A Time of Preparation
It is time to start talking with others about BRANCH: A New Beginning! Share the importance of preparing a place for women aged 18 and older to escape from the trap of trafficking with your friends and family.
AWARENESS IS NOT ENOUGH
A lot of awareness is being raised to talk about what is occurring in this state, but many people are talking about just the awareness aspect. However, when victims want out, where do we put them? This is vitally important to consider. We can do more damage to a victim if we do not have something steady for them to rely on when it comes to residential after care.
So… we are pushing for awareness of BRANCH and also requesting help from community groups to help raise funds for BRANCH. The interior of the home will need to be worked on and the only way we can do that is with funding. Yes, here comes the money talk. The exterior is hopefully scheduled to be finished by the end of May or early part of June. As of this writing, we just received city approval and our permits! So as soon as the new contractor is ready, we are ready to work! We need you to start talking about BRANCH and that we are building the home for trafficked victims. Share it on facebook, Google+, Twitter, Email, and when you’re talking with friends and family. We can do this!
NO GOVERNMENT FUNDING HERE
Let me remind everyone that we will NOT seek government funding in any form. The government has a bad habit of getting into people’s lives and telling them how to run things and now we see they cannot handle themselves let alone anyone else. So…. it is time to start calling out for assistance. We have a list that is slowly beginning to grow. See how you can help!
Yes, we are STILL waiting on our exempt status (15 months and counting), but the great thing is that we have a fiscal sponsor, who is so graciously helping us collect funds AND offer you a tax deduction. ECCO Family Bookstore, we cannot speak highly enough about. For every donation you make (http://branchanew.org/donate/) to ECCO in our name, we receive 100% of the funding and you get a tax write-off. That is great news! Now the question is, how soon can we get to working on the interior?
If you want to contribute to a specific room in the home, you can send in your donation with the memo line specifying the part you’d like to donate towards. (For example: “BRANCH – house”, “BRANCH – demolition”, “BRANCH – bathrooms”, etc.) We will put your contribution to good use! Don’t forget that if you cannot afford to do monetary donations, we accept your newspapers, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, and anything paper!
THE LOGISTICS
There are PLENTY of preparations to get working on even while working on the interior. We also have to raise funding for security, staff, screen volunteers, get resources and counselors in place, get a training center set up, warehouse facility, along with a host of other things. This is not just about the interior, this is about preparing God’s place for women.
There are definitely some cool things that are beginning to happen and I thank God for every one of them, but we also ask that those who are preparing to volunteer or offer their services begin to pray about their part in this. I cannot emphasize enough about what a spiritual battle this is. We are currently helping a caretaker who is providing for a victim and the things that have already occurred to the caretaker in less than a week is incredible. We are praying her through it and supporting her. But thankfully, she’s a fighter and not one to give up! We ask that you cover this caretaker and her family in prayer as well as the victim and her daughter.
Am I scaring you off? Perhaps. But again, I cannot emphasize enough how wickedness is not going to graciously open up the gates of hell and say, “Get out of here, go get rescued”. Not in the least. So those that are in this journey and on the front lines, have definitely been tested and tried. The front lines are not for the weak and weary. Learning to get through these “inconveniences” is part of daily life. Now I say, “chaos is normal”, but you CAN have peace in the midst of chaos and we are beginning to experience this on a regular basis.
So preparations are starting to work its way to reality. It is so incredible to watch how God unfolds things at every stage. I never cease to be amazed. So please keep checking back on our site for our volunteer and needs list. It is updated in real time. See how you can be a part of the blessing!
DISCOVER YOUR COMMUNITY
Don’t forget that we also have the fair “Discover Your Community” happening in August and we are needing volunteers and donors. Please send an email to: admin@branchanew.org with your interest. It will be warm weather by then! I’m sure of it!
God’s many blessings,
Sabrina