation and receiving help from the WIC office. During their stay, the mothers can work on receiving their GED, getting a job, attending an addiction treatment program or leaving an abusive relationship.
Thank you to all the PW members for the amazing women that you are, for the amazing opportunities you give to those in need. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, for being the most wonderful stewards of mission ever! God bless you all!
To learn more about the Neveah House project, check out this video.