AbodesJoy

We are thrilled to announce that the Metropolitan Community Club (MCC) of Montgomery County has generously designated AbodesJoy as one of the charities it will support through its 2024 holiday wreath sale! These festively decorated 24” balsam ($45) and cedar ($48) wreaths will be sent directly to you (shipping is included in the price), or can be sent with a holiday message to your family and friends! Wreaths are typically delivered the week after Thanksgiving. To order, please send an email that includes the following information to Vicki Dorman (swdorman@verizon.net) by November 1, 2024: - Name of recipient - Address (including zip code) - Type of wreath (balsam or cedar) - 10-word message maximum, including your name - Name, phone number, and email of the person placing the order MCC is also offering undecorated 22” balsam wreaths for $25, with an optional bow (red or plaid), for *local delivery* by club members. To order, please send an email by November 1 to swdorman@verizon.net, indicating the number of wreaths you are ordering, type of bow(s) if needed, your name, and your address for local delivery. Checks can be made payable to MCC and mailed to Vicki Dorman, 7912 River Falls Drive, Potomac, MD 20854. Alternatively, you can Venmo @vicki-Dorman or send a Zelle payment to 301-526-3009. #abodesjoy #MCC #holidaywreathsale

We are happy to share that we are now taking applications for the October and November 2024 cohorts of the AbodesJoy Home Repair Training Program! Please find the application and more details here: https://lnkd.in/e6axhqkd Space is limited, so we suggest you get your application in as soon as you are able. The application deadline is September 12 at 11:59 PM ET. As always, please feel free to reach out to us via email at connect@abodesjoy.org with any questions! #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #BuildingCommunity #homerepair #Fall2024

As we enter our third year of programming here at AbodesJoy, we have some exciting updates to share with you. First, we are thrilled to announce that Rachel Papantonakis has assumed the role of Executive Director! Many of you met Rachel through our 2024 graduation party and fundraiser in June. She is a self-described AbodesJoy fan-turned-team member, and she brings with her more than 20 years of non-profit strategy and operations experience. “What drew me to AbodesJoy is the truly special heart of the organization. Everyone involved is so devoted to the mission and to lifting each other up as we build skills and community together,” Rachel shares. Please join us in welcoming Rachel! She introduced herself last Friday via the first installment of a new First Friday enewsletter that we plan to send monthly. If you’re not yet on our email list, please reach out to us at connect@abodesjoy.org or via the form on our website and we’ll be happy to add you! #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #NewLeadership #firstfriday

Happy August, friends! As many of you know, we take the summers off here at AbodesJoy in part because our training center is not air conditioned. We look forward to sharing our fall programming with you soon, and we hope you've been finding ways to keep cool this summer! Here are a few tips to stay cool while also being energy efficient: Use fans - Ceiling fans can make you feel cooler, allowing you to set the thermostat a few degrees higher! Close blinds and curtains - Blocking direct sunlight can keep your home cooler and reduce the load on your air conditioning. Seal leaks - Ensure doors and windows are properly sealed to prevent cool air from escaping. Maintain your AC unit - Regular maintenance, such as cleaning or replacing filters, can improve efficiency and performance. #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #stayingcool #summertime #heatwave #energyefficiency

As promised, here are some more photos from last weekend's graduation party & fundraiser! We are so incredibly proud of--and grateful for--our graduates. Thank you for finding us, trusting us, learning with us, laughing with us, and helping us create and grow this amazing AbodesJoy community 🏠 💙🛠 We love and appreciate you all so much! It's a busy time of year, so not all of our graduating cohort members were able to attend, but please know that you were all there with us in spirit!!! For those who did attend, if you have photos of your own to share, please remember to tag us! And if you weren't able to attend but would like to donate in support of our work, please visit https://lnkd.in/eUHPrjhr

Friends, we are still basking in the afterglow of Saturday's party! What a magical day we had, celebrating our graduates and spending time with their families and friends 💓 We danced, we ate, we chatted, we laughed, we raised much-needed funds, we played home repair-themed lawn games including toilet cornhole (aka Game of Thrones🚽)... A truly wonderful time was had! Massive thanks go out to all who helped make the day possible--our incredible team of volunteers who helped plan, set up, staff the party, and clean up afterwards; Leshia Murray and her family, who cooked up a truly mouthwatering feast for us to nosh upon; our beloved graduates from Cohorts 3 through 7; our friends and neighbors who showed their support by attending and/or donating toward our work... the list goes on and on! This is just the first of what we're sure will be many party-related posts, but for now, please enjoy these photo highlights. You can truly feel the joy, can't you? #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #Graduation2024

🎉🎉Today’s the day 🎉🎉 And it’s a gorgeous one☀️😎 The party starts at 2, and the graduation program will start at 3. We’ll have food, drinks, music, games, AbodesJoy merch for sale, and more! We can’t wait to see you here at 707 Ritchie Ave 🏡💙🛠️🧡 If you’re unable to attend but would like to make a donation in support of our work, please visit https://lnkd.in/eUHPrjhr #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #Graduation2024 #partytime

Tomorrow is the day! We’re busy doing some last minute prep at 707 Ritchie Ave. this afternoon, and we cannot WAIT to see you there. The weather looks darn near perfect for an outdoor party☀️ but we’ll also have tents set up for those seeking shade! We’ll be there from 2-6 pm, so feel free to arrive when you’re able, but the graduation program will start at 3 (see image #4 for a rough outline of the schedule). As a reminder, we’ll have food, drinks, music, games, AbodesJoy merch for sale, and more! Tomorrow’s party is in celebration of our five most recent Home Repair Training Program cohorts, but it will also be our biggest fundraiser of the year. It’ll be a great opportunity to see our training center, learn about our program and workshops, and mingle with our fabulous participants, instructors, Board members, and neighbors! ALL are welcome, so please come on by! We’re also still welcoming sponsors. If you’d like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please visit https://lnkd.in/exjhm2c8 If you’re unable to attend tomorrow but would like to make a donation in support of our work, please click the Donate button above or visit https://lnkd.in/eUHPrjhr #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #Graduation2024 #partytime #sponsorshipopportunities

Have you RSVPed for Saturday’s party yet? If not, please do! We’ll be gathering in our sprawling backyard at 707 Ritchie Ave. from 2-6 pm to celebrate our 5 most recent cohorts, and we’d love for YOU to join us! We’ll have delicious, locally catered food prepared lovingly by Cohort 6 member Leshia and her daughter Gabby, as well as snacks, drinks, music, and fun. All are welcome! The party will be a great opportunity to meet AbodesJoy instructors, participants, and Board members, see our training center, and learn more about our program and workshops. It will also serve as our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we are still looking for sponsors! To learn more about sponsorship opportunities and/or RSVP for the party, please use the relevant QR code(s) or visit https://lnkd.in/exjhm2c8 (sponsorship) and/or https://lnkd.in/eZYQpcyF (RSVP). If you can’t make it to the party but would like to make a donation in support of our work, please visit https://lnkd.in/eUHPrjhr #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #graduation2024 #partytime🎉 #sponsorshipopportunities

We’re getting ready for you, friends! A million thanks to the volunteers who showed up yesterday to help us clean and prep the house and yard for our graduation party this coming weekend. Please join us in our spacious backyard at 707 Ritchie Ave. in Silver Spring on Saturday 6/8 from 2-6 pm as we celebrate our five most recent Home Repair Training Program cohorts! We’ll be serving delicious, locally-made Jamaican food cooked by Cohort 6 member Leshia (owner of Likkle Dis Likkle Dat catering company) as well as desserts made by her daughter Gabby (of Mini Delightz). We’ll also have drinks, snacks, music, lawn games, AbodesJoy merchandise for sale, and more! The party will be a great opportunity to see our training center, learn more about our program and workshops, and mingle with AbodesJoy participants, instructors, Board members, and members of the community. It will also serve as our biggest fundraising event of the year, and we are still looking for sponsors. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please visit: https://lnkd.in/exjhm2c8 To RSVP for the party, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eZYQpcyF If you can't make it to the party but would like to donate in support of our work, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eUHPrjhr #abodesjoy #empoweringwomen #buildingcommunity #Graduation2024