Fundraiser News
Border Bash Grant Presentation

Pictured back row - Lee  Smith, Jr., Mike Askew, Kent Dunn, front row - Bob Fowler, Pat Bourke
We are pleased to announce that Julie's House is the recipient of a grant from the Border Bash Foundation. We were presented with a check for $5,000.00 on November 27, 2007, at a press conference at the offices of The Beasley Broadcasting Group. Thank you, Mr. Kent Dunn, President of the Border Bash Foundation,
Mr. Bob Fowler, Secretary of the Border Bash Foundation, Mr. Lee Smith, Jr., President/CEO of The Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area, all those who worked so diligently to raise these funds, and Mr. Tom Rogers who nominated Julie's House for this grant and made a presentation on our behalf. What a blessing you are to our community!

Golf Tournament Fundraiser

March was a very successful month for our committee. We pulled off a wonderful golf tournament to benefit Julie’s House. Our expectations were exceeded and by God’s grace we had a beautiful day for the outing.
120 golfers participated and 15 holes were sponsored. Thanks to the generous sponsors and prize donors, we raised nearly $8,000 for the charity. A special thank you to our sponsors and donors for making this event special and memorable.
May God bless you all in all that you do.

Please refer to our website or request a copy of our monthly newsletter for upcoming fundraisers and events.

Thanks again to all who serve on the committee and support our ventures. A special thanks to Tom Johnson of Augusta MailWorks for helping to get our flyers to our sponsors.

In Christ,

Kenny Giet, Chairman

Bar-B-Que Fundraiser

Thank you, Kenny Giet, fundraising chairman, Warren Baptist Church, volunteers, and supporters for yet another very successful fundraiser.  Pat Lunceford was our Warren Baptist Church hostess and without her expert assistance we could not have gotten the job done.  Thank you, Mrs. Lunceford.   Also, thanks to everyone that donated desserts, Earthgrains Baking Company for donating bread, Lanier Meat Packing & Processing for donating chickens, Pactiv for donating plates, and Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tony Roma's, Heavenly Ham, and Sticky Fingers for donating door prizes.  And last but not least, thank you, Denton Adkinson, for being the “official photographer” for Julie’s House.  The photographs that you made at our Golf Tournament and Bar-B-Que Dinner are superb.   The overwhelming support for our Bar-B-Que Dinner was heartwarming.  

Support Group Meetings
We hold monthly support group meetings for ladies in our community. If you are a survivor of domestic violence, a single mom, or would like to volunteer to help with our meetings, please call our office at 706-922-5018 or page Pat Bourke at 706-836-2781 for information and to make reservations. We serve a delicious dinner prepared by Donna Prince. If you need childcare, please let us know in advance.

Monthly Newsletter
If you would like to receive a copy of our monthly newsletter, please email us at Patbbourke@aol.com.

Media Coverage
March 27, 2007
Allstate agent Tom Sorrells, of Martinez, presented Julie's House Inc. Executive Director Patricia Bourke with a check for $500 from a grant from the Allstate Foundation on March 27.
April 1, 2007
Columbia County News- Times – “Charity Golf Tournament.”
Jay Blackburn (from left), Jack Blackburn, Paul Atchison and Nick Faulkner were the first place team in the Julie's House Charity Golf
Tournament held at Bartram Trail Golf Club in Evans on March 14. Blackburn Insulation Company sponsored the team. The winning team received a night's lodging at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge and a round of golf at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga.
Julie's House Looking for a Home of its Own
By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington | Staff Writer Augusta Chronicle
Thursday, July 06, 2006

Through her work as a human services specialist, Pat Bourke says, she has seen many women in the Augusta area who are at risk of becoming homeless.

Andrew Davis Tucker
Staff
Pat Bourke, Executive Director of Julie's House Inc., is searching for a permanent home for a crisis center for women and their children. Her offices are now at Broad Street Baptist Ministry.
"I've had women at my desk, with their children sitting at my feet with a little baggie of animal crackers, and they did not know where they were going to sleep the next night," she said. "I'd call shelters for them, but often hear, 'We're at capacity, we can't take any more tonight.' I just felt helpless to do anything."

So Ms. Bourke is working to establish Julie's House, a crisis center and transitional housing facility that will help local women and children, including many who are leaving domestic-violence situations, get back on their feet.

Although the center has yet to be built, Ms. Bourke has started serving women in emergency situations by putting them up in hotels or transporting them to shelters in Aiken.

"I'm having to start small, but I feel led to do this," she said.

According to the Augusta Task Force for the Homeless, 65 beds are available for women in local shelters, and all fill up fairly quickly. Even when there is space available, Ms. Bourke said, the 30, 60 or 90 days that women are allowed to stay doesn't allow them to get situated and start a new life.

She said she envisions Julie's House as a place with several efficiency apartments where women and their children can stay for up to 24 months while they receive help securing a job, getting an education and finding a new home.

"These women not only have to heal emotionally and physically, but they often have a lot of legal things to take care of," Ms. Bourke said. "They're going to be the head of the household, and you can't be head of the household on minimum wage."

Julie's House is named after the first woman Ms. Bourke helped. The woman, who was going through a divorce, had never been in the work force. With Ms. Bourke's assistance, she was able to find a job.

Since Julie's House began in 2004, Ms. Bourke said, she and her volunteers have helped more than 20 women.

The center is currently operating with limited funds, which have been donated by local businesses and those who attended a fundraising dinner. But Ms. Bourke is also seeking grants and hopes to find a building to house the center. She is confident that Julie's House will then be able to assist many more.

"We know how important this is to the community, and we need to get the message out," said Tom Sorrells, a member of the center's board of directors. "Julie's House could be a really good thing, and I feel like it should be a community effort."

From the Friday, July 07, 2006 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
Be sure to watch for segments about Julie’s House on WJBF-TV during the month of July and read about our organization in the July and August issues of Skirt Magazine.   Thank you, Cindy Giet, for nominating me for the “Giving your Best Award”.   We are pleased that our organization is receiving media coverage.  
Web posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008,  Columbia County News-Times


 Home to provide shelter for homeless women, children


By Jenna Martin
Staff Writer

When most people purchase a home, they intend to move in as soon as possible. Pat Bourke is not most people.

Bourke, the executive director of Julie's House Inc., bought a Columbia County house in January and plans to shelter homeless women and their children as soon as work on it is complete.

"This is a step of faith." Bourke said. "It just worked out where the timing was right."

 

Jenna Martin/Staff
Pat Bourke (left), the executive director of Julie's House, is presented keys to a home by Nettie Dumais, a Realtor who helped Bourke locate and close on the newly purchased Columbia County home to be renovated for homeless women and their children.
The six-bedroom, four-bathroom house will provide plenty of storage and space for its inhabitants, Bourke said. The house originally was built in the 1960s, so it needs updating and cosmetic renovations, she said. Donors and volunteers already have offered to lay tiles in the bathrooms, paint the rooms and clean the house. The house also needs an updated security system. Eventually, Bourke said, she hopes to build a playground in the backyard.

"We worked long and hard and looked for something that would be appropriate," said Nettie Dumais, Bourke's Realtor. "We just knew that this was something that was meant to be."

The most important aspect to Bourke is to provide a clean and safe environment for the women and children, she said.

The house can hold up to six people, but will not be a multifamily residence, Bourke said. The women must be single and drug- and alcohol-free.

Further details of the house cannot be released because of the safety and welfare of the women and children who will reside in the house, Bourke said.

Bourke and Dumais first toured the house in July, but Bourke was in danger of losing it when she couldn't come up enough money.

The house was under contract twice, but both contracts fell through.

The timing was right for Bourke to make her move on the house, and Georgia Bank & Trust Co. provided financing for the project.

"It's one of the most satisfying sales because of what their mission is and what they want to do," said Dumais, who works for Jim Courson Realty. "Pat is such a wonderful person, and she works so hard that you can't help but want to be part of it."

Julie's House will hold its second annual charity golf tournament at Bartram Trail Golf Club on March 12. Sponsors, players and volunteers are needed. The event costs $200 per team or $75 per person, which includes the green fee, cart fee and lunch.

Julie's House receives the majority of its funding from church donations, businesses, private organizations and individual donations. It does not receive government funding.