Blog Relocated!

Thank you for viewing the Shelterwood Blog. We are excited to announce that the Shelterwood website has been updated and all current and future blog updates will be located there. Please visit us at www.Shelterwood.org!!!

Summer at Shelterwood

During the summer while teens are at Shelterwood they have half-days of school Monday through Thursday and Fridays off which affords the opportunity to take weekend trips into the wilderness of the Ozark Mountains and Rocky Mountains. Every few weeks there is also a whole week without classes that allows for trips even further away. This summer our teens have had the opportunity to take trips to Steamboat Springs, CO to go hiking and horseback riding, canoe one of the many beautiful rivers in Missouri, and even made it up to Kansas City to volunteer with The Sky's the Limit inner-city camp.

Baptism

This past weekend four of our Shelterwood teens decided to express their recent profession of faith at the church they have been attending in Denver during their stay in our program. One of the teen's family was able to attend. It was an exciting time for the teens and their families along with our staff and the big sisters in our LeadTime program who have poured out Christ's love to her. In addition to this, another former Shelterwood teen who attended our Branson facility a couple years ago was also baptized this same morning at this same church!

Family Weekend

Shelterwood recently held the bi-annual parent's weekend at both our Branson and Denver locations. The parents were able to come out and visit their teens at our facilities, take part in parenting classes, parent group sessions, family counseling, parent/teacher conferences with the school professionals, in addition to opportunities to get to know the house staff. Once again it was a very impactful weekend for not only the parents and teens, but also our staff. We are so thankful for the families we work with and the ways God is moving in their lives to accomplish His purposes. One family that went through our program in 2003 in Branson was able to return and share their experience during the weekend. She typed out the testimony she shared and it is included in our links section to the right. Please take time to read it as I'm sure you will be encouraged.

Mission opportunity

At various times throughout the year Shelterwood teens take part in activities that provide service in the local community and the world. Some of our Shelterwood teens recently had the opportunity to go down to Juarez, Mexico with staff and LeadTimers in partnership with International Family Missions (IFM). They took part in ongoing relationships IFM already has down there with a local colonia, an orphanage, churches, and a men's rehab. The picture is the entire team that was able to go.

Feedback

The staff at Shelterwood continues to be blessed by the feedback we receive from the families we serve. One current Shelterwood father recently wrote:

"He is doing great…it has been an incredible transformation… I respect him as much as any man in my life…it is not something I would ever say without meaning it...he has truly earned my admiration... thank you for putting such a caring team of bigs, counselors, teachers and staff at SW…SWood has saved our family"

Westword Magazine article on former Shelterwood little

The following article appeared in the Westword magazine, a Denver area arts and entertainment magazine. Heather Cameron attended Shelterwood as a little sister and then returned to serve as a big sister. You can read the entire article by clicking on the link titled Westword article or typing in the link following the introduction on your web browser.

"Heather Cameron heard the sound of the gunshots that killed her mother. On Saturday, April 20, 1996, the twelve-year-old was waiting for Debra Cameron -- Debbie, to her friends -- to return from a charity auction at Graland Country Day School, where Heather was in the sixth grade. Debbie had called a little earlier to say she was on her way home and to ask her daughter what she wanted to eat. So Heather sat on the couch of her mom's loft in the Neusteter building, watching MTV and thinking about dinner."--Westword Magazine--Nov. 23, 2006

http://www.westword.com/Issues/2006-11-23/news/feature.html