The Refuge in Paonia
The Refuge in Paonia is a 501 (c) 3 and has been established since February 2010. We are a group of five individuals and saw a need in the youth aging out of foster care and wanted to meet that need. Each of the five are active member pf the community in different ways and also involved in different churches in the valley. This is a multi-congregational organization. The board members are a commercial orchard owner, a youth pastor, an accountant, a nurse and a stay at home mom. We believe we are unique in that we live in a small town and have the potential to have the entire town involved in some way in the lives of these young men. This particular town loves foster children and there are many that live here. There is great interest int his organization from the members of the community. We assist these young men in work, personal, financial, relationship and spiritual areas.
Our mission is to provide a mentoring/discipleship program specifically for young men who have aged out of the foster care and may have the potential to become homeless. These young men come from a place of little or no family or friend support. Essentially there is the possiblilty that they have no one. Much more than simply a house, this will bbe a place where these young men can begin to form or deepen their relationship with God and learn how to interact in a Christ likemanner in adult socity, by developing their character, values, work ethic, and respect for other people. The goal is to provide for their basic needs as well as teaching them the many skills provided by the people in the town of Paonia and the North Fork Valley, so they can mature into productive adults. In order for us to accomplish this, it is crucial that numerous individuals and families get involved in the lives of these young men. Everyone has something to teach or can just listen to them if needed.
We believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and He is the way to obtain entrance into heaven
We believe in the Trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and its workings in the lives of each of us
We believe that We must love God first then love others
We believe that everything we do is to honor God and his plan for this wor
