CHRISTMAS HOPE … Pictured is the NLGM Christmas of Hope, along with Nancy Mueller and Ruth Ordway, (Santa’s elves), along with Mary Juarez. Never Let Go wants to wish everyone a very blessed Christmas.
PRESS RELEASE – Never Let Go Ministries has been preparing for their annual Christmas of Hope for a few months now and are now ready to deliver their gifts of Hope.
They would like to give thanks to the many friends and volunteers who have worked so hard to prepare Christmas for nearly 200 individuals in our surrounding community.
Those individuals include youth at the Paulding Opportunity Center and the Juvenile Detention Center, along with adults in the Williams Co. Drug Court program and the treatment team, Serenity Haven (women’s residential rehabilitation home), in Fayette, and also the women from Serenity Springs in Wauseon, the Ohio Guidestone Renewal Center (men’s residential rehabilitation home) in Napoleon, and the Sober living home in Napoleon. All of these facilities include Williams County residents also.
Mary Juarez hosted a Christmas Coffee get together in the NLG office on Dec. 7th, for mothers who have lost a child in an alcohol or drug related death.
Victor and Mary Juarez, founders of Never Let Go Ministries, gave their presentation to the students and staff at the Paulding Opportunity Center this past Friday, Dec. 13, and then gave them a Christmas of Hope, including a NLG blanket, small inspirational booklet, hot chocolate packets, cookies, candy and pop.
Mary and Victor also played Christmas trivia with them, with gifts as they won. This week before Christmas they will be giving their presentation, and taking a Christmas of Hope to all of the places listed above.
Friends of NLG held a blanket drive and received donations towards the blankets that are given in the Christmas bags of Hope to the residential homes.
A Linus tag is attached to each blanket that says: “We all need a security blanket,” along with a tag including the name of the person whom the blanket is in memory of.
A few of the gifts in the men’s and women’s bags are a Serenity or a Jesus Calling devotional, coloring books with colored pencils, inspirational booklets, candy canes with the candy cane story, puzzles, journals, prayer cards, Bath & Body lotion, and many other small inspirational items.
Family Farm and Home in Defiance donated socks and stocking caps for the bags, and Karrie Kimpel from Edgerton, along with St. Mary’s Confirmation class donated shower gel, deodorant, ChapStick, and candy. Bryan Dental Group donated toothbrushes, toothpaste, and mouthwash for the bags.
Chad & Erin Kwiatkowski of Delta, along with the Women’s Giving Circle of Defiance, made monetary donations for the Never Let Go blankets to be given to the JDC, in memory of Chad’s son Jacob, who lost his life in 2016.
The youth at JDC will also receive a “Jesus Calling devotional for Kids,” along with many other items, and gifts to unwrap during a Christmas trivia game. North Western Electric Operation Round Up also helps supports the NLG Christmas of Hope.
Angie Kennerk put a team together and many women baked homemade cookies for the NLG Christmas of Hope, and the Edgerton FFA students, under the direction of their teacher, Mrs. Kristine Manning, made up over 150 Christmas bags with a packet of hot chocolate, scripture page, candy cane, and candy.
Homemade cards were also donated from St. Mary’s School students, along with Heidi and Andy Meyer, seniors from Edgerton High School.
The NLG Christmas of Hope would not be possible if it were not for the generous donations that come in throughout the year, and at Christmas time.
They are also supported by the United Way of Williams County, and NLG holds their annual fundraiser Cruise-In in the fall.
This past month, many friends and supporters of NLG volunteered to wrap presents, shop, collect items, bake cookies, help put bags together, tie tags on blankets, and candy cane cards to candy canes, along with wrapping way over 200 presents!
After Mary lost her son, Marjoe Gineman in 2010, her and Victor started reaching out to the youth, sharing her son’s story and how those first few beers as a teen progressed into addiction in later teens.
Marjoe eventually lost his life to a prescription pill overdose. Mary gave her first talk about her son’s life just six months after he passed, and since then, they have presented their testimony to over 500 groups.
In 2014, Never Let Go Ministries became a 501©3 nonprofit, and now they reach out to anyone who has been affected by addiction. They sometimes take people in recovery to speak at their talks also.
NLG, along with the help of their board of directors, friends, and supporters, continue to fight the epidemic that is stealing so many lives in our nation.
When Marjoe lost his life in 2010, there were an estimated 38,000 who died in our nation due to an overdose. Now that Fentanyl is stealing so many lives, it is estimated that last year, we lost over 110,000 people in our nation.
NLG continues their mission of reaching out to the youth to bring awareness, and to anyone who has been affected by addiction. They want people to know that they are not alone.
Mary says that “Christmas is a beautiful time to remind people that there is always hope. That is what Christmas is all about, to keep hope in our hearts, and to share it with others.