Many visitors who come to Monday night worship ask what a typical day is like for a Prodigals resident. There is no "typical" day. Each and every day all aspects of the New Salem program are incorporated into every resident’s schedule — spiritual development, vocational and life skills, and recovery education. We asked Randy U. to describe one of his days so that readers could get an idea of how all the aspects of the New Salem program work together to promote a healthy, drug-free life style.

"A day at Prodigals is, to say the least, interesting. Each day offers new experiences in many of life’s day to day activities. Each day is full of surprises. Each day brings with it many things that one must process and evaluate. One must be open-minded and be able to accept daily occurrences that arise. One of the favorite sayings here is ‘everything is subject to change’.

My day starts out at about 5:40 a.m. when I wake up. The first and one of the most important things I do is pray to God to guide me through the day and thank him for for waking me up to see another day clean and sober. Waking at this time allows me time to have a shower and take my time getting ready for the day. Six o’clock is wake up time. You must be on Center Floor at 6:30 a.m. to have breakfast prayer and breakfast. At 7:00 a.m. we have devotions, which consist of gratitude, prayer requests and daily meditation readings. At 7:30 our job function starts and we usually go off-site to do our assigned job for the day.

I have been fortunate to be on the paint crew since I have been here and am now team leader. With this position I have much responsibility. I bid the jobs we get and am involved in the pricing of each job. I am responsible for the materials and overall quality of each job. I take my job very seriously and take great pride in what I do. Another important aspect of the job is how I uphold the integrity of the community and myself as well. I usually work with one or two of my brothers each day. It is very comforting to know that we have each other’s back in case we have the urge to use (drugs or alcohol). My brothers have saved my life on more than one occasion. For that I am grateful.

The Joel A. Weston, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Agency Management was presented to Prodigals Community on Thursday, June 10, at an outdoor reception held at the home of Claudette Weston. The 20th annual award was named for her late husband, Joel Weston, former chair of the local United Way Board who passed away in 1984. Prodigals was presented a $10,000 check and had its name added to a plaque along with nineteen others who have been past recipients of the award.

Don Moore, Executive Director of Prodigals Community said, "The $10,000 is a huge award. It allows us a little breathing room. We are like all other non-profits: we are struggling to stay in business."

"All of the applicants have excellent management," said Claudette Weston. "It is unbelievable how beautifully they manage our local agencies."

Prodigals Community car washes have been popular events. Lines form early, and frequently we can’t get to all the cars in line. We are pleased to announce that we now operate a mobile car wash. It doesn’t matter if you are at work, home, or at the office we will wash your vehicle to the standards of a dealership quality without the dealership price! We offer several package washes from a simple wash and vacuum, to a complete detail, which includes the cleaning of the engine compartment. Even if you have a busy schedule, we can accommodate you. All you have to do is call 785-0770 and make an appointment with us!

 Thanks to the YWCA on Glade Street, we will offer a car wash to the public in the Y’s lower parking lot on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please come by!

Have you been to one of Prodigals Community’s yard sales yet? If the answer is no, you have been missing an opportunity to find great bargains and have a good time while supporting a worthwhile cause.

We receive lots of donations for our residents from wonderful supporters —clothes, kitchen items, books,
furniture, etc. We are grateful for all of these, but periodically we need to shrink our supply. By holding a yard sale we are able to offer wonderful bargains to many of our neighbors as well as others in our community while raising additional revenue to support Prodigals’ valuable recovery program.

But coming to a Prodigals’ yard sale isn’t just about finding bargains, it is also about having a good time and good food. There are Krispy Kreme donuts and beverages available throughout the day. At lunch time, the grill is stoked up and a plate lunch can be had for a reasonable price. Many of our volunteers donate baked goods to be sold. Frequently, there are games and other activities for children.

"I really love doing this," said Deborah Martin, the yard sale organizer. "Everyone has lots of fun and we’re able to raise more money so Prodigals can provide services to more people who need help."

Deborah must enjoy doing running the yard sale because she and a number of Prodigals residents wake up at 4 a.m. to blow up balloons and get the merchandise ready for sale. The next sale will be held at New Salem on Saturday, September 18, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. We hope we’ll see you there!

We are deeply appreciative of our Property Services clients. We express deep gratitude to those people who use our janitorial, yard, paint, and moving services. This is a tremendous advantage for us in difficult times of finding the resources to maintain services to our clients. The bottom line is the willingness of our residents to provide the services people ask us to do.

Recently a friend of mine who has employed our residents for a number of jobs said to me, "I am always struck by how polite, friendly, nice and appropriate your folks are. I really enjoy them." This is good to know and good to hear. It allows us to build credibility and our reputation in providing the services our customers desire.

Just a short year ago we struggled with survival as many charitable institutions did. We were able to procure a large janitorial contract with several medium sized ones close behind. This afforded breathing room that we were able to build upon with our painting contracts and yard work over the cold months. In the spring we built a huge lawn and yard business that often stretched our capacity to handle. As a result, we could expand our resident population to the current 21 and keep them busy on a daily basis.

In addition to providing resources to support Prodigals financial needs, the job-training component of our program prospers. Our residents learn needed skills in teamwork, task completion, customer relations and job evaluation as well as vocational skills in painting, janitorial work, car care, lawn maintenance, cooking, and office work.

We are excited about our new mobile car wash. We believe that this will be an additional source of revenue and job-training that further expands our array of services. We are indebted to the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Richard J. Reynolds, III and Marie M. Reynolds Foundation, Krispy Kreme Corp., The General Board of Global Ministries of the UMC and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for their support of PPS expansion. As a result of the increased business, we need a business manager.

The bottom line is that we are able to serve more residents who desperately need our services, to provide job training, and to provide our customers with needed services. Again, many thanks to the people who are our
customers, our friends, and our supporters.

Spotlight on Volunteers

Prodigals Community is grateful to the many individuals and groups who volunteer at New Salem on both a regular and occasional basis. Regular volunteers come every Wednesday and Friday evenings to help residents with their educational studies. Under the guidance of Conchita Terry McIver, Education Coordinator, and Forsyth Tech GED instructor Kim Kennedy, Dick Hartz, Alissa Murph, Elyse Frederick, Kathryn Johnson, Rod Cook and Mike McHargue help residents with basic skills, GED preparation and computer skills. Other volunteers serve as Resident Assistants and assist staff on outings. In March the Darren Pruitt class at Calvary Baptist worked with residents with a landscaping project.

A youth team from Mt. Clinton Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA, was here for five days painting and doing yard work at our alumni house on Goldfloss Street. Under the leadership of Crystal and Matt Trost, Renee, Heidi, Christie, Janna and Lindsay, made remarkable improvements to that property. But they contributed much more than their physical work. Their enthusiasm, faith and interest energized all of us. Most recently 24 members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Junior EYC came to New Salem as part of a service week project. They helped with yard work, sorted donations and fixed lunch. We are grateful for their enthusiastic help.

We give our heartfelt gratitude to all the people who give so much of themselves to help Prodigals Community residents.