To Our Vashti Donors,
I want to take a moment to personally thank you for your unwavering commitment to our mission. You are an extension of God’s love and provision, and we are beyond grateful for you.
There is still much work to be done, but I have no doubt that with faith, perseverance, and the support of our incredible community, we will continue to grow and flourish—just as Spring brings new life, hope, and beauty to the world around us.
I also want to share some exciting updates, upcoming events and needs we have:
Six of our residential youth graduated from high school on May 23rd! This speaks volumes to the hard work and dedication our direct care staff and professionals pour into our children to help them further their education, even when often times they arrive at Vashti far behind. We are so proud of them. We hosted a special reception to honor and pray over them. Thomasville Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Thomasville First Methodist, The Hub Church, and Vashti Alumn attended and supplied gifts and donations for our children.
The South Georgia Ruck on March 15th was a success! We had more than 100 visitors rucking on our campus and 30 volunteers who showed up to raise awareness for behavioral health. The next ruck will be hosted by CrossFit Townie in the Fall.
We are still raising money for our IT infrastructure fund and sending a few of our leadership team members to required certification training programs, which will need your support for our Nurture Our Team fund. To donate online, visit govashti.org/give.
Looking ahead, we are planning summer camps for our Afterschool Clubhouse and Camp Thrive in Brooks County, youth activities, and our Mardi Gras themed Dinner Under the Stars event, a special evening for our foster care residential youth who live on campus, in June—visit govashti.org/stars to support the recreation fund and govashti.org/summer to support educational and recreational field trips.
We began planning our annual fundraiser, Bow Ties & Butterflies, for Saturday, October 25th, which will have a fresh new look and experience, including a live art auction this year. Visit govashti.org/bb2025 for more details and save the date.
If you would like to volunteer for our events, please email us at events@vashti.org.
We made updates on our website to make it easier to refer a child dealing with traumatic life events in need of our behavioral health services, whether they’re in need of counseling at school, or after school care, visit govashti.org/referral.
For youth-serving organizations in need of trauma-informed training opportunities, our Training & Outreach team, Resilient Communities of SW GA Coalition, offers free workshops in the following categories: parenting, grief, suicide prevention, and youth mental health first aid. Visit govashti.org/booktraining to schedule your classes today.
Lastly, we welcomed Donald Mathis, our new Chaplain, with open arms on March 28th. Reverend Mathis comes to us with more than two decades of ministry experience, a deep well of wisdom, and a calling rooted in compassion and service. We know that God has uniquely equipped Reverend Mathis for this moment. His background in social work, his years of shepherding congregations, his leadership in outreach and advocacy across Georgia—all of it has prepared him for this next season of ministry at Vashti.
And for us, this is not just an addition to our team—it’s an answered prayer.
We ask our community to join us in giving Reverend Mathis and his wife, Margariete Joyce Mathis, a warm Thomasville welcome. We know their presence here will be a blessing to our organization, our youth, and the entire Vashti family. Read his story on our blog.
Teresa White, Active Soles Running Company, donated shoes for our youth. Pictured: David Sofferin, Executive Director
Our Friday afternoon art workshops continue to be a joy for our youth. We want to continue to build an expressive arts program to expand our capabilities. Visit govashti.org/arts to donate.
Chris Musgrove, Future Now, Youth Pastor & Author toured Vashti’s campus with our Executive Director David Sofferin.
Your continued support in these areas means the world to us, and we are grateful for the contributions you provide. Please remember to earmark your pledge card and donations with the fund name you’d like your contribution applied or leave it blank to apply to our general operations fund.
With a grateful heart,
Audrey Copeland
Marketing, Events & Development Director
The Vashti Center for Children & Families