Brandon Zinnato - Congregational Coordinator for St. Philip's Lutheran Church

Brandon Zinnato has been active with Family Promise for quite some time, he's now serving as Congregational Coordinator for St. Philip's Lutheran Church.

Pastor Patrick Downes of St. Philip's Lutheran Church

Pastor Patrick Downes of St. Philip's Lutheran Church shares his experiences with Family Promise.

HBC takes Family Promise to the Blue Rocks!

A group of seventy-five people, members of Hockessin Baptist and our families, went to see the Blue Rocks Friday evening!  It was a great time: beautiful weather, a great game, fireworks, and monkeys riding dogs chasing sheep (yes it's true).  See a few pics and a video of the aforementioned monkeys here.

Number of homeless down, but homeless families up (Associated Press)

Associated Press reports that the number of homeless families continue to climb (see full article here).  The belief is that most of this is related to the recession which is not a surprise to us at Family Promise.  The source for this article, a HUD report released Wednesday June 16th states:

"It may be that many families already at risk of becoming homeless lacked sufficient support networks and became homeless almost immediately after the economy turned down"

"A much larger group turned to family and friends and may be doubled up and still at great risk of becoming homeless."

Pastor Jon Boulet of Hockessin Baptist

Senior Pastor Jon Boulet of Hockessin Baptist talks about the involvement of volunteers at HBC in Family Promise, and how this gives them the opportunity to show their faith.

Sharla DeBoef on Family Promise

Sharla DeBoef of Hockessin Baptist volunteers her time tracking donations for Family Promise and sending your thank-you letters that also serve as a tax receipt (we're a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation).  She shares what Family Promise means to her.

Did you know $250 provides food, shelter and services to one child for a month?  Find out how you can support Family Promise on our donations page - and to everyone who has supported Family Promise through time, talent or financial contributions - thank you!  Your donations are making an impact on our community and the lives of our families.

Hollis and Kim Jones share their exitement for Family Promise

Hollis & Kim Jones have volunteered at the Family Promise Center on a number of occasions, and Hollis has taken on the responsibility to maintain the Family Promise van!  Here's a few words from their experience.

Hosting Week at Grace Lutheran

This week our families are at Grace Lutheran Church in Hockessin, DE.  We graduated one of our families and welcomed a new one.  Shown here are Mike Goyda (working at the desk), Nancy Goyda's husband and strong supporter of Family Promise.  Also shown are volunteers Susan Sweeney and Art Perella who provided dinner for the families this evening.

Nancy Goyda of Grace Lutheran

Meet Nancy Goyda, one of the original organizers of our Family Promise network dating back to 2007.  Now she is the congregational coordinator at Grace Lutheran Church as well as a volunteer at the Family Promise center.

Pastor Paul Lundmark of Grace Lutheran

Pastor Paul Lundmark is also one of the original organizers of our Family Promise network and is now on the Board of Directors for our network.

Family Updates and Stats on Delaware

Did you know that as of January 2010 there are over 1,200 homeless families in Delaware? Almost 1,000 of these are in New Castle County!  These statistics are approximate as homeless statistics are hard to estimate. (nationally, one in 50 children will experience homelessness).

At Family Promise, we get on average 10 calls per week from homeless families needing shelter.  But we have some great news to share:  We have successfully helped our first family secure employment and housing! The family moved out of the network on Saturday.  The client and her family have moved into their home they will be renting from a family friend. In her last week with us, the client secured employment with the county office as a intake worker. Congrats to her!

Thanks to the support of all our congregations and the hard work of the family, they have started a healthy path to independence and long term stability. Thumbs up to our awesome network of churches and volunteers.