Our House e-newsletter December 2013 | Page 5

by Georgia Mjartan, Executive Director Behind The Shelter are a playground, an expanse of grass, benches, and an area of asphalt that we’ve converted into a makeshift basketball court. It’s the backyard for our community. It is also a perfect observation point from which to watch the construction of our new Children’s Center. Since July, when construction started, I’ve frequented a certain spot on the back side of the playground where trees were cleared as part of the tank removal process that cleaned up our land where our new center would stand. It was just before noon on a beautiful day when I headed over to my overlook point. As I stood there taking photos, I heard a voice behind me say, “Do you know what that’s going to be?” It was a young mother sitting with her daughter at the bottom of a slide. “Yes. It’s going to be a children’s center.” Surprised to see this mom on campus in the middle of the day with a five-year-old, I asked my own question. “You guys must be new to our Shelter. You know, we can help your daughter get into school. Have you gotten help with that yet?”