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Hope’s Door Honors Volunteers at Annual Dinner

StoneBridge Ranch Ladies Association was honored as civic group of the year. They host an annual fashion show to benefit Hope's Door. Members are pictured at a plannig meeting for the fashion show.

Despite an unusually stormy  and cool spring night, volunteers came out in force for the Hope’s Door Annual Volunteer Appreciation and Recognition Dinner, held this year at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano.  For the seventh year, Wal-Mart at Spring Creek and Central Expressway  was the title sponsor of the dinner. 

During the event, volunteers were feted for their  service and commitment to Hope’s Door, and volunteers of the year were named.  They enjoyed a festive Mexican buffet  while listening to a  delightful  performance by  The Younger Generations Chorus.  Volunteers also  enjoyed a  performance of “You Raise Me Up”  by solo artist Tyrone Johnson  during  a slideshow of  volunteers in action.

Jean Newman, publisher of Plano Profile Magazine was the evening’s  keynote speaker. She praised volunteers for their service to Hope’s Door and encouraged longtime volunteers to serve as mentors to new volunteers.   She told them to continue to do good deeds and that their service was making a difference in the lives of families in crisis. 

Meet our volunteers of the year!

Gail Battista (Volunteer of the Year)
Gail is a longtime shelter volunteer who is trusted by shelter staff to oversee shelter activities while staff members  attend meetings.  Gail is flexibile with her scheduling and has often come to the shelter on short notice and on an as-needed basis.    She excels in many areas at the shelter but is most known for her grocery shopping.  “She is a pro at making our grocery budget stretch,” said  Cory Bertrand, a shelter counselor.  She often goes to multiple stores to get the best bargains.  Gail maintains a positive and cheerful attitude toward all tasks. 

Nancy Madson (Volunteer Spirit of the Year)
Nancy is a schoolteacher who goes the extra mile to serve clients at the shelter.  She is always cheerful and helpful, even after teaching Monday through Friday.  On any weeknight she can be found answering the crisis line, helping to get a new family settled, or spending time in the shed stocking shelves.  True to her teaching background, she also spends time  researching resources  to assist clients in advancing their careers. 

Monnika Young (Oustanding Youth)
Monnika took a leading role in helping her youth group conduct two projects to benefit the children of Hope’s Door.  This past Christmas, the group collected 200 new toys from students at their high school, Plano East Senior High.  This past Easter, she led her group’s efforts to plan and carry out an Easter Egg Hunt for the children on the grounds of a local church.. The teens collected 1,500 eggs and filled them with candy and stickers. 
“None of  this would have been possible without Monnika,” said the group’s sponsor Gayla Vaughan.  “She took this project under her wing and made it the success that it is.”

Sharon Merrick (Outstanding Service Award) 
Sharon is an attorney who has provided free  or discounted legal services to shelter clients for years.  She has a passion for helping families affected by domestic abuse.  Shelter clients are appreciative of the knowledge and expertise she  has provided.

StoneBridge Ranch Ladies Association (Civic Group of the year)
For close to a decade,  this group has hosted an annual  spring fashion show to benefit Hope’s Door.  The members do all the planning and organizing of the event.  The show has evolved into a much-anticipated event in McKinney where women can come and learn what everyone will be wearing soon.  And while fun is had by all, members know the show supports a worthy cause. 

Soroptimist International (Civic Group of the year)
When Hope’s Door clients begin their preparations to leave the shelter, they often find themselves with  a list of needs.  Soroptimist International helps clients by providing them with exit baskets filled with essentials such as cookware, dinnerware, and cutlery, as well as household cleaning supplies.  The  members are always cheerful and are always looking out for how  they can best help clients begin new lives. 

Countrywide Home Loans (Corporation of the year)
Countrywide Home Loans has been the major corporate partner of Hope’s Door for the last
decade. This corporation has given generously of its time and resources to help raise
awareness in the community about family violence and about Hope’s Door. 
The corporation has served as the title sponsor of our annual black-tie fund-raiser, An Evening of Hope for nine years. 
   
In addition to providing funding for the event, Countrywide Home Loans also recruits employees to
volunteer their time to help ensure the success of the event.
   
This corporation has afforded Hope’s Door staff many opportunities to speak to groups of employees about family violence issues, and to distribute educational brochures at fairs hosted on the company’s grounds. 

This corporation truly demonstrates that domestic violence is everybody’s business.
They have set the standard for what corporations can do to make their communities safe.

Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin & Frappier, L.L.P.(Corporation of the year)
This law firm has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of Hope’s Door and the critical
funding to help ensure the shelter’s doors will always be open to serve families in need.
They created the Hope’s Door Charity Golf Classic eight years ago, and since
the inception of the tournament, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit
Hope’s Door.  The employees who plan and execute the annual event have given
generously of their time and resources on behalf of  Hope’s Door.
   

The employees are  always brainstorming and looking for additional ways to serve.    For
the past few years the corporation has hosted a summer bowling tournament that also
supports Hope’s Door.  They sponsor Jeans days and allow employees to wear jeans for a
price and all proceeds are donated to Hope’s Door.  This year, this energetic, friendly
bunch is expanding the golf tournament by adding a tennis tournament that will occur on
the same day. Like Countrywide Home Loans, this corporation demonstrates that
domestic violence is everyone’s business.   

In addition to these honorees, Hope’s Door recognized one corporation and
several individuals for their outstanding  work on special events benefiting the agency.

Ebby Halliday was recognized for  organizing a Run for Hope in October. The Plano
and Allen offices of Ebby Halliday came together to plan this event because they wanted
to make a difference in the lives of families affected by domestic abuse.  Working
together, they not only put together a successful first year event, they raised awareness
among their employees about the issue of family violence. 

Planning committee members Beth Graves and Jean Matyk (Hope’s Door Charity Golf Classic), Fariba Ansari ( An Evening of Hope), and Wendy Wilson and Stacy Swierenga (A Date with Santa) were honored for playing a significant role in the planning and execution of their special events.  At the dinner, special event chairs said these women’s
contributions made the difference in the success of the fund-raisers. 

Hope’s Door commends all these volunteers for their  outstanding service. 

  The law firm of Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin and Frappier was honored as our corporation of the year. In this photo, the law firm's employees ar pictured at last year's golf tournament that benefitted Hope's Door

 

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