Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Change
“Please join me in supporting the important work of Guest House.  Day in and day out, Guest House provides life-changing support that helps some of the most vulnerable women -- many of whom have suffered years of abuse, addiction, and poverty -- overcome the challenges of incarceration and transition to being healthy, contributing members of our community.  My family and I live just a couple of blocks from Guest House, and we're proud of its work and proud to call these women our neighbors.” -- Delegate David Englin, 45th District In supporting “Friends of Guest House”, you will help rebuild female offenders’ lives by bridging their vision for a new life through self-sufficiency.
What is “Friends of Guest House”? Guest House offers assistance to women who sincerely want to improve their lives when released from confinement and seek to break the cycle of incarceration. Our services are provided without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation. Guest House is a 501(c)3 non profit, tax-exempt organization. “FOGH is privileged to be named by the Washington Area Women’s Foundation (WAWF) as one of 10 Leadership Awardees in 2009. We have also been honored by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the Washington area's best small charities.” Exciting News!! - We're going to keep on pushing forward through May 15!! While we are still somewhat short of our goal, the campaign is still collecting such fantastic contributions that we're going to make our race last a little longer. We'll be able to capture all of the wonderful gifts that people are providing to Guest House.
Race to $15K April 1^st through May 15^th 500 people x $20 in 45 days = $10,000 $5,000 in matching gifts = $5,000 $15,000
Did you know… “Today, one out of every 31 adults in the U.S. is in prison, in jail, or on supervised release.” “It’s time to change the law…” “How can we build workable re-entry programs so that our community can assimilate former offenders and encourage them to become productive citizens?” Senator Jim Webb -- Parade Magazine, March 29^th 2009
“Help women transform and change their lives and become productive members of society again.” – Kari G.		“GH has made me slow down and look at my life and taught me to acknowledge who I am as a person.” – Michelle C.
Hardly a day goes by that we don’t receive a request for admission to Guest House from an incarcerated woman facing release or from a concerned family member. There are simply not enough places like ours to address the growing need for the transitional housing that has been proved to work for women. Female ex-offenders are one of America’s most disadvantaged groups. Over half have suffered some type of abuse. Most have survived below the poverty level, and the overwhelming majority face challenges of alcoholism or other addictions. With little if any rehabilitation available to them during or after incarceration, the 60%-70% national recidivism rate among them is almost predictable.
You may donate by check, credit card, or bank transfer. Please mail your check, payable to Friends of Guest House, to: Friends of Guest House One East Luray Avenue Alexandria, Virginia 22301 Please write Race to $15K in the Memo Line of your check.
Please use one of the PayPal buttons on this page to donate via credit card or bank transfer:
	Federal Tax Exempt Number: 51-0201327 United Way Number: 8583 Combined Federal Campaign Number: 69155
“To me Guest House means freedom: Freedom from the past, freedom to be myself, freedom to make the right decisions.”
- Deborah, Guest House Resident
http://RaceTo15K.org
Questions? Email director@friendsofguesthouse.org