Women’s Center Open House: Thank You! 👏💃🙏

#WARC Open House: SUCCESS!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony & Open House

#teamARC would like to thank everyone who celebrated our Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Open House on May 1 for our first women’s center! This day was beyond what we could have ever imagined, and we are thrilled you all could experience this memorable moment with us.

We would like extend a special thanks to the Chamber of Commerce, the Classic City Rotary Club, BB&T, Marti’s at Midday, Bombshell Creations, Garage Hair Athens, Demp’s Fadez, Mary Lee Photography, our volunteers, the #teamARC, and our recovery allies for helping us make this day super special for us and all our guests!

Thanks again to all our supporters and please stay tuned for more updates on both WARC, the Welcome Home Campaign, and Break the Cycle Campaign.

Your Humble Leader,
Brandy Anderson, BA, NCAC I, CAC II, MATS
Founder/CEO

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Board Chair Reflection Letter: A Grand Opening Indeed!

On May 1, 2009, a perfect spring day, after years of hope, months of planning, and weeks of hard work, ARC Founder and CEO Brandy Anderson, Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz, and Chamber of Commerce President David Bradley cut the ribbon to officially open ARC’s Women’s Center. It was indeed a perfect, beautiful day and a glorious celebration for ARC and the entire community. The ARC Board of Directors approved purchase of the property in January and we closed on the purchase on February 11. Since then, JOMA Construction led the renovation, supplemented by countless volunteer hours from MARC residents, ARC Board members, BB&T’s Lighthouse Project volunteers, the Classic City Rotary Club, and many family members and friends. ARC Fundraising Chair Holly Barker’s beautiful interior design turned an old house and former tattoo parlor into a warm, inviting home.

The Open House drew supporters from all walks of life from the around the community. Accountability court judges, curious members of the recovery community, neighbors, city officials, agency partners from Advantage Behavioral Health and other organizations all joined together to see the new place and get a tour, meet the staff, and mingle with the Board, while enjoying a delicious spread from Marti’s at Midday. The outpouring of support has also been expressed with incredible donations of furnishings, materials, and monetary gifts to the WARC. At the Open House itself, we were amazed to receive over $6,000 from supporters Accounting Payroll Services, Inc., Aardvark Exterminating, and other gracious donors.

A wonderful side story is that ARC’s newest employee, Facility Manager, Ashley D., personally invited the Mayor Girtz to the Open House. Ashley now lives at WARC as ARC’s employee to provide round the clock support for the residents. It turns out Kelly Girtz has been her friend and mentor since her time at Classic City High School, where Kelly served as Principal.

The new WARC is a beautiful home for women who need help. Three ladies moved in the day after we opened and we are well on our way toward our plans to complete Phase 2, and fill both houses later this year. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am in awe of ARC’s leader, our team, and the countless supporters who have helped to make this dream a reality. Thank you all for your support.

Faithful Servant,
Dr. Richard (Dick) Daniels
Treasurer/ Chair

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Welcome Home Campaign

#teamARC would like to thank the community for all your support as we have worked to get our doors open at our new #WARC this month!

So that you can see where your dollars are going, we’d like to tell you a little bit about the three ladies YOU are helping to get a new start in life–our very first intakes!

#WARC1 is a 36 year old mother of two who was struggling to stay clean long enough to have regular visitation with her children, who are living with their father’s mom. For the last 10 years, she has been in and out of jail, and has had to commit theft almost every day to support her addiction. After her last incarceration, she realized that if she ever wanted to be able to live a happy, normal life with her children, she would have to get help for herself. Jessica says that she is ready to learn how to love herself again. #WARC1 was so happy to come into a warm, safe, home, full of supportive staff who did not judge her. Her long-term goal is to regain custody of her children.

#WARC2 is a 27 year old opiate user who has been living on the streets for the past 3 years. After the death of a loved one, she experienced crippling depression and grief. The only way #WARC2 knew how to cope with these emotions was to drown them out by getting high. After losing her job, home, and the support of her family, she spent years caught in a vicious cycle of supporting her drug habit with prostitution. After overdosing last year, she felt that something inside her had changed. She couldn’t bear living that life anymore–she wanted to thrive again. She said that she felt incredibly relieved to walk through ARC’s doors on move-in day. It had been a long time since she had been in a comfortable, serene, home-like environment. #WARC2 says that she would like to pursue a career in nursing.

#WARC3 was a last minute intake. The morning we were preparing for our first intakes, she showed up at our doorstep, begging for a spot in our program. 45 years old, she wanted nothing more than a place to get clean and a chance to rebuild her relationship with her children, who cut her out of their lives several years ago. Tired of scraping by on minimum wage jobs just to be able to afford her habit and not much else, she knew that she had to change something or she would have nothing in the end–and even worse, no one. #WARC3 feels that rebuilding her relationships with her children is the most important thing in her life. Happily, when she told her oldest child that she had enrolled in ARC’s program, he decided to support her in her recovery and attend our monthly Family Restoration Groups.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Accounting Payroll Services and Aardvark Extermination for being a couple of our first donors towards our Welcome Home Campaign! Because of your huge support, these ladies now have a safe space to call home.

Eternally Grateful,
Stephanie Fekete
Admission Counselor/ Case Manager