Almost Home held its first annual Celebration of GRIT awards on Thursday, November 13, 2014 at the Caramel Room at Bissinger’s. The evening’s program was hosted by Latasha Fox, former contestant on season 28 of the hit CBS show, Survivor. Having demonstrated her own brand of tenacity and grit in her impressive run on the show, Fox shared her Survivor stories when introducing the 2014 GRIT Awardees, Corey Smale of Strange Donuts, Teresa Katubig of Extra Help, Inc., and our first Almost Home Alumni Awardee, Ashley Fisher.

Each of the awardees were selected because they embody the same passion and determination that it takes for the teen moms at Almost Home to climb out of poverty. Our young moms have had to deal with challenges and tragedies their entire lives. Almost Home recognizes that in order to help them overcome these obstacles they need more than just housing and food – they need a fierce determination to not allow adversity to keep them from reaching their goals and dreams. Our Celebration of Grit awardees were excellent role models of how ordinary people can overcome extraordinary odds.

Each year Almost Home will recognize people in the community who demonstrate these same qualities. We want to champion the idea that success is not determined by your race, gender, class or even if you’re a young or single mother. We need your help to identify others who can serve as an inspiration to our teen moms and the community. Who do you know who has the same grit and passion that Almost Home is developing in our young moms? We’ll have our official nomination form on the site soon but for now tell us about someone you think deserves a grit award.

To learn more about our awardees or their businesses click on the links below.

Strange Donuts | http://strangedonuts.tumblr.com/

Extra Help, Inc. | http://www.extrahelpinc.com/

Ladue News graciously photographed the event; we will provide a link to the pictures when they are posted on the Ladue News’ website.

Check out some pictures from our August 9th Baby Shower hosted by the generous folks at Edward Jones. We’re so grateful to everyone who came out and happy to announce that we exceeded our fundraising goal. We’re always humbled by our supporters’ generosity and steadfast belief in the work that Almost Home does to help teenage moms improve their lives.

We hope to see you all next year!

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In case you missed it, Almost Home was honored at the Ladue News Charity Awards back in June. We were one of only nine local agencies selected for this honor. Finalist organizations were invited to attend the Charity Awards gala at the Palladium.

In addition to the awards gala, all of the finalists were featured in the Ladue News during the month of June. Almost Home’s feature spotlighted Keita, a Member of our Transitional Living Program. Keita describes what she’s gaining from the program and expresses her belief that she will leave Almost Home a better person than when she came.

Also featured in the article is one of our terrific volunteers, Marva Tolson. Marva helps out several days each week as Almost Home’s Welcome Center volunteer. She not only answers phone calls and buzzes visitors into the building, but also builds strong supportive relationships with the teen moms who live at Almost Home. Marva explains that she loves helping at Almost Home because the girls’ drive and dedication to improving their lives is an inspiration to her.

If you’d like to read the full article that appeared in the Ladue News, please click here.

The Ladue News also created this terrific video montage of all the finalist organizations:

As we approach the 4th of July, I am reminded both of the significance of our original declaration of independence, signed by 56 of our country’s founders over 200 years ago, but also of the paradox of America’s definition of independence - both past and present. The founders of our country believed that all people (well, just white men really, but that’s a different blog) had an inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What is often overlooked in this eloquently penned manifesto is the word right. I understand a right to be something granted to you just by virtue of the fact that you are a human being. Unfortunately, these rights, however true in theory, have become privileges accessible to only a select few. For the young mothers who come to Almost Home seeking our assistance, this dream of independence and happiness has been held just out of reach - and they are striving to grasp it.

That’s where Almost Home comes in. For too many of our country’s citizens (our clients included), these inherent human rights are nothing more than empty promises. We assist the young mothers utilizing our transitional housing & community-based services to realize that, although it is unfair these rights have been denied to them, that it is unfair some are born with privileges which make the American dream a given reality, they must still strive for these goals because they are attainable. The road to independence and stability for our clients is never easy, but at Almost Home it is our mission to instill in these young women the courage, tenacity, and perseverance to overcome all obstacles standing between them and their dreams.

On this Independence Day, as we celebrate the brave step our country took to liberate itself from oppression, we hope you will also think of our clients and the courage they display in their journeys to conquer modern injustice and tyranny. This is our declaration of independence - “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the bonds which have bound them to poverty, insecurity, and dependence, and to assume the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and humanity entitle them, this people will defy the causes which hold them in this state, displaying remarkable grit and determination in the face of adversity, never desisting until their dream independence is achieved.

Have you heard about AmazonSmile? If not, we’ll explain: It’s the same Amazon.com you know and love, but with a philanthropic mission. Make your online purchases through smile.amazon.com and you have the opportunity to designate a nonprofit organization that will receive .5% of your order cost as a donation. When you get to the AmazonSmile website, simply search for Almost Home or any nonprofit organization that you support, and start shopping just like you normally would. Supporting your favorite nonprofits couldn’t be easier than this. We are so pleased to know that some of you all have already chosen to support Almost Home with your purchases! We really appreciate the support and are encouraging more of our constituents to take advantage of this great offer. Just a side note, when you search for Almost Home, there are quite a few organizations with some iteration of this name (who knew Almost Home was such a popular name??). Make sure to choose the Almost Home in St. Louis, MO if you would like your purchase to support our efforts. Thanks again, and happy shopping!

Almost Home’s Executive Director, Rhonda Gray can be heard on on Talk of the Town on 106.5 the Arch! Rhonda discusses Almost Home’s mission, programs, and clients and links the organization’s activities to larger social issues occurring in the St. Louis area, and nationwide. Transitional Living & Alumni Support Program goals are described, as well as plans for broader community outreach.

Here’s the link to the full interview: http://www.1065thearch.com/2014/04/23/talk-town-week-almost-home/

It is with heavy hearts that we share with you the news that one of Almost Home’s beloved founders, Sr. Irene Radke, passed away recently..

As some of you know, Sr. Irene, along with Sr. Jacinta, started Almost Home in 1993. With hard work, faith, and compassion they built an agency that provides hope and inspiration to teen moms and their babies who have no place to go. While Sr. Irene is no longer with us in body, she has and will always be with us in spirit. It is now our charge to be great stewards of her legacy by taking Almost Home to the next level.

Please share your memories of Sr. Irene in a comment on this post. For more information about visitation arrangements click here.

Sister Irene Radke

To make a donation to Almost Home in memory of Sister Irene, please complete the information below:

We spend a lot of time talking to the teen moms at Almost Home. We do so because we know that developing healthy supportive relationships are the foundation of change and also because we want to better understand their perspectives so we can provide constructive support. My conversations with them are both enlightening and frustrating. Enlightening because I marvel at how they’ve managed to survive such devastating challenges like homelessness, physical and sexual abuse, and abandonment. What’s frustrating is that despite their ability to keep going in spite of these challenges most of them still refuse to take 100% responsibility for their lives and the choices they make. The unwillingness to accept responsibility for their lives is not something that is unique to teen mothers. We all are guilty of it. I mean when was the last time you heard someone say “I am responsible for this mistake, error, or screw up?” Rarely do we hear that. And therein lays the greatest obstacle that is not only holding back our teen moms but 99% of the rest of the world.

In our culture there is an intense desire to be off the hook, especially when it comes to why we haven’t accomplished something or achieved certain results in our own lives. Most people will even get defensive if you dare suggest that blaming, complaining, and making excuses are nothing more than cop outs for not creating the results you want. They behave as if the following formula were true: DESIRED RESULTS = NOT DESIRED RESULTS + EXCUSES. That just doesn’t add up, and yet not a day goes by when I don’t hear that very formula being used.

“The reason I didn’t go to school was because it was raining, or too cold, or too hot …”

“If it wasn’t for my mother/father/case worker/teacher (fill in the blank) I could have …”

“I just couldn’t get the report done on time because I was so swamped with other work” (a personal favorite used by employees everywhere)

The blaming, complaining, and excuse making has reached a point with our teen moms and staff that I’ve decided to issue a challenge. What if we spend one week taking 100% responsibility for everything in our lives and all the results we produce or fail to produce? This would mean that no matter what happened in the past or is currently happening in the present, we will take full responsibility for how we respond and results we get. We will not waste time trying to justify why something didn’t happen and instead get busy creating the reality we want.

I’m issuing this challenge to our girls and staff and invite you to join us. Will you take a stand for creating the results you want by accepting 100% responsibility for your life? If you are bold enough to take the challenge, share your results with me and the girls. I dare you to join the 100% club.

To Your Success,

Rhonda Gray

Executive Director

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