Category: Newsletter

Happy New Year Friends!

This year has gone by so fast. I wanted to take this time to thank each and every one of you that helped to keep our doors open. We are celebrating our fifth-year anniversary and excited to see what the sixth year will hold. Can you believe it? We have been here in NWA for five years, helping women begin brand new lives.

This year women with high-risk pregnancies seem to be our calling. We helped facilitate safe births while working with the UMAS Doula program through the University of Arkansas. For the first time, we took on a mom with four children and helped with her reunification process. In the past two children per client was the limit our board had set. But this mom needed help and other providers could not accommodate this size family at that time. You see the problem is that we all have limited funding and for a provider to give up two rooms for one client isn’t heard of. Two bedrooms can accommodate four or more adult clients. We do not use bunk beds, but many providers do simply because this county is short on housing space. One day we may have to go to bunkbeds, but for now I prefer a more home style setting.  When you house four or more adult clients, each can pay a program fee per month. Where one mom and four children can only pay one program fee.

Nevertheless, we have supported this mom and her children for almost a year now. In fact, February will be a year. God used many of you to help make this possible. Your prayers and support mean the world to me and the ladies and children we serve.

We welcomed a new part-time staff member this year, Renee Cupp, and she has been a Godsend. I would love to hire her full-time and I am praying for funds to do so. I am also believing to bring Bobby Bryan on full-time and a director on full time. Our two transitional homes are doing well. But I need a complex to start our “Boot-camp” program up again.

Boot-camp is a hard-core program that meets addicts perhaps in active addiction and helps them become clean and sober. Most times it is the opiate, heroin or fentanyl user that we target.

My bookkeeper each year asks me the same question. How are you taking care of all these clients without major fundraisers? I laugh and say God must speak to people about us because I don’t beg for money. I don’t send out multiple emails asking for donations. But donors like you remember us during the year and at the end of the year. Some donations are as little as $25 and some much larger. God knows what we need and when we need it and since Brand New Mercies was His idea, I guess He reminds people not to forget to give to us. I just stand amazed at how we have survived and how good God has been to us. 

We would be remised if we did not thank Susan Ford for transporting a pregnant mom to weekly doctor appointments. Naga J, who is my landlord, sent $500 in cash and supplies to our doorstep from Sam’s Club. Sheree Miller, Cathy Rogers, and Illa Black organized our garage sale and painting with a twist or gave monetary donations towards these projects.

We must also thank and recognize organizations in our community that helped to support our women and children this year. The First Presbyterian Church of Rogers, their Mission committee, and Deacon board, provided monetary donations, gift cards, diapers, baby clothing and hosted the garage sale. Thank you, First Presbyterian, for showing the love of God by caring for humanity. Also, Rick Miller and the Knights of Columbus truly blessed our organization with a very generous donation. Grateful does not begin to describe my gratitude toward these gentlemen for their loving kindness toward our women and children. They put into action and demonstrated the love of Christ.

Lastly, all of you have helped in your own way to bless us and I want to thank you. Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for your generous giving and thank you for your love.

Thank you for your continual help to facilitate the vision.

Without partners like you we could not serve this

underserved population. May God continue to bless you and lead you in your giving. 

May you have a happy and prosperous new year.



Carolyn Wallace

Executive Director

Just a quick January note to thank our prayer partners and donors for a fantastic Year. 2021 has come and gone and we are well into 2022. Much thanks to you for praying for us and financially supporting such a large vision. You are helping to change the lives of women and children with every  amount given.

We graduated four ladies last year and they are well on their way to living new lives. We say congratulations and we wish them all the best in future endeavors.

This month I would like to focus on a young lady who will graduate this February. She has worked extremely hard to obtain her goal of beginning a new life.

Angelina first came to us from the women’s battered shelter. Used and abused, Angelina had lost custody of her oldest daughter and her 1 and 2 year old daughters. She was so broken. She didn’t have a job or any financial support. All she really had was a determination to do whatever it took to get her children back. Until she could obtain work, we financially supported her. She began to do individual counseling, parenting classes and step work with a determination to seize  the opportunity of a new life for her and her children. Being a victim of domestic violence is not an easy thing to work through. But this mama’s nurturing instincts kicked in. Regaining custody and protecting her children became her top priority. Dental work was badly needed for Angelina as well. With her new job she obtained dental insurance and paid for her own dentures. (With her permission I have included her before and after pictures.)

Angelina was baptized at Keypoint Church this pass year and now has great faith in God helping her to stay on her path of sobriety. It took Angelina one year and three weeks of hard work at Brand New Mercies Recovery home but by the grace of God she is well on her way of making healthy choices and changes.

I take this time to congratulate Angelina for her diligence and hard work. This February she will graduate BNM, regain custody of her three girls and move into her own apartment. A dream come true for Angelina. I congratulate her, but I thank you for your prayers and financial support. Your donations help our clients begin a brand new life.

I would be remiss, if I did not mention one of our donors that came through and blessed our girls in such a special way this past Christmas.

Our 2021 Angel of Brand New Mercies is Bryn DuBell. Bryn and a group of her friends adopted our houses for Christmas last year. The children and women were overwhelmed by the number of gifts and love that this group showed them. We say thank you so much for your love and support Ms. Bryn DuBell and crew! May God richly bless your kindness.

Dear Friends, four ways you can help. Pray for us, give financially, Walmart gift cards help us buy gas to transport our clients to work and tell others about us by posting our newsletter or forwarding it to your friends.

Wishing all of you a prosperous year!   

Carolyn Wallace

Executive Director BNM

Greetings from Brand New Mercies, A Christmas note to say how much we have appreciated your love, financial support and prayers throughout the years. December 29, 2021, Brand New Mercies will be four years old. Can you believe it? Without donors such as you our doors could not remain open. Together we have touched and changed the lives of many women and children in our community. Our goal has been to save families and to teach individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices and changes. Addiction is ugly. It hurts everyone associated with the addict. It hurts society and it hurts our community. Many of our clients were raised in addictive homes, suffered verbal and sexual abuse while growing up. You see, addiction does not discriminate. Our clients come from all backgrounds and social groups. Some come from affluent homes. Some are fleeing domestic violence while others were homeless. When a woman has children and needs treatment, she often is afraid to seek help in fear of losing her children. Brand New Mercies is a safe- haven with a safety net for children, which allows an individual to break the addiction while caring for her children. We give moms and singles the tools to start over and to change their lives. Science says addiction is an illness. For most addicts, it is a viscous cycle that they just don’t know how to break. Having the illness of addiction is not easy. Women more so than men, endure shame from society. They carry guilt and pain every day until they break free. That is not to say that men don’t endure pain and guilt. But society seems to be harsher on women that are addicts then men. Almost every day I receive emails or phone calls asking for our help to break the cycle of addiction. The conversation usually ends with please help me. I don’t want to live this kind of life anymore. Or please help me get my children back. They are my life. At Brand New Mercies our clients learn how to make amends. They learn how to become productive citizens and how to live a better life. They learn to face life’s problems sober. I know how to facilitate a program, but without your prayers and financial support it would not be possible. As many of you know my husband passed last year and he was our fundraiser. I haven’t organized any major fundraisers since then. I guess I was still grieving our 40 plus years together. I didn’t know if I would close our houses or keep them open. But by God’s grace, just when we needed it someone would send a check. Or someone would send a cash app donation or drop hygiene donations off for the girls. Again, Thank You. Many of you have asked how I am doing, since Mike passed? And my answer is healing and much better thank you. (Smile) It’s tough but God got me….It’s time to move ahead. December 29th, 2021 will be four years for us. And for the next 30 days I will be asking for help in one or all of four ways.

Four Ways You can help Me to continue the work:

1. Pray for us daily. Just mention us in your prayers asking for all our needs to be met. 2. I’m gathering auction items to host an online silent auction for 2022. If you have donations such as destination vacations or Air BNBs or tickets to plays or jewelry or Artwork or housekeeper services. Please help by donating or asking your friends to donate. Contact me by email carolyn@brandnewmercies.com and we can plan to get those things from you. This event will be launched around May. 3. Send this newsletter to at least ten friends or more. And ask them to send to ten of their friends. Some in our community still have not heard of us. I believe in what we are doing, and I know it is making a difference in our community. 4. Send an end of the year donation. Help us celebrate the fact we are still standing. We are still making a difference. Our anniversary is coming up soon and for the next 30 days we will be raising operational capital. I have a donor that will match $1000 if I can raise it in the next 30 days. Will you help Me?

HOW YOU CAN SEND DONATIONS

Three ways to give: $25 donations are our bread and butter. (Nothing is too small or too big Thank you)1. Make out your check to Brand New Mercies and send to PO BOX 1842 Bentonville, AR 72712 2. Cash App to $Brandnewmercies (connected to BNM Account) 3. Send by Paypal use email carolyn@brandnewmercies.com (connected to BNM account) Merry Christmas and Have a Wonderful New Year! Carolyn WallaceExecutive Director BNM