WISEPlace

Remember Julie, a WISEPlace grad? After sharing her testimonial last week, we were happy to receive an update from Julie herself. She said: "It (WISEPlace) was a great experience. I got back on my feet. Today I am working at the USPS -it’s been almost 4 years. And I have a place and a car of my own. Those are the things I prayed for and WISEPlace helped me. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to say
Thank You."

Join us in welcoming Know Thyself as Soul to our Meal Provider Family! 🥳 They’ve been generously providing monthly meals and breakfast donations to WISEPlace. We’re incredibly grateful for their support and can’t wait for many more delicious meals for the amazing ladies we serve.

If you would like to be a meal provider too, please email [email protected]

SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 12, 2024. We are thrilled to announce that has been invited to participate in this year’s Outlets at San Clemente! This is a day of shopping, discounts, prizes, wine tasting and more. The proceeds of this day benefit participating OC nonprofits, including WISEPlace. Come out to support us on Saturday, Oct. 12, starting at 10 AM!

Are you part of a wine club or maybe you just really enjoy ... Would you be willing to donate a bottle or two of your favorite wine to support our Summer Events auctions? A bottle of wine, valued at $25 or more would be a perfect gift to the shelter to put in the auction! You can complete this form to donate to the WISEPlace auction and reach out to [email protected] for drop off/pickup.
https://wiseplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-WISEPlace-Summer-Events.pdf

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” -Helen Keller

Thank you so much to our generous Summer Bash food sponsors: St. Marina Coptic Orthodox Church, Irvine, CA and For Goodness Cakes

ONE MONTH AWAY! CREW Orange County (Commercial Real Estate Women Orange County) is hosting its annual Summer Soirée on Friday, August 16th at Marconi Automotive Museum in to benefit WISEPlace! Get ready to network with over 200 people, enjoy Casino Royale while supporting women in need! For tickets, visit: https://www.creworangecounty.org/events #!event/register/2024/8/16/crew-oc-summer-soiree-2024

Photo shows WISEPlace Graduate Annie sharing her story at a previous year’s Summer Soiree.

🌟 Celebrating Julie’s journey! At WISEPlace, we’re committed to ending homelessness with a holistic approach. Our services—counseling, employment assistance, financial planning, and addiction recovery—empower participants for lasting success. 💙

Learn more: https://wiseplace.org/wiseplace-way/

Do you have sports tickets or packages you're not able to use and would like us to auction so the seats don't go empty? You can support Summer Events fundraising by donating to our auctions - To receive a donation form and for inquiries, please email [email protected]

A good nutritious meal is a vital step towards living a self-sufficient life as it gives our WISEPlace participants the energy and the nourishment to thrive each and every day. We need volunteer meal providers on the following dates. If you would like to volunteer to provide either lunch or dinner, please email [email protected]

Lunch
August 2, 6, 9, 23 and 30

Dinner
August 2, 6, 7, 14, 21 and 28

AMAZING! How blessed are we to have received a generous $100K donation from our friends at First Presbyterian Church, an inclusive community of faith and love in downtown Orange. Special thanks to Pastor R. Winston Presnall, and his wife Pam, who have been the Head of Staff at FPCO for over 20 years. Thank you for leaving a legacy at First Presbyterian Church of Orange and now at !

Help provide safe, reliable transportation for the women at WISEPlace. Your donation of Uber/Lyft gift cards, or OCTA Bus Passes helps them get to and from work, medical and housing appointments.

Click here to make a donation towards purchasing Uber, Lyft rides and OCTA bus passes.
https://bit.ly/donate-uber-lyft

You can also buy bus passes here: https://passsales.octa.net/

The National Women's Shelter Network is a national network of women’s and family homeless shelters coming together for information sharing and collective action. Together we are stronger! They recently stopped by Orange County to connect with local shelter programs including ! The gathering was held at Thomas House Family Shelter

WOW! What do you think about our housing construction progress in Santa Ana? We now have all four floors framed up, windows and a roof! Our old shelter building was 23,000 sq ft and we’re building more needed affordable housing in our new 47,000 sq ft.

Stay tuned for more construction updates as we offer housing solutions and wrap-around services to end homelessness in our OC community.

Happy Birthday America! And Happy Independence Day to all.

The essence of America, that which really unites us, is not ethnicity or nationality or religion. It is an idea, and what an idea it is — that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. -

Our annual is around the corner and we are still in need of some items for the women we serve. Please help us acquire these items, by simply making a purchase from our Amazon Wish List. We still need water bottles and sunglasses! The items are essential items for unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness in Orange County.

https://wiseplace.org/summer-bash

Planning a night out at your favorite restaurant? 🍽️ Why not make it even more special by asking for a gift card donation for WISEPlace’s Summer Events auction? 🎉 Your generosity can help us provide essential support to the women we serve. 🙏💕

🔸 Sports tickets, fine wine, luxurious vacation stays—these are the prizes that make our auctions unforgettable! 🏀🍷🌴

🔸 Be part of something bigger. Donate or encourage others to contribute today! 💪🤝

For donation inquiries, reach out to [email protected]. Let’s make a difference together!

🎉🌟 Participant Update 🌟🎉 We're thrilled to share that Sa has achieved a huge milestone by earning her GED! 🎓✨ Thanks to our dedicated one-on-one employment case management, she’s now employed at a local yogurt shop and will be working on campus in August! 🍦🏫

But that's not all! Sa will also be moving into an apartment with roommates near school this August, where she'll continue to pursue her passion for fashion! 🏡👗

Congratulations, Sa! We are so proud of you! 💖👏

News Alert: Supreme Court Upholds Gun Law Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors by making it a crime for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders to possess guns. Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for the unaccompanied women we serve. This law is a step towards protecting domestic violence survivors.

Supreme Court upholds gun control law used to protect domestic violence victims The justices ruled 8-1 Friday in favor of a 1994 ban on fi****ms for people under restraining orders to stay away from their spouses or partners. The justices reversed a ruling from the federal appeals court in New Orleans that had struck down the law.

Do you have a timeshare, vacation home, VRBO or Airbnb that you can donate to ? We are seeking dates for after August 16th and September 28th to support our Summer Events fundraising via auction!

If you do, and would like to support by sharing your timeshare or vacation home on the dates given, please email [email protected]

Please complete this form and email back to us:
https://wiseplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-WISEPlace-Summer-Events.pdf

Donate a meal to help the women rebuilding their lives at . We are looking for LUNCH and DINNER meal providers for the month of August on the following dates:

LUNCH
August 2, 6, 9, 11, 20 & 23

DINNER
August 2, 6, 7, 14, 18, 21 & 28

Please email [email protected] if you would like to provide a meal for one of the dates above.

Join us at the ! CREW Orange County is hosting its annual Summer Soirée on Friday, August 16th at Marconi Automotive Museum in Tustin to benefit WISEPlace! Get ready to network with over 200 people, enjoy Casino Royale while supporting women in need!
For info & tickets: https://wiseplace.org/crew-oc-summer-soiree

Photos are from previous Summer Soirees.

Does a good pantry re-stock make your heart sing? Our shelters need it too! If you have a couple of hours available each week and would like to help keep our shelters stocked with essential items, please email [email protected] to learn more about this volunteer opportunity.

WOW! We are filled with gratitude for the generous BehrPaint donation that will bring our walls to life in our upcoming Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) development in Santa Ana. BEHR generously donated all the interior paint to help bring this project to life. Thank you, Behr!

Do you love a particular winery? Donate a bottle of your favorite wine to support our Summer Events auctions! A bottle of wine, valued at $25 or more would be a perfect gift to the to put in the auction!

If you would like to donate wine to the WISEPlace auction, please download and complete the form below and email [email protected]

https://wiseplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-WISEPlace-Summer-Events.pdf

🌟 Volunteer Spotlight: Danielle Najera 🌟

We're thrilled to highlight the incredible Danielle Najera, whose dedication and versatility make her an invaluable member of our team. Whether she's tackling administrative tasks, crafting beautiful balloon garlands, building welcome kits, leading volunteer teams at special events, or driving meals to our shelters, Danielle always goes above and beyond to lend a helping hand. Thank you, Danielle, for your unwavering commitment and passion! We appreciate everything you do. 💖👏

Did you know that adults over 55 are the fastest growing segment of the unhoused population?

For older adults, the trauma of homelessness is often compounded by chronic health conditions and mobility issues, as well as feelings of guilt, embarrassment, and a hesitancy to ask for help. It can be life-threatening for unaccompanied women like Elaine (pictured here), who never imagined that she would experience homelessness in their 70s.

Learn more about and how we help women of all ages experiencing homelessness get back on their feet at wiseplace.org