What a difference a year makes

SPECIAL THANK YOU:

WAL-MART's 12 Days of Giving.  

Wal-Mart has generously given $12,500 to Joel's Place.  They are a major reason that we have been able to make positive steps forward this month.  We are so grateful! 

 I don't know where you were and what you were doing a year ago, but I can assure you that my life is remarkably different than it was last December 30th.  Last year I was working at Sears with a nagging feeling that I wanted to find something else to do with my life.  Carina and I had talked about having more kids, but were still a couple of months removed from making a decision.  Important appliances like our furnace were beginning to give indicators that they were on their last legs.

     Now, 12 months later, I have a new job, a new baby, a new furnace and water heater...life has changed at an astonishingly rapid clip.  Joel's Place itself has gone through substantial changes in just over a year: A new Executive Director for the first time in it's history, a new program director, 2 new cafe managers, a new Board President, four new Board Members, new skate ramps, new Red Room flooring, new pavement outside and a new financial outlook.  It is with great joy that I can write that we are out of the financial hole of 2012.  There are no overdue payments, no missed mortgage payments, no unpaid staff.  At one point this summer we were $40,000 behind.  To come to the place where we can put that all behind us, be able to be generous with our kids and start paying off our long-term commitments is simply staggering.  Thank you to all our friends, donors, supporters, advocates and champions.  Thank you to everyone who donated time, money and supplies to advance our cause.  Thank you to our major donors who helped pull us out of the financial hole.  Thank you to the Foundations and Programs who were faithful in sending out our payments.

     A special and heartfelt thank you to the Joel's Place staff who labored through transitions and uncertainty and missed checks and construction and me fumbling my way through this job.  You came to work every day with smiling faces and servants' hearts, eager to build up the youth of Joel's Place and give your best, regardless of the circumstances.  Jon, Leah, Kelli, Arlys, Linda, Poppy, Rhema, and Tami, you have made me so proud to be a part of this place.

     I love the winter season of holidays.  Thanksgiving is all about looking back and appreciating what has happened.  Christmas is all about the here and now, being in the moment and celebrating what we have.  New Years is about looking forward in hope and anticipation of what will come.  What does the future hold for Joel's Place?  Clearly, no one knows for sure, but here are my educated guesses of what we will be celebrating one year from now.

• Joel's Place...Outdoors.  We paved the parking lot this past fall. This spring we will install basketball and volleyball courts, fire pits and outdoor skating elements.  My guess is that we will have kids playing here every moment the sun is shining this summer.
• Raising a new generation of skaters.  It is time to introduce the joy of skating to a new batch of Fairbanks youth.  We will bring over school field trips, parties, youth groups, camps, clinics, UAF events and any other things that we can do to get more kids interested in skating.
• Volunteer development.  Joel's Place is a community center.  We are going to recruit members of the community who will bring in new skills, abilities and passions to support the youth of Fairbanks.
• Revived music scene.  We will host concerts of local talent at least twice a month.
• Project On-Ramp: We are looking at ways to help youth transition from high-risk to full-time employment and higher education. 
• Pick.Click.Give. It is time to sign up for the PFD again.  There are charitable giving options and Joel's Place is one of them.  We had dozens of Alaskans give nearly $6,000 this past year.  Please consider donating to us as we look to increase that number to $8,000.
• The Plan.  On the money front, we will develop and implement the plan to pay off this building.

With gratitude, celebration and anticipation,

James