TWC Community Assessments

TWC’s Children’s Advocacy Center recently conducted two surveys, a Community Needs Assessment and a Community Partners Assessment. We asked shelter residents, tribal members and leaders, health aides, VPO, VPSO, TPO, staff at AVCP, ONC, YKHC, LKSD, and members of the multidisciplinary team such as BPD and AST to participate.

Irniamta Ikayurviat is one of ten children’s advocacy centers across Alaska, and has been serving families from Bethel and the YK Delta since 2001. For more information, read about it here.

Quyana for Pick.Click.Give Donations

PrintWe at TWC are grateful to everyone who contributed to our Pick.Click.Give. campaign in 2013. Because of your generosity, this money will support important activities that we are otherwise unable to fund. TWC is fortunate to have been affiliated with the PFD Charitable Contributions Program since it began six years ago. Thank you for continuing to give.

This year’s campaign will continue to support youth programs and our shelter. You can apply for your PFD here and view TWC’s Pick.Click.Give profile here.

Please consider allocating a portion of your Permanent Fund Dividend to TWC in 2014!

Quyana and Happy New Year!

Thrift Store Looking for Volunteers

Our thrift store is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon until 6 pm every week.

We are looking for volunteers who can commit to working at the thrift store at least once a week for a shift (6 hours) or part of a shift. The store frequently receives donations, which need to be sorted and shelved.

Volunteers are welcome to count the hours that they work towards TANF requirements or community service, and also take home a bag of items. Thank you volunteers for all that you do for TWC!

TWC Annual Meeting on December 29

The Tundra Women’s Coalition will be hosting its annual meeting on December 29 from 1-2:30 PM. All members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting, which will take place at 248 6th Avenue in Bethel. For more information, please call TWC’s business line at 907.543.3444

Annual Christmas Tree Sale

Living Christmas Trees will be arriving in Bethel on December 3. Proceeds from the sale will benefit TWC.

To order your tree, please call 543.3444 and ask for Susan, Jessica, or Debbie.

You may also purchase one at the Saturday Market at the Cultural Center on November 30 or at the VFW craft sale on December 7.

There are several types and sizes to choose from:

       3 – 5 feet Noble Firs: Cost ~$115                          6 – 7 feet Grand Firs: Cost ~$150

       5 – 6 feet Noble Firs: Cost ~$135                          7 – 8 feet Noble Firs: Cost ~$185

Many Supporters Participate in DVAM 2013

On October 4, TWC’s Engaging Men and Boys program hosted an evening of traditional dancing at Gladys Jung Elementary School. Groups from Bethel, Napaskiak, and Kasigluk performed in the yuraq.

      

On October 5, TWC was back at Gladys Jung for a fiddle dance. The cakewalk featured some incredible cakes, including this one, below, with TWC’s logo on it. The Bethel Band performed in front of a large crowd, and Executive Director Michelle DeWitt was honored for her 16 years of service at TWC.

On October 8, Michelle DeWitt was a member of a discussion panel hosted by the Alaska World Affairs Conference at Bear Tooth in Anchorage following a screening of the documentary, Not My Life. Michelle has been a member of the State of Alaska Task Force on the Crimes of Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution, and Sex Trafficking. The other members of the panel were Executive Director of the Alaska Institute for Justice Robin Bronen, FBI Special Agent Jolene Goeden, and First Lady of Alaska, Sandy Parnell.

Photo courtesy of the Alaska World Affairs Council

On October 9, TWC staff, board members,  TAAVers, members of the Sexual Assault Response Team, and other supporters, including Miss Weio 2013, Megan Leary, marched through downtown Bethel from Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center to TWC to raise awareness about the impact of domestic violence on individuals, families, and communities in Bethel and across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Peacewalk 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 24, members of the community gathered for the annual Candle Light Ceremony  to honor victims and witnesses of domestic violence.

TAAV Gets Its Moose

TAAV on their Moose Hunt

Back in Bethel with the moose

TAAVers Felix and Kenneth Bigjohn, TWC staff members, Matilda Bee, CJ Pleasant, Misti Nelson, Fr. Ishmael Andrew, and Jackie Larson caught a moose not far from Napaskiak on Friday, September 13. TAAV was able to hunt this fall year using a cultural education permit from the Department of Fish and Game.  The group spotted a large moose around 11 am before it disappeared into the woods. Jackie made a moose call, and two different moose appeared out of the brush. Jackie shot one of them, and the group brought the moose back to the TWC.

Many thanks to everyone who helped carry, clean, and process the meat. The majority of the meat will be used by women and children in the shelter, but TAAV will also host a small feast for TAAVers and their families.