Family Promise Update
FAMILY PROMISE UPDATE, September 2013:
Family Promise will be participating in the UM Homecoming Parade on Saturday, October 5 at 10 a.m. – watch for us!
Family Promise Volunteers please mark your calendars; our next FP week will be Dec. 22 - 29. Our host church Christ the King has to participate in rotations while the university students are on break in order to free up space in their church for the families. We do not have specific needs or dates within this week as of now, but as soon as we are notified we will be making calls. Usually we are asked to provide 2-3 evening meals and dinner hosts, as well as overnight hosts (2 individuals per night) and people to assist with takedown on the last day.
We would ask volunteers to ensure you are current on the Safeguarding God's Children requirement, and we need at least 8 individuals with a current background check. Overnight hosts must have both of these requirements. The process can be completed online and is very easy to do; all that is required of you is a little time.
The Family Promise Day Center is located on South Ave. across from Community Hospital and recently has hired a new director. The board is presently working on fund raising efforts and we would ask that you consider taking part in any of these as they benefit the local program. They just wrapped up "Share the Vote" which ended 29 Sept.; it was sponsored by Thrivent Lutheran Financial in which five local non-profits will be the recipients of a share of 20k, depending on how many votes they received. The week of Oct. 20-27 is National FP week, and a local eatery will have a "Buffalo Wild Wings" night which will benefit this program.
This rotation will be the fourth that we have provided support for since we came onboard a little over a year ago. The program has served 20 families thus far with 11 of these families going into their own housing. There are a total of 25 churches participating as either host or support churches.
It’s not uncommon for families to have specific needs and you can contact one of the coordinators from our parish if you wish to participate in this manner. We recently received a need for articles of clothing for family members, diapers, and gas vouchers.
We need willing volunteers for this program to thrive in the future. We are very grateful for those individuals who have been so generous, time after time, with helping provide these at-risk families with some of the comforts of home. We could not do this without you!
Please feel free to call on the coordinators if you are needing assistance with the certification requirements or any questions you may have about the program. Family Promise does have a website and they are also on Facebook if you would like to check out the program.
Georgia Maynard
Jari Davis
Contact the Holy Spirit church office at 542-2176 to reach Georgia and/or Jari, or email .