“Send Love, Bring Joy, Spread Freedom”

From a great group at Ashland University:

The Human Trafficking Awareness Group at Ashland University held a small fundraiser for Gracehaven this past week.  In the celebration of Valentine’s Day, our group sold valentine cards with Fair Trade chocolates on the inside.  We thought it would be great if we could support anti-trafficking on two ends of the spectrum: 1) by supporting Fair Trade farmers through purchasing Fair Trade chocolate and 2) by donating all of the revenues to the rehabilitation efforts at Gracehaven.

Our motto for the sale was: send Love, bring Joy, spread Freedom.  The idea behind it was by sending a valentine, the purchaser is sending someone a note of love, which brings joy to the recipient and the $1 donation goes to support bringing freedom to victims of human trafficking.  After two days of selling valentines, we raised a little over $130 for Gracehaven!  We are very pleased with how the sale went. I attached a photo of our table and of some of the wonderful members of HTAG who helped out with the sale.

Thank you to everyone who organized and participated in this, it is truly heartwarming to read about!

~Gracehaven Staff

Gracehaven House Workday Cancelled

The Deconstruction Workday planned for Saturday 2/6/2010 has been cancelled due to the weather.

Reschedule dates are: Thursday 2/11/2010 and Saturday 2/13/2010 same carpool locations and time.

Contact: Katie Talbott ktalbott@gracehavenhouse.org

Upcoming Benefit Concert

Date: Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
Time: 9:00 pm
Venue:2351 N 4th St Columbus, OH 43202
Featuring: Tin Armor, Iron Lake, Trains Across the Sea, Ruth Welsh
Cost: $5 cover to benefit Gracehaven House
Contact: Devin Braun braundevin@yahoo.com

Renovation Update – January 2010

We’re now able to begin the renovation of the house we purchased last summer. While we’ve not raised all the money necessary to complete the renovation, we feel we’ve raised a sufficient amount that allows us to start the work to convert the house into a 5-bedroom facility, and make the necessary changes that will enable us to achieve licensure in the State of Ohio. We are on track to meet our goal of being able to open and begin sheltering girls sometime in the summer of 2010 because of the sacrificial support of givers such as the two of you! I can’t tell you how excited our team is to take this next step!

Thank you to those who have been supporting the work of Gracehaven, especially your prayers! We are where we are today because of the help and support of amazing people like you!

Recent News Story

By Denise Yost
Managing Editor, nbc4i.com
Published: August 5, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Central Ohioans may feel removed from human trafficking, but sex slavery is happening in Ohio every day.

FAST FACTS:

• Ohio ranks fifth in the nation for this underground crime, most notable due to the state’s highway system.
• Trafficking puts between 100,000 and 300,000 U.S. children at risk each year.
• Human trafficking is the world’s third largest illegal industry, bringing in about $36 billion annually.
• The illegal industry claims 12 million sex slaves worldwide.

But there is good news for victims of the crime: a house will soon be available to help women in Central Ohio get back on their feet.

A worn split rail fence borders a piece of property in Northwest Columbus, and it could bring peace to young women worn down from a difficult life.

“My goal right now is to have it open and have the girls by July 1, 2010,“ said Jeff Barrows, executive director of Gracehaven.

Until now, the home for teens exploited in the commercial sex trades had no home.

“They experience trauma. They experience pain. If they’re ready to come out, there’s a lot of help we can give these girls,“ Barrows said.

Within the last month, Gracehaven bought a 9.5-acre property, and the 4,000 square foot home that sits on it will become a group home for up to ten girls who were abused and used in the sex trade.

There are only three homes like Gracehaven in the country.

Barrows admitted that the house needs work, including dismantling a sauna and removing a former Jacuzzi room, but the transformation of the house will mirror the eventual transformation of the home’s residents.

Gracehaven has purchased the house!

After looking carefully at this house for the past 6 months or so, Gracehaven has made the decision to go ahead and purchase the house pictured to the left. The house is located NW of Columbus, and we are excited to share the news with everyone! Please continue to pray for us as we raise the money necessary to renovate the house to bring it up to the code necessary to qualify for licensing as a group home in the state of Ohio. We estimate the total cost to be about $150,000!

We are now beginning to raise funds for the house renovation and already have pledged $10,000 from the Soroptimist International Club of Columbus!

Praise the Lord!

Co-Signer Search Begins!

To complete the transaction with the bank, we do have the down payment required. However, the bank is asking for a personal co-signer who is willing to take over the mortgage payments in the unlikely event that Gracehaven should at some point be unable to meet that obligation. This co-signer would need to prove financial ability to take on this additional monthly payment. It is our hope to find a co-signer for the loan so that we are able to close on the house sometime in the spring of 2009. After we are able to complete the purchase on this house, we will begin the renovation, which we expect to take between 3-5 months and cost approximately $150,000.

We have found a home!

At this point in time, we have found a house in rural NW Ohio that is owned by a bank and will work perfectly for our needs after some renovation. The house sits on approximately 10 acres of land and is over 4,000 sq ft in size. It currently has 4 bedrooms, but with our planned renovation, it will be altered to have 5 bedrooms and 4 full baths, and therefore be able to easily house 10 girls. The house has been appraised at over $280,000 and we will be able to purchase it at a price much lower than that.