"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.'"

~Luke 2:10

This has been an amazing year filled with growth and new beginnings – both for Bloom and for the courageous women survivors starting over in our homes. As I reflect on all God has done this year, I’m in awe of the incredible journey we’ve been on together. This is just as much your journey as it is mine – thank you for praying and supporting this meaningful work through your gifts of time, talent, and treasure. 

TOGETHER we opened Bloom’s first home for moms and babies and have watched them “BLOOM” in this very special season of life.

TOGETHER we employed more participants at our social enterprises than last year, offering them safe and meaningful employment as well as an opportunity to grow and build a vocational history to launch their next chapter of life.

TOGETHER we welcomed 20 new women into our structured residential program.

TOGETHER we launched “Flourish” our workforce development program. This 6–12-week series connects Bloom participants with outside professionals for resume writing, financial education, and workplace readiness among other important topics. 

TOGETHER we launched our outreach initiative to connect one-on-one with women still looking for a way out of the violence living on the streets brings. 

None of this would be possible without your faithful generosity, ongoing prayers, and countless hours of volunteering at My Sister’s Closet, Bloom Creative Studio, our events, our homes, and our office. 

Recently one of our law enforcement partners told me they had identified 50-60 new victims of trafficking here in the Lehigh Valley in 2023. That is 50-60 too many! As we look ahead to 2024, we know there is much more work to do and ask that you consider joining us in offering freedom to women survivors in the new year. Our staff is ready to enter 2024 and do more together with you as we accomplish our mission to provide sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation. 

Will you consider giving today? Your tax-deductible contribution can be made securely online at our website. And this year, due to the generosity of several donors teaming up together, every gift will be doubled up to $25,000. No gift is too small!

Please make a gift today so together we can make a difference tomorrow in the lives of women survivors here in the Lehigh Valley.

With gratitude,

Carol

Carol Andersen

CEO

Holiday DIY Centerpiece Event Sold Out!

Thank you to all who came to our DIY Holiday Centerpiece event and visited our pop-up shop! A special thank you to Susan Lubbe of Gardens of Grace who prepared the materials and led the workshop - every project was beautiful and unique! And, thank you to Gina Sandnes for hosting the event at her beautiful barn.

Making the Holidays Brighter for Our Survivors

We are so thankful for our community who supports the Bloom mission and our participants throughout the year. We had a few groups who went above and beyond to make the holidays special for our program participants:

• THANK YOU Vickie Severn for inviting us to be part of the Grace Church Giving Tree this year!
• THANK YOU Jody King and her team from the CBRE group for picking Bloom for Women as their holiday donation recipient this year!
• THANK YOU to Jeni and her team from MomsNext for putting together amazing Christmas stockings for the Mountain Laurel House mothers and their children!

Save the Dates!

January 24, 2024

Virtual Community Education Forum:

Online Safety

Speaker: Homeland Security

March 15, 2024

Join the Movement Luncheon

Speaker: Homeland Security

Hotel Bethlehem

Bethlehem, PA

April 28, 2024

Spring Luncheon to Benefit Bloom

The Broadway Inn

Mountain Top, PA

May 6, 2024

Bloom Annual Golf Outing

Brookside Country Club

Macungie, PA

May 11, 2024

Motorcycle Run sponsored by In the Light Roofing

All proceeds benefit Bloom

October 2, 2024

Bloom Freedom Benefit Dinner

Hotel Bethlehem

Bethlehem, PA

Regular Monthly Prayer Meetings

The sessions will now take place on Zoom from

12:00-1:00 p.m. the second Monday of the month:

November 13, December 11, and so on.  

If you are interested in joining us for prayer,

please email us.

Jessica Armstrong, Esq., Board Chair

As Jessica Armstrong’s tenure as chair of Bloom for Women’s Board of Directors draws to a close, we want to express our sincere gratitude to her for her service. Board service is the toughest volunteer role, and Jessica took on her duties with dedication, grace, and fervor. We are most grateful for her active leadership as a judicious steward of our mission.

Jessica tells us she first became aware of Bloom’s mission through her good friend, Maureen O’Meara, our former board chair. “I was immediately thrilled to hear that an

organization existed locally to help women who have been sex trafficked.”



In December of 2019 she joined us (we were Truth for Women at that time) as a board member and was instrumental in shepherding our expansion through our merger with Bloom in Bangor.

“As a board member and as the current board chair, I see my main responsibility as

a fiduciary, making sure that Bloom is operating by sound, ethical and legal

governance and ensuring financial responsibility and sustainability.

Most importantly, I see my role as an ambassador of Bloom in the community –

spreading the word of Bloom, and educating the public about the prevalence of sex

trafficking and the critical work that Bloom does to help and heal those who have

been trafficked.”

Annual Sponsorships Now Available

Bloom is now offering Annual Sponsorships for 2024. These packages provide individuals and organizations with the opportunity to provide Bloom with on-going support throughout the year and also receive year-round recognition as a philanthropic leader in the Lehigh Valley.

Annual Sponsors will be recognized at both of Bloom's major fundraising events, our Annual Golf Outing in May and our Freedom Benefit Dinner in October.

My Sister's Closet

Join our VIP Shopper Club and take advantage of special perks from coupons, invites to private shopping events to first looks at new items and exclusive sales! Click here to learn more.

Holiday Sale!

December 18 - 23

15% off all full-price jewelry

**The final day for holding clothing will be December 18 since we will be closed over the holidays.

Donations are Being Accepted

Please check our website for details on what we will and will not accept.

We are currently only accepting fall and winter clothing.

The studio has been buzzing for all the holiday happenings.

The Bloom ladies were busy printing sweatshirts for My Sisters Closet, check them out at the store and look for them on our website shortly.

Love Bulbs have been planted, wrapped, and are for sale so if you haven't placed an order you can do that on our website.

The Holiday DIY Centerpiece Event was a great success for the Studio with many handmade items and Thistle Farm Products sold through our pop-up shop. Stop into the studio store for some holiday shopping.

We had a great turn out for Cindy Lou's paint night and look forward to her subject for the next paint night in January. 

Open Clay Studio and beginner wheel throwing classes have been well attended and if you are interested in one of the classes please call the studio.

We are planning to have a mosaic class and a felting class in January, so check out our website for upcoming classes. 

From the Studio to all of you, we wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season. We look forward to seeing you at the Studio in 2024. 

Bloom is a faith-based non-profit organization with the mission of providing sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. As part of its mission, Bloom offers emergency response, a two-year residential program, pregnant survivor services and an independent living program in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Bloom follows the model and is a sister community of the remarkably successful Thistle Farms Nashville program. In addition, the Bloom Creative Studio, located in Bangor, Pa., is a social enterprise to leverage art as a healing tool and provide employment opportunities for survivors. Bloom also has a women’s upscale, resale boutique, My Sister’s Closet, based in Bethlehem, Pa., providing employment opportunities for survivors, community volunteer opportunities, and financial support for the organization. 

610-866-5755

info@bloomforwomen.org

www.bloomforwomen.org