A Beautiful 25th Anniversary Banquet!

We had a wonderful time at our annual Banquet this year. It was an extra special time because literally, Stacey opened the doors of ARMS on October 1 (National Domestic Violence Awareness Day), 25 years ago. And this celebration was also on October 1st. It was great to hear of the message she heard (although she was not a survivor) and the humble beginnings of the organization.

It was also great to realize how very far we’ve come! We’ve now trained leaders in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Brazil! This was made possible when three years ago, we decided to develop leader’s training online to make it open to more people.  Goal accomplished! We pray for continued growth in even more countries as Her Journey needs to be available everywhere possible.

A HUGE thank you to our sponsors and gift basket donators. Gift baskets (silent auction style) were an experiment this year and we are pleased to announce that those gift baskets raised $5,000 towards the ARMS cause!

YOU made all the difference in the world! In fact, up until the week before, we’d only had 100 RSVP’s. We prayed hard, emailed the hosts, asked them to remind people, etc.

About 300 people came to the banquet. 

Yours truly (Julie) received a very special call yesterday. I heard from a former HJ leader who wants to lead again. Although I had seen her name on files here, I had never met her. Well it turns out, SHE was the one who first gave the ARMS brochure to the Women’s Ministry Director at the church where I found Her Journey! She cried as I told her that SHE is the reason I found ARMS, received healing, went on to lead groups, eventually came on staff and am now speaking and writing about domestic violence and human trafficking. The reason I am now a certified DV advocate and the Faciliator of our County’s Survivor Committee. This gal planted a seed that rolled downhill and gained monumentous traction.

If she had not stepped out, I probably would not be where I am today and as my healing as also affected my whole family, she made a world of difference. Yup, you gotta believe when she started crying, I started crying too! WOW!

YOU also planted seeds by attending the banquet, by giving, by sponsoring, by inviting your friends. You may never see the ripple effects of your seed planting but I pray you do someday. It’s a marvelous gift.

Thank you to the following organizations for their sponsorships and donations, as well as to an additional 34 individuals and families. Make sure and also check out the banquet pictures!