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Family Haven offers a new start to abused women By Mary Pitman For the Forsyth County News Family Haven, a domestic abuse shelter for women, faced many challenges dur ing the past year. The non profit organization put more than $30,000 into repairs on the existing 18-bed shelter. But the increased demand for services means that’s not enough. A new shelter is needed. “There are no government grants available, so we have to appeal to the community.” said Lee Ann Baumann, executive director. The volunteers and administrative staff are work ing to make the new shelter a reality. To raise funds. Family Haven is holding a raffle for a fully loaded 2004 Nissan Sentra I.BS. The car is val ued at $16,250. The drawing as part of the second annual Taste of Forsyth on April 18 at the fairground's arena. “Taste” is the agency's other major fund-raiser. “We moved to the fair grounds so we could increase the size,” Baumann said. "Last year we has 22 restau rants and close to 1,000 peo ple. We want to double the number of restaurants this year.” The restaurant menu was expanded to include bakeries, candy stores and ice cream shops. Confirmed participants include Austin’s. Beef O’Brady's, Buckhead Bre wery. Cuban Press. El Rio. Jersey Mike’s Subs, Jit ter mugs, LaCazuela, Marzan no’s Pizza. O’Charley's. Party Art. Roasted Garlic. Serendipity, Shake’s Frozen Custard, Summit's Wayside Tavern. The Foster House, The Sandwich Market and Uncle Vito’s Pizza. Additional eateries are wel come. Northern park supporters win argument for community building By Nancy Smallwood Associate Editor Forsyth County commis sioners agreed to move up the schedule for the completion of a community building at Coal Mountain Park to 2004. The northern park, located on Settingdown Road, is the only one in the county that does not have a community building. The building will be built with funds from the most recent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Cindy Mills, park supporter and member of the county parks and recreation board, said the community building was one of the top three projects recom mended in the March 2003 SPLOST vote. It was originally scheduled to be completed in 2004 but the county commis sion subsequently changed it to a 2006 completion date. The March 2003 SPLOST vote allocated $12.25 million for county parks and Mills „ ' RflbAaiSinr r^MLßffl ! ng/z/A/ '- W's % jj Mwl ’-- > u , imLLmKIhI . > j ‘TWWc/v VYvO'V&'tfvei/VXs Friday, April 9th Easter Morning, April 11th 6:00 p.m. 8:00 ».m. • Early Celebration Worship ‘Jesus in the Passover ~A .. „ , L . .. k T^7hT-> r 'T'T t Seder Presentation 8:154 10:45 a.m. -Celebration Worship 1»1~1 f| I 10:45 a.m.-Student Led Celebration Worship *» services. Children's activities provided dunng 7 f L 9:15 a.m. i 10:45 a.m. services. www.northiarwr.org At stake will be bragging rights, for entries will be judged and recognition given. Categories include: • Cold and Hot appetiz ers/Soups/Sandwiches • Cold and Hot beverages • Dessert/Baked Goods/ Ice Cream Entrees consisting of the following cuisines: continen tal, Italian, Mexican, country cooking, French, Chin ese/Asian/sushi, pizza and barbecue. The barn will house a diverse and high quality craft show. Entertainment will be provided by various commu nity groups. The kids will have sno-cones, cotton candy, a moonwalk and more. A live auction run by David Fanning will offer upscale items such as a week at a condo in Cabo San Lucas. Mexico, a chartered fishing trip and sports memo rabilia. A chance to bid on items from the vendors at the "Taste" and from the commu nity will be available during a silent auction. Tickets for the raffle are $5 each or five for S2O. They can be purchased at the Family Haven administrative office. Inside Additions, the gift shop at Northside Hospital Forsyth and both thrift stores. “Makeover With A Mission." was a new fund raiser this year. A group of top plastic surgeons, cosmet ic dentists, hair and makeup artists, stylist and a personal trainer offered their services. Three lucky winners were chosen and have already had their makeovers. The reveal ing party will be in April 21. Half the proceeds from the event went to Family Haven; the other half went to another charitable organiza tion Members of the Creekstone Estates subdivi- served on the park project prior itizing committee which includ ed the Coal Mountain commu nity building as one of its top projects. When park supporters were made aware of the sched ule change they lobbied com missioners to push the construc tion date up. said Mills. “We were able to speak with Commissioner [Charles) Laughinghouse and describe the need for the building in the community,” said Mills. “Currently, there is not even a place for the coaches to meet" Road projects for the SPLOST are taking priority and some of the park and recreation projects did get pushed back to 2006. said Laughinghouse. “This park is the only one without a community building." said Laughinghouse. “The citi zens need it so we agreed to move up the construction." The county hopes to utilize the design for the Sharon Springs Park community build- sion will be hosting Concert on the Creek on May 22 to benefit victims of domestic violence. With a Chastain Park Amphitheatre-type atmosphere, guests can munch on treats they bring while listening to music. A table decorating contest is also planned. The fund-raisers offer the community an extra opportu nity to help women and their children who live with terror. But one of the most depend able sources of revenue for Family Haven remains its thrift stores. In addition to the cash generated, the stores provide free clothing for those who flee in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their back. When they are ready to start their lives over, the stores help provide house hold goods. The store at Kelly Mill and Bethelview recently underwent its own "makeover." Donations were coming in faster than the volunteers could handle them. Sometimes people would leave clothes and furniture outside after hours. When it rained, the donations got ruined and had to be thrown away. The store was restructured from the inside out. Three carports were added to pro tect donated furniture from the rain. Loads of gravel, another donation, were spread around the parking lot. The improvements have brought back old business. "People who had given to us years ago are coming back," said Baumann. “One lady who used to donate to us was headed elsewhere with her donations. She saw how the place had been cleaned up and turned around and came back. And then she came back again the next ing. thus eliminating the need to go out for bid on a new design, according to Dane Perry, assis tant county administrator. Budget for the project is $450,000. Park officials and purchasing director Ed Miller met with the architect Wednesday. FORSYTH SMALL ENGINES, INC. Mower Repairs and Parts for: Murray, Sears, Scotts, MTD and many more, FORSYTH SMALL KNCOOCS, me. 17M taNwwgp Hw>, CMMato* M 770*781 *4705 B <1 u M 1 I KJ 1 I ■ ’ Wli Photo/Audra Perry Lee Ann Baumann and Linda Bowman pose in front of the Family Haven offices Friday with an array of items that will be auctioned at the annual "Taste of Forsyth" on April 18. All proceeds will go to the Family Haven. week ” A similar makeover is planned for the Browns Bridge thrift store location. The last change that Family Haven went through this year is getting rid of the office lounge where the staff would eat their lunch. “We had a lot of victims of violence coming through applying for temporary aid to S U N DAY LUN C THE RIDGE S ADULTS NO WHERE ELSE ,H // 3. 9 S CHIL DR E N Forsyth can you get this [J QUALITY FOR THIS PRICE 1 2PM-3PM FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday. April 4,2004 needy families,” Baumann explained. “The food stamps wouldn’t kick in for a couple days.” The staff gave up their lunchroom and turned it into a pantry where their clients can take what they need. With a promise of 5 acres of land and the nonstop fund raising efforts, Baumann hopes to break ground for the PAGE 11A new shelter by the end of the year. For additional information about Family Haven or any of the fund-raisers, call Baumann at (770) 889-6384. If you are a victim of domestic violence, there is help. Call the 24-hour hotline at(770)887-1211. Family Haven is a United Way agency.