November 2023

The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow. Psalm 146:9

Please note: We typically only send one newsletter a month. The holiday season will bring more outreach with great stories to follow once Giving Tuesday begins.

We pray you will consider WPRP in your year-end giving.

We CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!

Parent Highlight

The vision of WPRP is that our parents move forward with hope.

This month we want to highlight another one of our recent Alumni Parents, Lauren Grace. She wrapped up her year with us and her two Family Friends, Melissa and Susie, in September. Lauren Grace has 2 littles and lost the love of her life suddenly to an illness. Her life was greatly impacted by Never Alone Widows ministry, and she decided to to help spread the love by leading a support group chapter here in Knoxville. Our WPRP parents attend her Never Alone group where they focus on biblical truths to provide hope and support each other emotionally. Through her own suffering, Lauren Grace is providing hope to our parents and will continue to be a tremendous ray of light as an alumni parent!

The mission of WPRP is to help alleviate everyday stress...

Lauren Grace takes advantage of the Babysitter Directory and met some reliable sitters she can continuously call upon. WPRP was able to show God's love through many home projects with the help of great community partners, especially Two Rivers Church and Tennessee Standard Plumbing. From yard work, to pressure washing, to volunteers coming and playing with her children, the prayer support of her Family Friends, and the babysitting stipends made possible by donors, Lauren Grace and her two children were very blessed by our village.

...and help build an enduring support system.

In addition, one of our continuous volunteers, Doug Wright, who helped Lauren Grace with some handiwork early on her time with WPRP, calls her every few months to see if she needs anything. "I know I can always call Doug if I need anything!" We are so grateful for our volunteers!

"Thank you so much to all that donate to WPRP. Your giving has been so helpful this year as I continue to navigate my new life. The mowing of my yard weekly was a huge stress off of my back. My husband was the yard guy and enjoyed working in the yard. After my husband passed, the yard became a stressor! Thank you for providing support. The stipend for childcare was so nice to know that I had financial support to do things for myself and get a little break." ~ Lauren Grace

Once again, Two Rivers Church came through for our parents in a HUGE way!

Two Rivers Church sent four teams (23 people) to complete projects for our parents on October 28th for their Local Impact Serve Saturday.

Family Friend, Denise, said her parent, Deb, "felt like a heavy burden was lifted!" ~ Two Rivers participants organized the garage and cleaned all the bushes that were hanging over her fence into her neighbors' yards.

Other different projects consisted a several pressure washings, yard work, giving our parents a break by carving pumpkins with their children, and organizing, organizing, ORGANIZING!

Clean house is proven to help with clean mind! THANK YOU!

We are so blessed to have such a great partner who comes alongside our parents to alleviate everyday stress and take so much off their plates.

" The volunteers this morning were AMAZING!! They pressure washed my drive and walkways, and cleaned and organized my storage areas. Words cannot express how much their help, friendliness, joy and time mean to me!! Today was truly a blessing!! Thank you!! " - Stephanie, a WPRP Parent

To view

ALL of WPRP's current prayers and needs, CLICK LINK...

Current Needs and Prayers

Please consider becoming a recurring donor to be a sustaining support to our widowed families. Just $30/month sponsors a group's emotional support activities.

Donate Today

Thank you to our local Business Supporters

Friedman's Appliances &

Tennessee Standard: Plumbing & Drain

5 kids and no dishwasher...

4 kids and a giant plumbing worry ...

You know the hassle of raising 5 kids without a dishwasher?! Then working to search to buy an affordable one and receive it in a timely manner? All while your to-do list is a mile long, trying to keep your head above water, compounded with the burden of grief... Disruptions like these, at a time like this, can cause undue stress, anxiety, and lead to a path of hopelessness.

Christina Esposito Volk and the wonderful people at Friedman's generously donated of a brand new dishwasher to this parent!

They delivered, installed, and took away the old dishwasher all at no cost. What a blessing our community partners are to WPRP and our families. Stop in and thank Friedman's today!

Caleb and the Nehemiah Initiative at Tennessee Standard Plumbing have done it again! They completed a huge donated plumbing project for one of our parents. Having 4 children and a burden like this hanging over your head, he said it was relieving to have it all complete and is very grateful!

If you need a plumber who cares about people... TN Standard is it!

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE FAMILY FRIENDZY 2024

Sunday, April 14th

Thank you, Kelsie Orrico, for your creative promo video you made for WPRP!

We made one new parent match this month!

We are excited to start partnering with parent, Katie, and her Family Friend, Susie.

BUT WE STILL NEED YOU

We have three waiting parents in the Downtown/North Knoxville area who need Family Friends.

Apply to be a Family Friend TODAY

WPRP provides our parents with a vetted list of people to contact when they need a babysitter or someone to transport their children.

This service is so important, as finding trusted care and having options to reach out to can be a challenge!

Apply today to be on the call list for our parents as a paid or volunteer driver/babysitter.

Want to be reached via TEXT when a volunteer is needed?

Volunteer needs arise at different times based on our organization and families' situations. We'd like to let you know when an urgent need arises that you may be able to help fulfill.

Message VOLNEEDED to 51555 to subscribe to Volunteer Need Texts. We are a volunteer-run organization and rely heavily on volunteers for a variety of needs. We promise we won't bombard you; we want to keep in touch with you in a meaningful way.

DONATE TODAY TO SUPPORT OUR WIDOWED FAMILIES

Widowed Parent Relief Project

P.O. Box 22545

Knoxville TN 37933

865.888.7274

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