Saturday ~ Nov. 17th, 2018 at 1 pm / The Marian Shrine in Stony Point, NY

Concert for Life
Saturday, November 17, 2018

1:00 PM

The Marian Shrine

174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, N.Y. 10980

A free-will offering will be suggested at the Concert

Please join us for an afternoon of musical enjoyment, take an ad in our journal & help make this a truly successful event!

Info for submitting to the Journal is as follows:

Good Counsel’s Concert for Life Concert Journal

Journal Deadline ~ Nov. 12

Please submit your camera-ready artwork/electronic ad to Eileen Peterson at RachelMinister1@aol.com  questions, call 845-492-6709

____ Voice for Life Listing (one line listing or greeting) – $10

____ Half Page Ad – $50

____ Full Page Ad –  $100

____ Full Page on Inside Front, Inside Back or Back Cover – $150

____ VIP Sponsor – Two-Page Centerfold Ad and VIP Seating – $300

Make checks payable to “Good Counsel.”

Mail to:  Good Counsel, 22 Linden Ave., Spring Valley, NY 10977

Name

Address                                                                                                           City

State                                                 Email

God Bless You & thank you in advance for your support of this event!

The 12-minute video you are about to watch was filmed during the Concert for Life and features three performances by the guest artists, as well as remarks by Good Counsel’s Chris Bell and Liz O’Brien, Chair of the Rockland Right to Life Committee. The voiceover is by WRCR’s Steve Possell. The video was produced by Terence Lynch of Studio Eleven Productions in West Nyack, NY.

The eighth annual Concert for Life to benefit the moms and babies at Good Counsel Homes was held  on Dec. 9 at the Marian Shrine in Stony Point. The performers this year were soprano Megan Weston, a frequent guest artist at Carnegie Hall, and pianist Michael Fennelly, who has played with the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic, and The Mueller Family Schola. Steve Possell of WRCR radio returned for his eighth year as master of ceremonies. The show was produced by Eileen Peterson.

The honoree was Liz O’Brien, Chair of the Rockland Right to Life Committee, who received an award from Good Counsel’s Executive Director Chris Bell
for her more than 45 years of work for the prolife movement.

The show ended with a Christmas carol sing-along led by Ms. Weston and the Mueller Family, accompanied by Mr. Fennelly, after which the artists and attendees gathered for a reception in the beautiful new R.Y.C. Center at the Marian Shrine.

“It was a absolutely wonderful concert,” said Liz. “You felt the magic of the coming together of the beautiful music, the most gracious artists, and love of the good people in the audience who came to support Good Counsel. All on the eve of the Second Sunday of Advent, with the snow falling gently and peacefully — a little preview of Heaven, perhaps!”

Some of the members of the Good Counsel Homes Spring Valley Volunteer Team with their latest project, the installation of a new driveway.

The Good Counsel Home for mothers and babies in Spring Valley received a big upgrade last month. The driveway was widened and repaved, and the sidewalk leading up to the front door was redone. The home’s Volunteer Team, who raised the funds and planned the work, would like to thank all the donors who responded so generously. The much-needed new driveway and sidewalk now provide safe and serviceable access for the residents and all who come to the Spring Valley home on business or to carry on the work of Good Counsel.

At the annual Concert for Life, Jeanmarie Grahn thanks Chris Bell of Good Counsel Homes for the organization’s recognition of her lifetime prolife work.

Dec. 3 — Jeanmarie Grahn, co-founder of the Rockland Right to Life Committee, was honored for her lifelong prolife work by Good Counsel Homes at their annual benefit Concert for Life on Dec. 3 at the Marian Shrine in West Haverstraw.

The award was presented by Chris Bell, president and executive director of Good Counsel Homes, which provides residential care and support for homeless expectant mothers and their children in the context of Catholic social tradition. There are six Good Counsel Homes, one of which is in Spring Valley, N.Y.

Master of Ceremonies, Steve Possell welcomes the audience to the concert.

The program of Christmas and other music was hosted by Steve Possell, of the WRCR radio talk show, “The Morning Show with Steve and Jordan.” The performers were the Children of Mary Preschool Choir, Dick Eggers, Toni Lynn Moore, No Boundaries, Ted Simone, the Mueller Family Schola, and Monica Peterson St. John. Eileen Peterson was the producer and accompanist for some of the singers.

The audience, many of whom were longtime friends of Jeanmarie who have worked with her on many charitable activities, joined the Grahn family for a reception in Lomagno Hall, adjacent to the shrine church, after the concert.

Continue reading →

The Good Counsel home in Spring Valley — a welcoming and comfortable home for all

The cheerful little house on Linden Ave. in Spring Valley received a big upgrade this past spring: Air conditioning upstairs! For the first time, the bedrooms of all the residents — expectant moms, new mothers and their babies, — were cool and comfortable, and quiet, now that the fans that whirred constantly to beat back the heat are gone.

This residence is one of the six  Good Counsel homes in the metropolitan area and Alabama, established to provide a loving home, supportive residential care, and community-based services for homeless young mothers who have chosen Life for their babies in the face of incredible obstacles.

For the first time, the moms’ and babies’ bedrooms have air conditioning, powered through an upgraded electric system

A preliminary study last year showed that, in addition to the air-conditioners themselves, this older home would require upgrades of a new electrical panel and wiring to provide the needed power. A budget of $8,000 was set. 

Fundraising began in September 2015, and the goal was reached in 5 months! Work began in April and was completed this May, just in time for the sweltering days of summer.

A view of the side of the house, showing an air conditioner in each window.

Through the efforts of the Spring Valley Volunteer Team and the generosity of many private donors and charitable groups in Rockland, all the young women and children at Good Counsel in Spring Valley slept well, in comfort, this summer. And a benefit of a good night’s sleep in facing the challenges of the day to come  is no small thing.

There are many other improvements that need to be made at the Spring Valley home and the others in the Good Counsel program. If you would like to help make a big change in the lives of the homeless women and their children, please make a donation to this most important cause.

In that terrible cold snap two weeks ago, the pipes burst at  Good Counsel’s Daystar home in Harrison, NY. The local building inspector condemned the building because of the resulting damage, and now six of the seven moms from Harrison have been relocated to the home in Spring Valley.

Good Counsel is now facing an incredible and enormous expense of relocating and reestablishing the mothers who lived in Daystar. Please help!

Read more about it here, and, if you can, please send a donation to help out to: Good Counsel, Box 6068, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Please note in the memo or on the envelope: Harrison Emergency Appeal. Thank you!