Digi Talk Winter NEWSLETTER | |
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Dear Friends,
2022 has come to a close with another year of blessings. We spent time with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
As a year of changes for AUDIOBOOK Ministries comes to a close, we look forward to growing the ministry. As many of you already know, we were given the gift of Merlin Arney's Estate at the end of December, which will help us grow for many years to come; what a blessing.
I also want to thank everyone who participated in the end-of-year giving campaign; we exceeded our $6,000 goal. We made over $16,000 with one person paying our rent for the year. God bless you all.
We encourage you to forward this email to anyone who would enjoy reading about our ministry.
Thank you and God bless,
Laurie van der Roest
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A Prayer for Hope in the New Year
Dear Lord, As a new year begins, I look to You for our hope, joy and peace. Give me the courage to do all that You ask of me. Please also make me brave to not do what isn’t from You. Show me how to walk in grace and embrace Your love for me even more. In Jesus' Name, Amen. ~ Holly Gerth
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Celebrating
1st anniversary
at John Knox
On January 29th it will be 1 year since we moved to John Knox, our new office location. Everyone has been so kind. It feels like coming home, knowing we were started by a member of John Knox 42 years ago and have had their support along the way. Thanks again, John Knox for making us feel welcome.
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We would appreciate your help. If you only have a few hours or tons of time, we need you at AUDIOBOOK Ministries to help us grow and serve. We need to fill a couple of Board member seats.
Email me a: [email protected]
or call the office at 206-243-7377.
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Staff Spotlight
Rebecca Kunza
Before coming to AUDIOBOOK Ministries I had worked in many different fields. I was born and raised in Taiwan. I worked in finance, advertising, and sales before becoming an English teacher for children ages 5-13. Eventually, I moved to the United State to pursue a degree in Audio Engineering. After graduating I spent a couple of years working in a production company producing digital music sampling before online streaming was even a thing. A sudden family tragedy took me back to school, and I received a degree in Music Therapy (MT-BC) with a concentration in developmental disabilities. Upon graduation, I had the privilege of working as a music therapist at Oregon School for the Blind and providing therapy to children with developmental disabilities through private music therapy agencies. While working as a music therapist, I also had a unique opportunity working part-time for an Ecommerce business and learned to manage online admin and content pages as well as handling wholesaler services.
After moving back to Washington to be close to my husband and taking a few years off from working a neighbor asked if I would go to AUDIOBOOK Ministries and learn about a job that was in urgent need to be filled. I thought, why not? And then that very first visit started my relationship with AUDIOBOOK Ministries.
February 2023 will be my 5th year anniversary working at AUDIOBOOK Ministries as the Book Production Manager. Looking back, my journey to AUDIOBOOK Ministries sounded simply like a chance encounter, but after a while, I realized that although I was not looking for the job then, the job found me and reconnected me with my previous experiences in audio production, music therapy, and online business. AUDIOBOOK Ministries allows me to combine my love for technology with service for people with disabilities. Thanks to the ever-evolving technology, most production side of operations have now streamlined and become more efficient. I am grateful for the supportive coworkers and Board members. And I truly enjoy working with our amazing narrators.
A fun fact - in just 14 months, I will have spent as many years living in the U.S. as I had in my native country.
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Author Spotlight
Dee Henderson is a lifelong inhabitant of Illinois, currently residing in Springfield. She is the daughter of a pastor and started writing as a child. Henderson graduated from the University of Illinois in 1988 with a B.S. in computer science and worked for a decade as an engineer before publishing professionally. She started writing fiction for publication in 1996. Henderson is single and enjoys painting, reading, walking around her subdivision, and spending time with her dogs. She still worships at her childhood church.
AUDIOBOOK Ministries has 17 books available to check out from the 30 plus books Henderson has written.
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Grant received
We want to give a shout-out to the Tulalip Tribe for the recent grant given to AUDIOBOOK Ministries. These funds will go toward supplies to bring joy to our patrons.
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Roger & Joyelle Neubauer
James DeBruhl
George & Karen Pettingell
David Hamilton
D.J. Watts
Stephen and Martha Wendover
Carolyn Myers
Dale and Jinny Sewall
Julie Ausen
Connie Hemmer
Terry &Janice Devoe
Nora Schrock
Ruth Blair
Jeff Fantozzi
Ducan & John Holmes
Karen & Bruce Merle
Timothy & Karen Hansen
Eunice Powell
Dorothy Frich
Kay Duncanson
Delores Hill
Kit Frank
Colton Gross
Emily Dill
Francic Chiappetta
Roberta Valade
John Knox Presbyterian Church
Highline Christian Church
Federal Way Lions Club
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Kristine & David Jung
Jannett Beal
Richard & Alexandra Austin
Betty Justus
Linda Wright
Dwayne & Jo Ann Hinnan
Reuben Morales
Laurie & Raymond vandeRoest
Carol Marshall
Cynthia Anderson
Christine Gray-Scott
Steven Blow
Joyce Bridges
Chuck & Judy Schwanke
John VanDam
Robert Reeves
Jerry & Shirley Farris
Siobhan Kotal
Deborah Green
Lucille Dunlavy & Patricia Bates
Jim &Janice Fobes
Barbara Hershberger
Lucille Bogan
Marion Palmer
Kenneth and Marmie Beagle
Bob Black
Nancy Sanner
Mercer Island Lions Club
Southminster Presbyterian Church
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Kroger Rewards Benefit AUDIOBOOK Ministries
If you shop at Fred Meyer stores and have a Rewards Card, you can now link your card to AUDIOBOOK Ministries so that we can benefit from the dollars that you spend shopping at Fred Meyer. Fred Meyer Community Rewards donates up to $625,000 per quarter to non-profits. Customers will continue to receive the Rewards Points, Rebates, and Fuel Points they're used to getting, but now their dollars will earn donations to ABM.
Signing up is simple: After logging in (or creating an online account), search for AUDIOBOOK MINISTRIES. Complete the signup process, and you will be good to go! Feel free to share this information with anyone you know who also shops at Fred Meyer.
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How Can You Help Us?
Matching Gifts: Your gift can be doubled or even tripled if you or your spouse work for a company with a matching gift program. All you need to do is ask your human resources office for information.
Tribute Gifts: What better way to honor someone special than to donate to AUDIOBOOK Ministries? This works for celebrating a special birthday or other milestones and a memorial. We list these donations in our newsletter every quarter.
Bequests: Have you considered where you would like to leave your legacy? A charitable bequest can be tailored to various circumstances and provides an unlimited tax deduction for estate tax purposes. In a last will and testament, you may stipulate a specific cash donation to AUDIOBOOK Ministries or state a percentage of your gross assets. We also accept stock donations; contact our office for the correct procedure and forms. As always, we thank you!
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Gifts In Memory and Honor
Giving monetary gifts is a beautiful way to remember or honor a loved one, friend, neighbor, or co-worker while supporting our ministry. AUDIOBOOK Ministries received gifts this past quarter for the following:
In Memoriam:
A contribution was made to ABM
In memory of:
Bill Schlegel
By Susan Schlegel
Lisbeth Spayde
By Bruce & Karen Merle
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Mission Statement
Statement
"To provide wholesome, inspirational recorded material for people who cannot read due to blindness, visual impairment, or other disabilities. We aim to share the pure joy of reading through books that inspire, entertain, and provide encouragement, comfort, and hope."
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About Us
AUDIOBOOK Ministries is a ministry dedicated to making Christian literature accessible for all. We are a Christian lending library with over 3,300 audio titles - inspirational, faith-based books, recorded by volunteers and mailed nationwide to share God's love and the joy of reading with people who have
reading-related disabilities.
Our services are free.
If you know of someone who can benefit from our services, please visit our
website or email us
for more information and an application.
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