Season's Greetings

Season’s Greetings
 
During this holiday season, the Friend to Friend staff, clients, volunteers and Board of Directors wish to extend a joyous, safe and healthy holiday to all of you. We thank you for your support and look forward to serving the Moore County community together in the new year.

Sincerely,
Friend to Friend

Peace over Violence One by One

By Anne Friesen

Dear Friends,

Women entering our domestic violence shelter, Serenity House, have
taken a courageous step to regain control over their lives and ensure
safety for themselves & their children. The focus in the shelter is on stabilizing lives, helping them understand their options, and increasing their ability to achieve their goals.

Butterfly Boutique Opens in October

 Friend to Friend is proud to announce the opening of our Butterfly Boutique, a thrift boutique store, located at 125 South Bennett Street in downtown Southern Pines.
     
All store proceeds will help Friend to Friend to continue to provide emergency shelter, counseling, education, free-of-charge, to over 750 women and children fleeing from domestic violence and sexual assault yearly.
     
Friend to Friend is looking for volunteers Monday - Saturday 10 am- 4 pm
to assist in sorting through donation intakes, making sure the store is stocked and assisting customers with purchases. Volunteers are needed to work 3 to 6 hour shifts and volunteers may construct their own schedules.


Donations will be accepted at the Butterfly Boutique: 125 South Bennett Street and our Carthage Office located at: 105 McReynolds Street, Carthage.

Donations not used at our Boutique will be forwarded to the
Boys & Girls Club, Helping Hand, and/or the Coalition.

Please help support victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault in Moore County by donating, volunteering and or
shopping at our Boutique.

Donations Needed Include:
. Women & Teen Designer

 Apparel
. Women’s back to work attire
. Shoes
. Jewelry
. Handbags . Household Décor
. Small home furnishings
 Store Hours are 10am-4pm Monday - Saturday

The Butterfly Boutique

Friend to Friend's Butterfly Boutique Needs Your Help!

Friend to Friend is proud to announce the Butterfly Boutique.  We are in need of various donated items including formal wear, prom dresses, gently used women and children's clothing, designer handbags and shoes.

The Butterfly Boutique's proceeds will continue to help Friend to Friend provide emergency shelter, education, and counseling free of charge to domestic violence and sexual assault victims. 

"No act of kindness, no mater how small, is wasted"- Aesop

Friend to Friend Appreciates Volunteers

Friend to Friend thanks volunteers next week for all the assistant they provide in the office and throughout our community by having a luncheon in Carthage.

 

What do our volunteers do?

- accompany victims to court

- help out in the office

- assist with community education

- assist with community events
- help with fundraising events

Thank You Volunteers!

Want to have fun while making a difference and working with great people? Become a Friend to Friend volunteer today! Check out our website  http://www.moorefriends.org/ for more information on how to start changing your community today.

"Volunteers don't get paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless" - unknown

Cell Phone Spying

Cell Phones: A New Age of Stalking Begins
- A 2009 report from the Department of Justice found that one-quarter of the 3.4 million stalking victims in the U.S. reported cyberstalking, and GPS technology and other forms of electronic monitoring were used to stalk one in 13 victims.
- Basic cell phone spying software costs around $50 and can easily and quickly be installed.
- Some spyware allows the installer to view everything the phone sees through the camera lens that almost all phones have now.

- Some features even include the ability to activate speaker phones, intercept live calls and instantly notify the installer every time a call is made.

Are You Being Cell Phone Stalked?

- Your cell phone screen lights up for no reason.

- You camera takes pictures when you're not using it.

- You notice ambient noise in the background when you're on a phone call.
- You repeatedly get strange text messages from an unknown origin.

Beat Cyberstalkers at Their Own Game:
- Digital stalkers often leave behind a digital trail. Don't always delete emails or text messages. They can be very powerful evidence!
- If you think the stalker has bugged your house, tape your house as well! This way, you can review the tapes and seeif your stalker is breaking into your house when you're not home.  But remember, anything that isn't yours cannot be taped or bugged legally! You can ensure your own safety, but don't fall into the patterns of your stalker.

Think you're being stalked? Trust your instincts.  Call Friend to Friend at (910)-947-3333 for help. 


" I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." - Maya Angelou

Need to Get Rid of a New or Used Van?

Friend to Friend is in need of a new or used van for our Serenity House Shelter.  The van will be used to transport shelter clients to job sites, appointments, stores, schools, and other places.  Friend to Friend is committed to providing a very special place where individuals and their children can recieve the help and support they so desperately need, as they begin to heal and seek a better life.  Thank you for your serious consideration of our vital need!


If you have any questions or would like to speak with someone concerning this donation please contact our Shelter Manager, Nannette Myatt at 910-639-0876, or our executive director, Anne Friesen at 910-947-3333

Sexual Assault Response Team

Face the facts about sexual assault:

• By age 18, one in four girls will be sexually assaulted and one in six boys.
•  Of adults, 73% knew the attacker, 38% were friends of the attacker, 28% were an intimate partner of the attacker, and 7% were a relative of the attacker.
•  Rape is the least reported and convicted crime in the United States

The Effects of Sexual Assault

• emotional effects:
• guilt, shame, self blame
• embarrassment,
• fear, distrust
• depression
• confusion, anger, numbness
• psychological effects:
• nightmares
• flashbacks
• difficulty concentrating
• post traumatic stress disorder
• anxiety
• eating disorders
• substance abuse
• phobias
• physical effects:
• increased startle response
• changes in eating and sleeping patterns
• concerns about contracting an STD or being pregnant
• physical effects such as HIV/AIDS can be fatal

Here's a fact you may not know: help is available right here in Moore County

• Friend to Friend has established a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) to provide comprehensive and specialized services, ensure continuity of care for victims, enhance evidence collection, and increase public safety.

What can the SART Team do for me?

• The SART team is trained to care for victims of abuse both right after the assault and throughout the healing process. 
• Each victim of sexual assault reacts in a different way.  Some may wish to express their emotion, others conceal it.  There are many psychological and physical reactions to assault and the SART Team can help you with all of the different side effects of being sexually abused. 
• Whether an assault was completed or attempted, and whether it happened yesterday or many years ago, sexual assault affects everyone.  The Friend to Friend SART Team is here to help fight this growing problem in our community.

Contact Friend to Friend at 910-947-3333 to learn more information about the SART Team, its benefits, and how it can help you. 

Have you successfully undergone the healing process of a sexual assault and want to help others in this obstacle? Contact Friend to Friend to become an important part of the SART Team. 

"Dare to reach out your hand to the darkness to pull another hand into the light" - Norman B Rice

happy is a house that shelters a friend

Our board and staff are grateful that we had insurance on the shelter.  However, the insurance will never cover the cost of rebuilding nor will it cover all the furniture that was lost: beds, bunk beds, linens, window blinds, curtains, rugs, lamps, end tables, sofas, chairs, paintings, alarm system, outside cameras, children's toys, play table and chairs.

 Friend to Friend is very grateful for the many communities that responded by donating items.  At this time our greatest need at Friend to Friend is financial.  Estimates on rebuilding our Serenity House shleter exceed, by well over $200,000, what our insurance will pay.  Please partner with us to help rebuild a dream for absued women and children.  Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Walk of Hope

Help us rebuild our shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families by purchasing a brick paver in dedication or in someone's memory. 

Help us rebuild our shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families by purchasing a brick paver in dedication or in someone's memory.


Check out our website for more information: http://www.moorefriends.org/
Contact our executive director at f2ffriesen@hotmail.com

Or call 910-947-3333

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"- Winston Churchill

Become A Serenity Partner

In February 2011, our shelter, Serenity House, suffered a massive and devastating fire, requiring us to rebuild.  Although we are saddened by this tremendous loss, we are excited for the opportunity it presents to build a new and improved home for victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. 

We invite you to be part of the legacy of Friend to Friend by becoming a Serenity Partner.  Please consider giving a contribution to help us with our rebuilding efforts, so Friend to Friend can once again have a permanent, safe place where victims and their children receive the help and support they desperately need as they begin to heal and seek better lives.  Partner with us to build a safer Moore County.
Visit our website to make a donation now:
http://www.moorefriends.org/

"It is crucial that the Serenity House be restored...There is no facility in this community that more directly symbolizes our commitment to help those in need"- John Dempsey, President Sandhills Community College

Friend To Friend--who are we?

Our Mission: To help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault rebuild their lives.

Vision Statement: To help build a community in which everyone is free from the threat of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

“Friend to Friend” is a non-profit organization, located in Moore County, North Carolina, which offers help to all persons affected by interpersonal violence.

“Friend to Friend” hopes to ease the immediate pain of such violence and to facilitate emotional healing. Friend to Friend offers free guidance, 24-hour crisis line, referral services, shelter, support groups, programs for children, court advocacy, court and hospital accompaniment and community education.

Want more information? Check out...
our core values video: http://www.epropertytour.com/f2f/   
our website:   http://www.moorefriends.org/ 
or find us on facebook  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/pages/Friend-To-Friend/174936142567979?v=wall 
twitter @friend2friendNC

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world"