Spring is here once again and Acceptance Recovery Center is planning our annual Flowers4Recovery. We will spend an upcoming spring day planting blooms and beautifying the ARC grounds as we did in early 2016. In many ways gardening symbolizes the process of recovering from active addiction. The soil (soul) is prepped with tilling and turning the dead and old sediment into the fresh earth underneath. A seed or bulb (hope) is planted into the new ground and compost (new ideas and behaviors) begin to surround the seed in order to cultivate its growth. As the seed is watered (cleansed of old ideas and behaviors), a beautiful new creation begins to push through the heavy dirt and the germinated seed peeks above the soil. Eventually with time and tender attention given to the seed it becomes stronger and stronger until it forms into a flower (recovered addict) that gives happiness and joy to others. Many flowers even possess the ability to further propagate their species (spread recovery) and share their ability to bring joy to others.
In the last year, ARC has had the privilege of planting a multitude of seeds of recovery. Through the 5 phases of our treatment program and with the focused dedication of our staff and committed residents, several addicts have recovered from active addiction and blossomed into healthy, sober, and productive members of society. Our upcoming Flowers4Recovery day will be on Sunday, April 09, 2017. We are seeking donations for flowers. Ekklesia Church will be on hand grilling out to serve lunch to all volunteers. We would love to have you join us as we plant the seeds of today that will be the breathtaking blooms of tomorrow.
Special thanks to Walk The Line Tattoo Shop for donating flowers and to The Athens Land Trust Tool Shed for providing all gardening equipment.
Our March Benefit Dinner “Winds of Change” was hugely successful thanks to all of our friends and family who donated time, corporate sponsorships, raffle prizes, flowers, and so much more! Click on the above picture to follow the link to the pictures of our magical night of women, recovery, and redemption. All funds collected from “Winds of Change” will support the opening of ARC’s Women’s Center in 2017. Thanks again to our following sponsors: Aardvark Exterminating, The Jay Wall Group, Dr. Jack Newman, Kaya Kalp Accupuncture, NMC, MDR Imagery/Craig Gum Photography, Flowerland, The Graduate and The Foundry, Aurum Studios, Sorella Salon, Blind Pig Eastside, Margo Silver, Chef Kyle Kilgo, Honeychild, The Lash Lounge, Athens Recovery Fest,The Grit Restaurant, Real Estate For Recovery, and Accounting Payroll Services. You can click on the picture above to see all the wonderful pictures taken by MDR Imagery.
Special thank you to Kara Perry for her beautiful artwork on the event collateral.
Anonymous Superstar
Our Anonymous Superstar this month is a man who struggled with addiction to marijuana and hallucinogens since the tender age of 12. Our friend bottomed out when he broke a very precious commitment to his girlfriend by forgetting to pick up her son. When she arrived home to the scene of her missing son and her near comatose love, she roused him from his blackout. That night he got on his knees and prayed for God to help him. Our Superstar was arrested two days later and court-mandated to ARC where he has been thriving in recovery.
His main goals are to return to school to continue studying architecture and to be faithful to future commitments. He especially appreciates how the focus of all of the staff at ARC and how each person has a vested interest in everyone’s recovery. His advice to other addicts is to never give up. It is wonderful to see our Superstar #accept2Bfree.
ARC Softball Team
ARC is accepting donations for softball equipment and jersey sponsors as well as tournament prizes. Practice is currently being held on Sundays at 2:30 PM at East-Clarke Park. We are seeking a space to hold practices, scrimmage games, and tournaments. Follow our Facebook pages Acceptance Recovery Center and Accept Freedom for up-to-date practice information. We have 4 recovery centers and 4 accountability court teams signed up to play. Contact Brandy at brandy@arc-ga.org to schedule scrimmage games and tournaments.
T-Shirt Contest
ARC is accepting T-shirt designs for our 2017 ARC T-shirt Contest. The cutoff date for designing the T-shirt is April 24, 2017. We will be publishing the winning design on May 01, 2017. Put your creative thinking caps on and let’s see who has the magical T-shirt touch this year! All designs can be emailed to brandy@arc-ga.org.
ARC Veggie Patch
ARC will be planting our veggie garden soon. We will need community support. Please email kara@arc-ga.org to donate to our vegetable garden. As always, thank you for your consideration.
Service Spotlight April 2017
Pastor Mark and Rhonda Palmer of Ekklesia Church Athens have been steadfast volunteers since ARC opened. Every month Ekklesia prepares and shares a meal with the ARC residents. The Palmers have shown up for every beautification day that we have held and they and their congregation will prepare burgers and hotdogs for our upcoming #Flowers4Recovery event. We are fortunate to have community support from The Palmers and Ekklesia.
Acceptance Recovery Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supporting intense treatment and recovery in the lives of addicts. We aspire to Be The Good in the world and to inspire others to Be The Good. We thank you for your continued support.
