Volunteering

Calling ALL Volunteers!

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According to the dictionary, volunteering is considered an activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain. The services are to benefit other people or organizations.  Volunteering is also a great way to develop skills and is often intended to promote goodness or to improve quality of life. When volunteering, you may find that it has positive benefits for the volunteer as well as for the person or organization served. It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster or in an advisory capacity.

Reach Out Speak Out is an all-volunteer non-profit. We are always looking for volunteers. There are several levels of service that we need volunteers for. If you think you may be interested in volunteering with Reach Out Speak Out or finding out more of what we are about, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Service levels for Reach Out Speak Out:

Board of Directors – Take care of the business and oversee all areas of the non-profit events and family needs.

Advisory Committee – Trained counselors volunteer to counsel our families as needed at no cost to the family.

Auxiliary Committee – The backbone of the events and fundraisers we do to raise money for the families.

Friends of Reach Out Speak Out – Assist with various projects and helps with events as their availability allows.

GIVING TO OTHERS MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD

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Our family has always been a charitable family.  I was taught at a young age no matter what you think someone always has it worse than you.  Just read the paper or watch the news each day.  Violence, diseases, and sickness make up most of what we see and read.

There is a saying that goes like this:

If you and group of people threw all your problems in a pile, after reading them you would take yours back because theirs are just as bad if not worse than yours.  Also, you do not know what happens in my house and I do not know what happens in your house.

I really believe this is true as I have witnessed so many others suffering whether it is from child abuse, domestic violence, or some other form of abuse. 

When I began to get involved with Reach Out Speak Out, I really didn’t realize the extraordinary need for faith-based people to come together to end the cycle of domestic abuse.  I’m astonished that some religions suggest that when you get married, no matter what happens, you cannot leave your spouse.  Obviously, this is not the case, and God would never want someone to be abused for any reason. 

When I was a victim of domestic violence, my devout Irish Catholic mother was my number one advocate.  She did everything in her power to make me see that this was not right, and I needed to get away.  It took more than a year, but she never gave up and was finally able to break the cycle.  So many others are either alone or afraid to leave.  Getting involved is so important in breaking the cycle of domestic abuse and getting the help these victims need.  Remember someone always has it worse off than you do.

BE The Change

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butterfly in spring

BE THE CHANGE… Reach Out

Reach Out Speak Out encourages you to look at your own relationships and also look around you. If you have any question that there may be abuse with your family, friend, neighbor, co-worker, or that person that you see in church every week, please ask. Just as you hear in the school system…if you see something, say something. please do the same thing if you see any type of domestic violence. It is better to be safe than to let it go and then the person you know is now on the news as a domestic violence situation or even dead.

Remember that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men are in some type of domestic violence relationship. Do you know three women? Do you know seven men? Then you know someone in a domestic violence relationship.

In 2020 you can BE THE CHANGE in someone’s life. You could save their life.

BE THE CHANGE…Are you the abuser? You too can change. God is in the miracle working business. There are many outlets and faith based resources that will help you be the change in your family’s life in 2020.

See the warning signs of domestic violence on our website, ReachOutSpeakOut.org. If you see yourself in any of the warning signs, 2020 can be the year to change that. Can you really say that God wants you to treat your partner the way you are treating them?

2020 is not just another calendar year turning over, it is another decade.

James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

We need your help to spread the word to our community. If you are a church or community leader and would like more information about Reach Out Speak Out, please contact us. [email protected].

Many in our faith based community do not know how to approach the subject of domestic violence when it comes from a Biblical perspective. We have board and advisory members that will be able to walk you through the process step by step.

Did you know that we have a card that we can give to you to hand out to those that you think may be in a domestic violence relationship. That can be the first step to showing the abused that they are in a domestic violence relationship. A simple card with the warning signs on it to keep and review. We have individuals that have had that card with them for a decade. Whenever they doubt and wonder if they did the right thing by leaving, they can look at the card and realize that the first step that lead to future steps to a world free of abuse.

Be the change in 2020. Be the voice for someone that feels they have lost their voice.
Make 2020 the year that will be free of domestic violence!

ReachOutSpeakOut.org
[email protected]
501(3)(C) 47-1630804

The Hurricane Of Domestic Violence – 4

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the hurricane of domestic violenceRemember Me

How many of you remember the name of a hurricane that you or someone you know was in? That name is distasteful in your mouth for that name. If someone says the name Camille, Helena, Andrew to you, what do you think about? You remember those names?

If three women are killed daily in the United States due to domestic violence, will you remember these names? All these names are victims of domestic violence that were killed by the hurricane that was in their lives — the abuser.
Chandra May – age 29
Linda Pa Vue – age 29
Leticia Vela – age 25
Francisa Ramirez – age 38
Lisbet Mendez – age 24
Stacy Locknath – age 26
Stephanie Killeen – age 46
Gretchen Rust – age 64
Tracy Reedy – age 50
Theresa Watts – age 36

We do not want your name to be added to this list. Each of these ladies continued to think that it wouldn’t happen to them. That as a hurricane comes in waves that the storms of this time in their lives would pass again.

Have you told anyone about the hurricanes in your life with your abuser? May I plead with you to tell someone? Let someone know what is going on in your life.

Prepare for the hurricane of your life. Check back at the blogs from Reach Out Speak Out. Check back at the Facebook posts that give you a list of the things you need to do to prepare for the hurricane of domestic violence.
Now is hurricane season. Now is the time for you to prepare for your personal hurricane.

We do not want to add your name to the list above. We do not want you to think that this pattern is going to go away. Protect yourself and your children. You as the abused person have a responsibility to you and your children.
Reach Out Speak Out is here to help you navigate through this hurricane in your life.

We are a non-profit ministry and our focus is on those that are in our faith based community that are in a domestic violence relationship. 501(C)(3)47-1630804 Thank you in advance.

Remember, your time, talent and money can and will save someone’s life.

*To read additional information about the author of this blog, you may be interested in her book called, “It Started With A Hamburger”. It can be downloaded from Amazon.com All royalties go to Reach Out Speak Out.

In August, you will hear from a man who was a domestic violence victim as a child tells his story.

The Hurricane Of Domestic Violence – 3

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the hurricane of domestic violenceA hurricane has hit your family and home. I pray that you prepared for the dangers and devastation that hit your family. I pray that no family member lost their life because of the hurricane.

When the hurricane is over we can finally get our lives back in order. The electric finally comes back on. We can then turn our air conditioning on and cool down from the sweltering heat that we had to endure while the hurricane was going on and deal with the aftereffects of the hurricane.

How does the information above and below represent a domestic violence relationship?
1. The hurricane/domestic violence hits your family/home
2. The abused starts to pray again and again that the family will be spared and that God will protect them again
3. Then the hurricane/domestic violence is over for this round and it is time to get back to business getting everything cleaned up. Whether the cleaning involves broken toys and chairs and dishes. Or a broken spirit from mental and emotional abuse. There is loss. Not just the loss of the abused but the children also had to endure the loss. If the children were not abused, they had to look on to see the destruction of the family.

DEATHS DURING A HURRICANE COMPARED TO DEATHS BECAUSE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Catastrophes

Hurricanes And Related Deaths In The United States, 1998-2017

Year Total
hurricanes (1)		 Made landfall
as hurricane
in the U.S.		 Deaths (2)
1998 10 3 23
1999 8 2 60
2000 8 0 4
2001 9 0 42
2002 4 1 5
2003 7 2 24
2004 9 6 (3) 59
2005 15 7 1,518
2006 5 0 0
2007 6 1 1
2008 8 4 (4) 41
2009 3 1 (5) 6
2010 12 0 11
2011 7 1 44
2012 10 1 (6) 83
2013 2 0 1
2014 6 1 2
2015 4 0 3
2016 7 3 36
2017 10 4 147

(1) Atlantic Basin.
(2) Includes fatalities from high winds of less than hurricane force from tropical storms.
(3) One hurricane (Alex) is considered a strike but not technically a landfall.
(4) Includes one hurricane (Hanna) which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(5) Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(6) Excludes Hurricane Sandy which made landfall as a post-tropical storm.

Source: Insurance Information Institute from data supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center.

iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-hurricanes

Deaths due to Domestic Violence
Three women are murdered every day, on average, by a current or former male partner in the United States. (Huffington Post)

365 x 3 = 1095

Are you going to be a statistic? There is a way to leave the hurricane of your life safely. You can read our previous blogs, look at our Facebook page, go to our website ReachOutSpeakOut.org. Or email us at [email protected].

Reach Out Speak Out needs your help. Nothing is too small. Whether it is your time, talent or money, we can use it. When a hurricane of life/domestic violence hits someone in your community, the resources become used up very quickly. We don’t want to have to turn someone down. As an insurance policy may tell you that you did not have the right coverage to cover the loss from the hurricane. We at Reach Out Speak Out want to help be your insurance policy. We have helped many families in the seven years that we have been here to help the Tampa Bay area. We are a non-profit ministry and our focus is on those that are in our faith based community that are in a domestic violence relationship. 501(C)(3)47-1630804 Thank you in advance.

Remember, your time, talent and money can and will save someone’s life.

*To read additional information about the author of this blog, you may be interested in her book called, “It Started With A Hamburger”. It can be downloaded from Amazon.com All royalties go to Reach Out Speak Out.

 

You Can Help

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The Value of VolunteeringOver the years, the most common question we hear from the public is “How can I help?
There are many ways you can be of help to Reach Out Speak Out. First, we are in dire need of volunteers for our auxiliary committee. All that is required to be on our auxiliary committee is 30 service hours per YEAR. Very doable!

Second, we are always in need of gift cards for our families. Walmart, Publix, Winn Dixie, Walgreen’s, gas stations are key among the cards we give our families for their needs each month. We even have a Scrip Program where you can purchase your gift cards through Reach Out Speak Out and the non-profit receives a percentage from your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more than the face value of the cards you purchase. Third, of course, we always take cash donations! We are happy to provide receipts for your tax-deductible donations for your taxes
Every person involved in Reach Out Speak Out on the Board of Directors, our Advisory Board of Licensed Counselors and our Auxiliary Committee are volunteers. Every penny that we get through the generous donations goes to our families. We have no paid employees!

If you or your organization or your business is interested in hearing more about Reach Out Speak Out, please do not hesitate to ask. You can reach out to me via email at [email protected] or call me on my cell at 813-985-1970.

Volunteering

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Volunteering What Good Shall I Do This Day?According to the dictionary, volunteering is considered an activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain. The services are to benefit other people or organizations.  Volunteering is also a great way to develop skills and is often intended to promote goodness or to improve quality of life. When volunteering, you may find that it has positive benefits for the volunteer as well as for the person or organization served. It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster or in an advisory capacity.

Reach Out Speak Out is always looking for volunteers. We are looking into different fundraising opportunities and you may be a perfect fit for one or more of the avenues we’re working on. If you think you may be interested in volunteering with Reach Out Speak Out or finding out more of what we’re about, stay tuned for an information session coming soon!

The Value Of Volunteering

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Value of VolunteeringHave you ever considered the value of volunteering? There are numerous benefits to volunteering: development of connections and networking, creates a sense of altruism, helping others is good for body and mind, generates a feeling of fulfillment, advances life skills, builds community, develops relationships, gets you socially active, and perhaps most importantly- it’s FUN!

At Reach Out Speak Out, we are always looking for auxiliary members. We only require 30 hours of volunteering a year, which averages to 2 ½ hours a month. A good portion of that time is spent in our major annual fundraiser, Purple Passion, in October. There are a number of ways to help:

Main fundraiser (Purple Passion) help

Set up/break down for events

Gathering items for silent auction

Sending thank you notes

Encouraging clients

Praying for families needs

Artistic help for assembling gift baskets

Coordinate small fundraiser

Counseling

Yardwork

Car maintenance

Reaching Out and Speaking Out to your friends about domestic violence

This is far from an exhaustive list but gives a few examples of ways everyone can be involved and help. With so many people in religious settings involved in a DV situation, one of the most needed things is simply being aware and sharing that there is hope and help.

If this sounds like something you or someone you know would be interested in helping with, please contact us!

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