Staff photo by Clay Schuldt President of NUMAS Haus Board, Rev. Lisa Doege addresses the donors and volunteers for NUMAS Haus during a special recognition event at Brown County Historical Society. In 2019, over $16,000 was raised by 55 volunteers, and volunteers have provided 300 service hours.

NEW ULM — A special appreciation event for NUMAS Haus donors and volunteers was held at the Brown County Historical Society (BCHS) Tuesday.

In 2019, 55 donors have given $16,000 to NUMAS Haus and 16 volunteers have given 300 service hours. The night was intended to honor the people that make the shelter work.

NUMAS Haus provides emergency shelter and support services to homeless single women and their children from the Brown County area. The program is designed to help these families find permanent housing within 90 days, while addressing the root causes of homelessness for each family through counseling, educational programs and case management.

NUMAS Haus opened in August 2016 and has served 35 families.

As part of the evening, NUMAS Haus coordinator Karla Diehn gave out four awards. The Kids Choice Award was given to Barb and Ron Dietl and Jim and Jane Walsh for how much the children enjoy their visits.

The Above and Beyond Award went to Jayne Maday-Hulke and Peg Sundell for always going the extra mile.

Karla Hansel received the First Responder award for being the first to volunteer to help.

Duane Hansel and Bill Day received the Non-Hired Hand award for their handyman services.

“You guys are the backbone of NUMAS Haus,” Diehn said, thanking the volunteers. “I could not do my job without you.”

Board member Rev. Jo Anne Taylor acknowledged one special donor, Mark Bode, for his consistent donations to NUMAS Haus.

Taylor said Bode consistently sent checks to NUMAS Haus from the beginning, but she never learned his story until she read his obituary in the paper. Bode died earlier this year, and his obituary confirmed he gave a lot back to the community. The day of his funeral NUMAS Haus received a final check from Bode.

NUMAS Haus gave a gift to his family that included a stained-glass ornament of the NUMAS Haus logo.

“We’re fortunate to have this in our community,” Brown County Family Service Director and NUMAS board member Tom Henderson said. Henderson said the program helps give families an “out” to escape from the homeless cycle. NUMAS Haus has a program for families to finish. Henderson said was very proud of the work done by NUMAS Haus.

Anyone looking to volunteer at NUMAS Hause can fill out an application at numashaus.org. Donations are also accepted online or can be mailed to PO Box 291, New Ulm, MN 56073.