The calendars turn to the twelfth month of the year and, almost automatically, we begin the process of decorating for Christmas. Attics are thrown open and red and green boxes are dusted off and hauled down. Silver bells are polished and mistletoe is hung. Trees are heaved forth and lighted.
All of these decorations serve to usher in a sense of hope. For some it is the hope for a joyous time with family while the younger of us harbor hopes of a full sack from the North Pole.
This theme of hope is what guides the annual Christmas Tree Trimming Celebration at the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center where staff and current residents and their families share a night of decoration and unity that sheds its light throughout the Center all season long.
The tree trimming tradition started three years ago as a way to help bring the holiday spirit to women and children who were spending Christmas at the Crisis Center. Everyone in attendance at the celebration is invited to make an ornament for the tree that illustrates what hope means to them.
Executive Director Mary Foley is aware of the struggle for their residents, especially during this time of year, and established the tradition as a way to help lessen their emotional burden. “We know it can be difficult, but it can be combined with a sense of overwhelming hope because they do not have to live their holidays in fear.”
Past client Jessica Carpton, who spent several months at Merryman House in 2011, says that her definition of hope was changed as a result of her time at the Center.
“Hope for me is just the ability to maintain a level of joy and peace no matter what is going on,” she says. Jessica credits her oldest three children, who were aged 6, 3 and 1 when they stayed at the Center, with giving her hope through their ability to adapt to the life-changing situation. “Life didn’t end for my kids,” Jessica said and that gave her the ability to “look past the tragedy, fear and all of the negatives and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.”
During her stay, Jessica found hope for her future through the Center’s many opportunities, including a matching funds savings account that eventually let her buy a car, a microloan that helped to repair her credit, transitional housing, counseling, support groups and childcare.
At this year’s tree trimming celebration, Mary and her staff will have their own hopes to share—ones that they are now closer than ever to reaching thanks to a team of local businesses.
This summer the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center was awarded the 5th annual Xtreme Business Makeover Non-Profit Edition powered by KeeFORCE, Vue Magazine and a team of twenty-seven additional business partners. The award brings with it a grand prize package valued at more than $60,000 in cash, free business products and services.
“Winning services, prizes and consultations like those in the package met needs of our organization, provided much needed support services for our operations and connected us with other professionals who were able to assist us in reaching our goals and fulfilling our mission,” Mary said.
She calls the award a “blessing of untold value,” and says it will position them well to fulfill the Center’s long-term dream of moving into a new facility.
The current building, which was donated by founder Merryman Kemp in 1978, can hold 24 beds, which Mary says are “full more often than not.” In addition to serving more people, she says a new facility will help the Center respond to domestic abuse in a more comprehensive manner, combining lifesaving services with life-building services through a campus approach.
During this year’s tree-trimming celebration, Mary will be sharing her hopes for the Center’s future. “We want to become a model for how to respond to domestic violence for the area and for the state.”That should translate to a very nice, big ornament of hope for the Merryman House Christmas tree this year.
