Laura’s House Initiates the Public Phase of its Cornerstone Capital Fundraising Campaign
Posted on February 17, 2012
Pictured above: Wayne & Karen Pinnell
A remaining $700,000 is needed to complete the $4.5 million fundraising goal; donations will be used to fund the expansion of the Transitional Housing Program
LADERA RANCH, Calif., Feb. 15, 2012 – Laura’s House today announced that it has initiated the public phase of the $4.5 million Cornerstone Capital Campaign, which was launched in September 2010 to fund the re-build of its emergency shelter for families who are fleeing violent homes and need safe and secure housing, and the expansion of the Laura’s House Step Ahead transitional housing program for shelter graduates who are in need temporary housing while they rebuild lives that are free of violence.
“Without a viable option for long-term housing, women and children who are fleeing violent homes are often forced into homelessness, or must return to their abusers,” said Amy Borst, Clinical Director, Laura’s House. “Housing is essential for obtaining and maintaining employment, child custody and family stability. With the purchase of a separate facility to house our Step Ahead transitional program, we can now expand this program to provide a greater continuum of care for our shelter graduates and their children, which will in turn improve their chances of success as they rebuild their lives.”
Recent data points to the critical need for transitional housing facilities for survivors of domestic violence and their families:
- A 2003 survey of 100 U.S. homeless mothers found nearly one in five reported being afraid of a partner and the same number reported being threatened by a partner. One in four U.S. homeless mothers reported being kicked, pushed, shoved or otherwise hurt by someone in the past year.
- In a 2007 report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 39 percent of the city leaders who were surveyed identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness among households with children. Family disputes were also cited as a cause of homelessness in 17 percent of the cities surveyed.
- A 2000 report by the National Center on Poverty Law found that victims and survivors of domestic violence have trouble finding apartments because they may have poor credit, rental, and employment histories as a result of their abuse.
To date, Laura’s House has raised just over $3.8 million as part of the Cornerstone Capital Campaign. During the public phase of the campaign, Laura’s House hopes to raise the remaining monies to fund the purchase and renovation of the Laura’s House Step Ahead transitional housing facility.
On Thursday, February 15, Laura’s House will celebrate the launch of the public phase of the Cornerstone Capital Campaign during a private reception to be held at the Step Ahead transitional housing facility. The reception will honor donors who have contributed to the Laura’s House Cornerstone Campaign. During the event, Laura’s House will also unveil public naming opportunities, which start at $100 for painted wall tiles and pavers featuring a personal message of inspiration that will be incorporated into the new landscape at the facility. Other naming opportunities include pots and planters for the garden; trellis features that will provide the multi-dwelling complex with peace and privacy; and, a fountain water feature that will bring calm and tranquility to the entrance.
“Laura’s House is grateful to the individuals and businesses who have generously donated their time and resources to help us reach our fundraising goals, and realize our long-held dream of a newer, larger and more modern emergency shelter and transitional housing program,” said Margaret Bayston, Executive Director and CEO, Laura’s House. “Through the emergency shelter rebuild project, and now the purchase and renovation of the transitional housing facility, our donors are making it possible for our clients to live in an environment where they can rest peacefully and receive the counseling and therapeutic services they need to build lives that are free of violence.”
About the Cornerstone Capital Campaign The Laura’s House Cornerstone Capital Campaign was officially launched in September 2010 to raise $4.5 million to fund the shelter re-build project and expansion of transitional housing for shelter graduates. The campaign committee is chaired by Wayne Pinnell, who most recently served as the chair for Laura’s House board of directors. Campaign committee members include Chris Aitken, Jennifer Boyer, Laverne Friedmann, Randy Harmat, Wayne Pinnell, Kurt Ross, Casey Wolin and Brenda Zalke. The capital campaign has the full support of the Laura’s House Board of Directors. Honorary chairs of the Cornerstone Campaign are Bette and Wylie Aitken.
More information on the Cornerstone Campaign can be found at www.laurashouse.org or by calling (949) 361-3775.
About Laura’s House Over the past eighteen years, Laura’s House has provided shelter and support services to nearly 3,500 battered women and children, and counseling, life skills education and legal assistance to over 40,000 individuals. The mission of Laura’s House is to change the social beliefs, attitudes and the behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe space in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse. More information on the programs and services offered by Laura’s House is available at www.laurashouse.org.
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Celebrity Green Cleaners Supports Laura’s House in Providing Services to Families Impacted by Domestic Violence
Posted on February 14, 2012
Proceeds from the donation of more than $12,000 in unclaimed clothing and bedding to the Laura’s House Resale Store in Lake Forest will be used to fund shelter and counseling services
LADERA RANCH, Calif., Feb. 14, 2012 – Annually, Laura’s House provides shelter, counseling, legal services, and 24-hour domestic violence hotline services to more than 3,000 men, women and children. One of the local businesses supporting Laura’s House in fulfilling its mission to change the social beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe place in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse, is Celebrity Green Cleaners.
In December, the dry cleaner donated $12,000 in unclaimed men’s dress shirts and bedding, including a down comforter and pillows. The donated items will be sold at the Laura’s House Resale Store in Lake Forest, and proceeds from the sale of the items will be used to fund the programs and services that Laura’s House provides to families throughout Orange County community and beyond.
“We are grateful to Celebrity Green Cleaners for their generosity toward Laura’s House, and for their efforts to help build greater awareness for the programs and services that Laura’s House provides to the community, through their donation to our organization,” said Margaret Bayston, CEO and executive director, Laura’s House. “We hope that their efforts will help to inspire other local businesses as to the ways that they do can make a difference for families in our community who are impacted by domestic violence.”
For more than 20 years, Celebrity Green Cleaners has been serving the Orange County community. The dry cleaner has five locations throughout Newport Beach, Irvine and Ladera Ranch, and is committed to giving back to the community. “At Celebrity Green Cleaners, we are proud to support Laura’s House in its efforts to end the silence of domestic violence,” said Mijanou Pham, owner, Celebrity Green Cleaners. “We are confident that through our donation, Laura’s House will be able to serve more families in crisis by giving them the tools and confidence they need to build lives that are free of violence.”
About Celebrity Cleaners Celebrity Green Cleaners opened in 1989 on the corner of Bristol and Jamboree in Newport Beach. Since then, we have expanded to four additional locations in Southern Orange County. Our mission is to provide excellent customer service, utilize the most advanced cleaning techniques, and provide the best quality for our customers. We have a certified stain-removing professional at every location with an average of 20 years of experience. In 2003, we were specifically asked by General Electric to use the environmentally safe “GreenEarth Cleaning” system. Since Celebrity Green Cleaners is cutting edge and cares about the environment, we jumped at the opportunity and became the first to utilize this advanced system.
About Laura’s House Over the past eighteen years, Laura’s House has provided shelter and support services to nearly 3,500 battered women and children, and counseling, life skills education and legal assistance to over 40,000 individuals. The mission of Laura’s House is to change the social beliefs, attitudes and the behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe space in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse. More information on the programs and services offered by Laura’s House is available at www.laurashouse.org.
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During the end of year promotion, 30 customers donated $50 and received $200 off the purchase price of any Stressless® Recliner, or $400 off the Stressless® Royal Recliner in select leathers
LADERA RANCH and SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2012 – Laura’s House, a non-profit organization whose mission is to change the social beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe space in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse, today announced that it received a $1,500 donation from Comfortable Sleep & Home™ customers to support the programs and services it offers to families impacted by domestic violence.
Comfortable Sleep & Home, which has locations in Ladera Ranch and San Clemente, ran a special shopping promotion during December and January to encourage its customers to donate to Laura’s House. During the promotion, in exchange for each $50 donation, Comfortable Sleep & Home gave its customers $200 off the purchase price of any Stressless recliner, and $400 off the purchase of the Stressless Royal Recliner in select leathers.
Comfortable Sleep & Home had 30 customers participate in the promotion, each donating $50 to Laura’s House. This is the third year that Comfortable Sleep & Home has run a promotion for Laura’s House, and participation this time tripled over the last year’s promotion, which garnered $500 in donations.
“We are delighted to support Laura’s House in providing much-needed programs and services to the families in our community that are impacted by domestic violence, and truly grateful to our customers who chose to join us in donating to Laura’s House,” said store owner and Registered Nurse, Meloni Jensen. “For the past three years, our customers have found this promotion to be a wonderful way to both give back to the community, and give themselves, or someone they love, the gift of ultimate comfort.”
“We are honored that Comfortable Sleep & Home chose to make Laura’s House the beneficiary of its holiday promotion again in 2011,” said Margaret Bayston, CEO and Executive Director, Laura’s House. “The partnerships we have with local businesses are very important from both a fundraising and an awareness-building perspective. We are grateful for their support and partnership”
About Comfortable Sleep & Home™ Comfortable Sleep & Home™ specializes in the personal comfort of its customers, and everything sold by the company combines Comfort, Function and Style. In addition to Stressless® products, they carry the full line of Tempur-Pedic™ mattresses and pillows and the world’s only truly comfortable sofa sleeper by American Leather™. For more info, visit http://comfortablesleep.net.
About Laura’s House Annually, Laura’s House provides residential shelter services to more than 200 women and children, counseling to more than 300 clients, legal services to more than 300 clients and assists with more than 1,700 crisis hot-line calls. The mission of Laura’s House is changing social beliefs, attitudes and the behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe space in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse.
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Laura’s House to commemorate Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month through candlelight vigil
Posted on January 12, 2012
On Friday, Feb. 3, more than 100 people are expected to gather in Lake Forest at the Laura’s House Resale Store to recognize Jacque Villagomez, who died at the hands of her abuser in September 2008, and all victims of teen dating violence
LADERA RANCH, Calif., Jan. 9, 2012 – To bring local focus to the nationally recognized Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and to educate and prevent the devastating cycle of abuse that affects one in four high school students in Orange County, Laura’s House, will host a candlelight vigil in honor of all victims of teen dating violence on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Laura’s House Resale Store, located at 23635 El Toro Road, Suite F in Lake Forest.
Among those being honored during the vigil will be Jacque Villagomez, a graduate of El Toro High School in Lake Forest, who died at the hands of her abuser in September 2008. “Jacque was only 19 years old when she was killed by her boyfriend,” said Marissa Presley, Bilingual Prevention Education Specialist, Laura’s House. “Sadly, she is not alone. Recent studies have found that one in one in four high school students, both young men and women, are in a physically abusive relationship, and nearly 80% of girls who have been physically abused in their intimate relationships continue to date their abuser.”
This is the second year in a row that Laura’s House has held a candlelight vigil commemorating Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. In February 2011, more than 100 attendees gathered at El Toro High School in Lake Forest. The event included music and tributes remembering Villagomez and all victims of teen dating violence. “We are grateful to the City of Lake Forest, for permitting us to hold the vigil this year at the Laura’s House Resale Store,” continued Presley. Local officials from Lake Forest and surrounding cities have been invited to attend the event.
The public is encouraged to attend the candlelight vigil, particularly families with teens and pre-teens, who are interested in learning more about how to prevent dating violence. Morgan Berschauer, a senior at Laguna Hills High School and the current Ms. Teen Orange County, will serve as the guest speaker for the event. Berschauer is an advocate for teen dating violence awareness and started a club at Laguna Hills High School to build awareness for Laura’s House and its Healthy Emotions and Attitudes in Relationships for Teens (H.E.A.R.T.) program.
Annually, Laura’s House provides its H.E.A.R.T. program to more than 3,000 Orange County teens at local high schools, junior colleges and other youth facilities. The program helps teens become educated on healthy relationships and appropriate conflict resolution skills. Laura's House also has a website designed to assist teens who are seeking information on healthy relationships. Teens can visit http://www.laurashouse.org/lhteen/ for more information. They can also become a fan of Laura’s House on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Learn more about our programs through videos posted on YouTube and our podcasts on Podomatic.com.
To schedule a H.E.A.R.T. presentation at your school please contact Marissa Presley, mpresley@laurashouse.org. More information on the programs and services offered by Laura’s House is available at www.laurashouse.org or by calling the Counseling and Resource Center at (949) 361-3775. Victims of domestic abuse can get immediate help by calling the Laura’s House 24-hour hotline at 949-498-1511 or toll-free at 866-498-1511.
About Laura’s House Annually, Laura’s House provides residential shelter services to more than 200 women and children, counseling to more than 300 clients, legal services to more than 300 clients and assists with more than 1,700 crisis hot-line calls. The mission of Laura’s House is changing social beliefs, attitudes and the behaviors that perpetuate domestic violence while creating a safe space in which to empower individuals and families affected by abuse.
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