Showing posts with label Carolina Christian Writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carolina Christian Writers. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

What Can You Do to Offer Hope?


Please welcome today's guest blogger, Dora Hiers of the Carolina Christian Writers.

Hope …

Believing and trusting in a positive outcome. Anticipation for something great.

Hope means something different to each individual. To a football player, hope is scoring a winning touchdown. To a small child, it may mean garnering the praise of a parent. To a young mother, hope means that her child will grow healthy and strong. To a newly married couple, it may represent a long life together. To a cancer patient, hope takes wings for healing. To a person who has just lost their job, hope means finding another one before their savings runs out.

But, what about a battered woman, a victim of an endless cycle of spousal abuse? Sometimes the abuse is physical, but it could also be psychological, financial, or even sexual. What hope does she have? For her, hope seems forever lost, unattainable, always just out of reach.

Did you know:

  • Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States - greater than car accidents and muggings combined.
  • A woman is battered every 15 seconds in the United States.
  • Between 85%-95% of domestic violence victims are women.
  • The health related costs of domestic violence exceed $5.8 billion each year.
  • Approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse in a dating relationship
  • On average 3 to 4 women are killed every day by their husbands or partners.

(Stats taken from: CVAN: What is Domestic Violence?)

Abused women can find refuge, a place of hope. Cabarrus Victims Assistance Networks (CVAN) provides a safe shelter for battered women. In 2011, CVAN provided safety, shelter and support to almost 1,400 battered women and their children.

To a resident of CVAN, hope means a safe and comfortable environment for a mother and her children, one where she doesn’t continually have to look over her shoulder, where she can get her first good night’s sleep, without worry or fear. It’s a place to release the guilt and break free from the pattern of coercive control. It’s a place where the sound of yelling or the impact of a fist fades over time. Hope is finding confidence, empowerment, and a renewal of identity. It’s a place where she’ll find support, encouragement, and legal advocacy. Where she’ll hear the sound of her children’s laughter again.

On Saturday, July 14, the Carolina Christian Writers (CCW), a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers, came together at the K-Mart in Concord to provide a glimmer of hope for the residents of CVAN. Seven authors sold and signed books, but CCW’s primary purpose was to bring awareness and inform people about CVAN. A list of CVAN’s needs, simple everyday items like paper towels and cleaning products, was distributed. Shoppers purchased enough items to fill the back of an SUV, and others donated funds to supplement CVAN’s needs.

Abuse is not limited to racial, social or economic borders. What if one of these battered women was your sister, your daughter’s best friend, or even your neighbor? What could you do to offer hope?

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” ~Psalm 31:24 NIV

For more information on CVAN, click here. 24-Hour Hotline • 704.788.2826
For more information on Carolina Christian Writers, click here.

About the Author: After a successful auditing career, Dora Hiers left the corporate world to be a stay-at-home mom to her two sons. When her youngest son didn’t want her hanging out at school with him anymore, Dora started writing heart racing, God-gracing books. Dora belongs to the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Carolina Christian Writers. Her first inspirational romance, Journey’s End, released with White Rose Publishing in 2011, and her second, Journey’s Edge released in March 2012. White Rose also contracted her third book in the Marshals of Journey Creek series, Journey’s Embrace, and her first short romance, Small Town Treasure. Dora and her husband make their home in Kannapolis, North Carolina. 



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Monday, July 16, 2012

Seven Authors Offer Hope to Concord Victims



Saturday, July 14th became a day for Hope in Concord, NC.  The Carolina Christian Writers, a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) held a multi-author book signing on Saturday. Seven authors banded together and decided to make it about more than just selling books. They asked people in attendance to purchase items to donate to the local battered women’s shelter in town.


Not only did people come to talk with authors, but they came to make a difference for women whose homes are not safe. The shelter has constant needs and this month in particular they really needed paper towels. Paper towels! How many of us buy paper towels any time we run out? Well, we decided to collect things like paper towels, cleaning products, and a few other specific needs the shelter gave us. We advertised ahead of time, so some people brought things from home. Since the event was held at Kmart, many visitors decided to add an item or two to their shopping cart that day. When all was said and done, we filled up the back of an SUV with items for the shelter.

(l-r) Jennifer Fromke, Magnificent Hope, Bethany Lebedz
The authors all had great opportunities to talk with fans, friends, and new acquaintances. The publicity from two separate newspaper write-ups was instrumental in bringing the people to the event. One visitor even brought a copy of the article she had clipped.

One fan who visited us was Bethany Lebedz - a Hope Tour follower and friend of Pix-n-Pens and Write Integrity Press. She managed a photo-op with none other than the famous Magnificent Hope!

Participating authors included Myra Johnson, Dora Hiers, Mary Annslee Urban, Jennifer Hudson Taylor, Lynnette Eason, Amy Clipston, and Jennifer Fromke. Lots of books were sold, but the contact with readers was the highlight.

The most rewarding part of the day was the huge smile on the face of the volunteer coordinator at the women’s shelter who helped unload that SUV. She couldn’t wait to get those supplies unpacked and in use at the shelter. We have great hope that our donation provided a much-needed boost for not only the women and children who will benefit from the donations, but also to the volunteers at the shelter. Just knowing that someone “out there” cares can bring hope even into a very dark place.

What are you doing this week to share a little hope?




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