Calling All Gifts...

Open Arms is seeking donations of gifts for children and women who have been affected by domestic violence. A Client Christmas Party will be held in December, providing many clients with food, games and gifts for Christmas.

Items needed include sports equipment, gift cards, games, cars and dolls for the children. We are also seeking bath and body type items, photo albums/frames, calendars, gas/phone/gift cards, tote bags, purses, gloves and perfume items for our female adult clients. Donations are also being sought for the Client Christmas Party, with needed items including hamburger buns, plastic silverware, baked goods, vegetable trays, chips and dip and beverages.

If you wish to be one of Santa's helpers by providing gifts or adopting a family, please contact Open Arms at 419-420-9261. All doantions can be dropped off at the Open Arms administrative office, 401 West Sandusky Street, by December 11th. We ask that donors take care to ensure that all toys, books, games or other gifts are nonviolent. We also ask that the gifts not be wrapped in order for our staff to sort and separate the toys for age appropriateness.

Open Arms Receives Payless Gives Shoes 4 Kids™ Gift Coupons

Open Arms is pleased to announce that we have been selected as an official partner of Payless Gives, an annual giving program from Payless ShoeSource. We are among 800 charitable agencies representing all 50 states in the United States, across Canada and Puerto Rico and in 10 Latin American countries to be part of the program.

Throughout the Holidays, we will be distributing coupons for shoes to children of families that have utilized our services during the year. Each coupon is good for a pair of children's shoes at any Payless ShoeSource store.

GOLF OUTING BENEFITS OPEN ARMS

Charles Construction Services, Inc. has donated the proceeds from its Annual Golf Outing to Open Arms. This year was the 10^th anniversary for the event which raised $9,500 for the agency. The outing which was held at Red Hawk Run Golf Club, included 26 teams from local businesses affiliated with Charles Construction along with teams of supporters of Open Arms.

DorAnne's Gifts & Gourmet: Shop For A Cause

Open Arms is proud to partner with DorAnne’s Gifts & Gourmet for

“Shopping For A Cause”

October 1 - 30

For the month of October, DorAnne’s will give a 10% discount off of your total purchase by bringing in an item from the Open Arms Wish List.

Shop the vast display of specialty toys, gifts and gourmet items and save 10%!

Come out in October and Shop For A Cause!

DorAnne’s Gifts & Gourmet

327 S. Main Street, Findlay

Monday-Friday 10-5

Saturday 10-2

Open Arms announces Keynote Speakers for Annual Meeting

Open Arms is proud to announce our Annual Meeting, featuring Keynote Speakers, State Representative Edna Brown and Survivor & Advocate Johanna Orozco.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

7:00 PM

First Presbyterian Church Banquet Room, 2330 S. Main Street

Join us as we hear the heroic journey of Johanna, a young woman whose life was forever changed during a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend. Johanna, who recently shared her story on Oprah, gives a candid and powerful account of overcoming her struggles.

Learn more from State Representative Edna Brown, an Ohio native, who was instrumental in lobbying for the newly passed Teen Dating Violence Law. Representative Brown is a champion on women’s issues.

Please RSVP by Friday, October 1 to Open Arms at 419-420-9261 or openarmsfindlay@yahoo.com

HOUSE BILL 10: SHYNERRA'S LAW

SENATE APPROVES BILL DESIGNED TO HELP TEENS IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
In June 2005, Shynerra Grant, a 17 year-old high school graduate from Toledo who was headed to Wilberforce University on a scholarship, was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Antonio Bryant Rogers. For more than a year before this tragic shooting, Antonio stalked and abused Shynerra, including an incident in May 2004 when he broke into her home and put her in the hospital with a broken jaw.

Nearly two years later, in March 2007, Johanna Orozco, a high school student from Cleveland, was shot in the face by her ex-boyfriend, Juan Ruiz, days after he was released from juvenile prison for raping her. She survived. Juan had repeatedly hit, pushed and kicked Johanna during their relationship.

Unfortunately, the abuse that Shynerra and Johanna endured is only a glimpse into what has become a haunting reality for many teens in dating relationships. According to an investigative series in the Columbus Dispatch last November called,Domestic Silence, young Ohioans ages 15 to 19 are twice as likely to experience dating violence as they are to be injured in a car crash. However, unlike adults who are targets of threats and abuse by a boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse, Ohio teenagers in violent relationships have been unable to get protection orders from a court in an attempt to keep their attackers away. This law has recently changed.

In June 2010, the General Assembly passed House Bill 10, legislation that gives juvenile courts in Ohio the same authority as common pleas courts to issue protection orders. While the bill is not a "panacea," it is designed to provide greater protection for teens in abusive relationships. Offenders can be arrested immediately if they go to a victim's home or office, call them on the telephone or damage their property. The bill, which was named Shynerra's Law in memory of Shynerra Grant, was signed by Governor Ted Strickland.

The stories of Shynerra and Johanna and the many other young people in Ohio who have experienced abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or girlfriend are heartbreaking. While HB 10 will not prevent every violent relationship, hopefully it will provide a stronger defense for some teens in these situations and save young lives.

For more information on House Bill 10, Shynerra’s Law, please visit the Ohio General Assembly website at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/.

Come Visit Us At The Fair!

It's Fair Time! And once again Open Arms will have a booth in the Merchant's Building at The Hancock County Fair. Come out and visit our booth, pick up some school supplies and take some time to look over our Awareness Projects on display. We will have the Children's Survivor Art, highlighting original artwork from local children who use our services; as well as the Clothesline Project. This display is a powerful and eye-opening tribute to local victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, from the victim's point of view. September 1 - 6, we hope to see you at the Fair!