Newsletter - Volume 1, Issue 4

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Volunteer Voice
November 3, 2009
STAFF Genevieve N. Waller, Esq. Executive Director Joan Amado, LMSW, MPA Director of Crisis Services Sherry Lewis, MA, LPC Director of Therapy and Outreach Katie Reid, MSW Community Education Program Director Mary Dell Hayes Volunteer Services Coordinator Melanie Griffin, MSW Sexual Assault Services Coordinator Daphne Pearson, MA, LPC-I Advocate Counselor Jennifer Gantt, MSW Group Services Coordinator Georgina Hance Office Manager
November2009
November 2009
Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6 Sat 7
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9 Wine Goddess Event 16
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11 DIVA Event
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19 Free pizza!
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26 Paid Holiday— Thanksgiving
27 Paid Holiday
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Gervais and Vine’s Fall Wine Goddess event will benefit STSM. Ladies, join us for a glass of wine and tapas. Tickets are $35 and available through Gervais and Vine. www.gervine.com We need a Speaker’s Bureau Volunteer for a DIVA Event for. DIVA (Dedicated Individually to Valiantly Assist) is run by Volunteer Advocate Monika CareyGreen and works to empower young women to lead fulfilled, engaged lives. CE Event on Teen Pregnancy at Shandon Presbyterian Church. We will have pizza for you! Shandon Pres is on Woodrow Street between Devine and Blossom. Get paid $35 to be on call for Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving! We will also need paid advocates for the Christmas holidays. Please let Mary Dell know if you are interested.
IN THIS ISSUE
November Calendar Upcoming Event Information Ask An Advocate Updates
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Awards and Accolades
Welcome new volunteers! Seventeen volunteers completed advocate training this fall. We welcome them and are excited to have them on board. Thank you to Whitney Beissner, Hillary Bracht, Shereka Catoe, LaCrystal Foreman, Alexandria Garrett, Nora Hembree, Kyra Hufford, Monika Nickels, Patrice Robinson, Patrice Roberts, Jenny Rongish, Sara Schiavone, Terri Summers, Bobbie Wofford, Brooke Wymer. Happy Anniversary Congratulations on one year of service to Kisha Grase, Anna McKechnie, and Shaye McElveen, Congrats on two years of service to Monika Carey-Green, Kate Jaffe, and Shana Lenard. Thank you for three years—Sarah Able and Lottie McClorin.
A VERY special thank you to two of our most dependable volunteers. These women have supported STSM since the beginning and we are so fortunate to have their support. Nova Buchanan has been with STSM for fifteen years and Karen Sundstrom has been with the agency for seventeen years! Thank you for supporting the mission of STSM so wholeheartedly.
Thank you to the following restaurants for donating food for volunteer training:
Inakaya 224 O’Neil Court
Panera Bread 631-6 Promenade Place
TGI Friday’s 3400 Forest Drive
Alodia’s Italian Cucina 2736 North Lake Drive
Please patronize these restaurants and thank them for their generosity!
STSM Celebrities!
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Anna Walton was featured on USC’s homepage in the news section for her work this summer with migrant workers in Virginia. Check her out here: http://www.sc.edu/news/newsarticle.php?nid=482
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Kate Jaffe was honored as Gamecock of the Week in the Daily Gamecock. You can see her feature here: http://www.dailygamecock.com/ news/gamecock-of-the-week-kate-jaffe-and-sydney-daigle-1.792749
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LaCrystal Foreman was selected as Volunteer of the Quarter by STSM staff. LaCrystal has been working in the office as well as volunteering as an Advocate.
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Not getting called?
Amy Long is a graduate of Columbia College. She is a full time employee at Wray Automotive and is also a part time dance teacher. She teaches everything from ballet, to clogging, to modern. Amy has volunteered with STSM for over a year.
If you have not received a hotline or hospital call the past few times you’ve been on call, you may be feeling a little discouraged. You may feel like you are not contributing as much as other volunteers. However, THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Each shift you sign up for gives the wonderful staff of STSM a day to rest and relax. The staff members have busy work weeks, so they rely on the volunteers who take shifts. Your availability also means that you are willing to make a difference. Statistics show that every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted and many of these incidents go unreported. Not receiving a call does not mean that someone was not assaulted, but rather it was not reported. By being on call, you are providing an outlet for survivors to get the assistance they need. Taking hotline and hospital calls, you provide a crucial step in helping someone get through a difficult time. This helps them to encourage other survivors to report assaults. Raising community awareness about sexual trauma issues also increases community dialogue. This open dialogue makes people aware of the services available to sexual assault survivors. After all, how many times have you been on a hospital call and the survivor has never heard of STSM? Being a volunteer advocate is more than about being on call and hospital response. This being said, do not feel discouraged if you are not getting called. Each volunteer plays a crucial role, through direct service and just by word of mouth. The mention of STSM to a friend can lead to an increase in volunteers, an increase in reports, and hopefully a decrease in the number of sexual assaults. So don’t give up and stay prepared! Just by signing up for your two shifts a month you are contributing and you are always welcome to sign up for extra shifts! Keep in mind that the staff at STSM values each and every volunteer! Keep up the good work! Other Ways To Contribute
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office support Join Speaker’s Bureau Fundraising assistance Run a clothing drive with your work or church Encourage your friends to volunteer Masters students can facilitate a survivor group
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Host STSM for an education event at your community organization Knit scarves for survivors through Threads of Compassion Commit to telling one new person every week about STSM services Attend community partner events Patronize restaurants that donate to STSM and thank them!
October Call Totals
Total Hospital Calls: 20 Hospital Calls answered by volunteers: 15 Hospital Calls answered by staff: 5 Total Hotline Calls: 10 Hotline Calls answered by volunteers: 6 Hotline Calls answered by staff: 4
Updates and Other Important Information
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Please submit a photo via email or regular mail for STSM to have on file. We will be honoring a volunteer’s service each month and would like to put a face with a name! If you don’t have access or would like just to visit, we can schedule a time for an in-office photo shoot (Don’t expect Glamour Shots!). The locker has moved again at Lexington Medical Center! Please ask the social worker to show you where our clothes are.
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Upcoming Dates to Remember: Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving—Paid Holiday! Friday, November 27: Thanksgiving—Paid Holiday! Saturday, February 6—Thursday, February 11: Winter Volunteer Advocate Training
***You must attend at least one continuing education event and one anonymous kit training for this fiscal year! Attend early and attend often!***