As a new calendar year begins, it’s common to set new goals, readjust expectations, and cast a vision for what we hope the upcoming year will bring. At Allies, we desire to look at all our activities in 2024 through the lens of “gathering.” Why is this so important for our team in the upcoming year? Because we have seen the power and impact that gathering the community to invest in the flourishing of survivors can have in the lives of those we serve.

The 2023 annual mentorship program Christmas celebration is a beautiful example of gathering the community in many small ways to make a big impact.  For many of the girls we serve, Christmas does not always come with joy and happy memories. So, each December, Allies hosts a Christmas party for the participants in our program in the hopes of creating positive experiences and treasured memories for the holidays.

This year, volunteers and donors from all corners of the city came together to make it a magical and memorable celebration. Thirty “Secret Santas” fulfilled individual wish lists for each mentee in our program. A local chapter of a sorority helped plan the party, festively decorated the room (including elegant table settings!), served a meal, and acted as clean up crew – leaving no detail behind. A faithful volunteer cooked food for the dinner and brought each mentor and mentee a long-stemmed rose, sharing that the way God sees them is just like the rose – unique and beautiful. A local restaurant also contributed to the dinner, making it comparable to a Thanksgiving feast! Our office building allowed us to use the commercial kitchen, cafeteria and furniture to ensure we had all we needed. Our office building provided a commercial kitchen, cafeteria space and furniture to ensure we had all we needed. Allies staff and mentors helped prepare, transported mentees, held meaningful conversations, gave lots of hugs and smiles and brought warmth and laughter to the day.

What a beautiful picture of the community gathering around the most vulnerable to pour out generous love. Thank you for being part of this community investing in the flourishing of these survivors!