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three apartments where families who are
ready to graduate from our program can
test their independence, and, in what used
to be a true corner “drug” store, a school
(the Milagro House Education Center)
where GED and Remedial Education
classes are taught. Before the end of
2007, we will open the doors to our new
Children’s Center – another incredible
gift from our friends and supporters in the
Lancaster community. After all these years,
we’ll be able to provide our own afterschool
study program for our kids. We’ll
have space for reading circles, science and
math clubs, movie night, and an arts and
crafts center. The Center’s backyard will
adjoin with our other properties on S.
Christian, and we will have a huge yard for
the kids, including a bike path, a basketball
half-court, and a new playground. As
we have had from the beginning, we
continue to run a give-away shop where
we distribute, at no cost to our neighbors,
donations over and above what our
residents need. The drug dealers never
visit our block; our street is quiet, peaceful,
and clean.
Nine more families reside, dorm-style, at
our West End facility, the Stoudt Family
Center for Education on W. Chestnut
St. When we first announced our plans
for the Stoudt Center, there were those
in our new community who feared the
value of their properties would drop once
a “shelter” was in their neighborhood.
Milagro House won the support of our
West End community and the Lancaster
courts, and our families moved into what
used to be a fraternity house on the
corner of College and Chestnut. Happily,
most of our neighbors now stop buy with
donations or goodies for the kids. They’ve
seen that we are a good neighbor, and that
our families aren’t so different from their
own families.
All women living at our new facility are
attending our GED/Remedial classes or are
enrolled in post-secondary school (HACC,
Consolidated School of Business, Stevens
College, one of the Technology Centers,
Lancaster General School of Nursing,
etc.). Each woman who lives at the Stoudt
Center has her own computer with access
to the internet as well as the opportunity
to take advantage of the volunteer student
tutors from F&M and Millersville.
Milagro House has an annual operating
budget of approximately $480,000. We
are funded solely by the private donations
of the Lancaster Community – individuals,
social and service groups, businesses and
churches - as well as the grant monies
we receive from local foundations and
corporations. We hold fundraisers,
including our “Evening of Miracles” held in
the late fall, which add to our coffers and
bring new supporters to our program.
Milagro House does not solicit or receive
government or agency funding – a fact that
has allowed us to operate our program
without the strict guidelines and limits that
often accompany public funding.
In nine years, Milagro House has provided
services to nearly four hundred families
(including nearly one thousand children).
Women who complete our program are
welcomed back, whether they come to do
volunteer work or are in need of support
and counseling. Word of mouth and
referrals by area hospitals, agencies, and
rehabilitation services insure that we will
never lack for residents. We rarely have
rooms open for more than a day or two.
The success of our residents allows us to
operate a program that continues to grow
and improve at a steady rate.
We owe the success of the Milagro House
program to the overwhelming support we
receive consistently from the Lancaster
community. You provide our mothers
and their children with the food, clothing,
and shelter they require, as well as the
possibility of a future of which most would
never dare dream.
Milagro House is my dream. You are the
miracle that has made it happen. FLL
www.milagrohouse.org
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