A Musical Christmas Story

“Sing Joy,”  a musical rendition of the Christmas story using contemporary music selections, will be presented on Sunday, December 18, at 7:00pm at White Clay Creek Church, 15 Polly Drummond Hill Road, Newark.   The program is free and open to all.  A love offering will be taken for Family Promise, a local ministry to homeless families.  Handicapped accessible.  Contact the Church Office at (302) 737-2100 with questions.

New Congregation!

We welcome Skyline United Methodist Church to the Family Promise network!  In the words of congregational coordinator Vicki Gordon-Stith:

 "Skyline takes great joy in joining the Family Promise team! As a congregation, we emphasize Radical Hospitality and Vital Spirituality and hosting families in our facilities allows us to live that radical hospitality in a way that we trust will nurture us spiritually. We look forward to learning the process and growing in faith through this life-giving mission."

New Executive Director For Family Promise!

Carolyn Gordon has joined Family Promise as our new Executive Director! She comes to us with tremendous experience, capability and enthusiasm for our mission.  Carolyn can be reached by calling the FP center or email:  carolyn.gordon@familypromisede.org.

Please feel free to stop by the FP Center during working hours to say hello. She also will be reaching out to meet others in the community and the wonderful volunteers in our congregations.

We also would like to thank Merrie Bailey who has served as interim ED for much of 2011. She has provided tremendous contribution to FP during this period, with particular strides in increasing the successful housing & job placement of our families. Thank you Merrie!

Carolyn Gordon Bio:

Carolyn Gordon is bringing to Family Promise over eight years of experience working in the non-profit sector. She has held a variety of roles including manager of a regional crisis hotline, direct care for adults with developmental disabilities, and case manager for at-risk youth. She has a MSW and an undergraduate degree in Psychology.

For the past four years she has created and managed Social Enterprise programming. Social Enterprises are small businesses that have a double bottom line: to hit earned revenue benchmarks while having a social mission. Her particular enterprise experience involved managing a retail and online bookstore, farmers market and a café that all served as job training for at-risk young adults. As a result, not only did she generate positive outcomes and receive political and media attention, she prides herself in making a mean latte and has an extensive personal library!

Under her leadership, youth served doubled and over 80% of the clients transitioned on successfully to full time employment and/or education endeavors. Additionally, funding was secured for the next four years and earned revenue increased each month. The outstanding outcomes she witnessed were due, in part, to supervising a tremendous group of volunteers and garnering resources from local congregations, businesses and schools.

She is very excited to bring her program development and evaluation expertise, case management experience and enthusiasm to Family Promise. She looks forward to helping the families of Family Promise achieve self-sufficiency.

September & October Donations Appreciation

Thanks to all of the individuals and organizations that donated to Family Promise in September & October - you are making a difference for homeless children and families in Northern New Castle County!  Here is a list of the organizations that contributed:

Grace Lutheran Church
Hockessin United Methodist Church
Limestone Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant
St. John the Beloved Catholic Church
St. Philip's Lutheran Church
Trinity Community Church
White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church

Thank you Reybold Self Storage!

"Family Promise has acquired some storage space through the generosity of Reybold Self Storage of Newark!  So if you are looking to donate some furniture that is in good to great shape, we now have the ability to store it until the next families graduate. So feel free to contact the Day Center at 998-2222 if you'd like to donate any furniture items. Please take a picture of the items and email  to us at info@familypromisede.org."  We still need all the help we can get transporting items to the storage unit."

Community Thanksgiving Service - Wednesday Nov 23rd, 7:30pm

Join us for a

Community Thanksgiving Service

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

at White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church

15 Polly Drummond Hill Road, Newark

Rev. Steven Brundage (First Presbyterian) will preach from

Deuteronomy 26:1-11, sermon title “Family Stories”

Two offerings will be received:

Non-perishable food donations to benefit Delaware Food Bank

Monetary donations to benefit Family Promise

Participating churches:

Church of the Resurrection

Ebenezer Methodist Church

First Presbyterian Church, Newark

White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

FLYER

Box City 2011 A Great Success!

Thank you to everyone that supported Box City 2011! $9000 was raised for Family Promise in the first year of this event. Eighty-six participants attended from 14 organizations (plus 36 volunteers) and many slept outside, despite the rain. People of all ages and faiths joined together to help homeless families. We think the event was a great success and thank Hockessin United Methodist Church for use of their facility!

The program consisted of:
• Comments by Senator Chris Coons, Representative John Carney, and Secretary of Health Social Services Rita Landgraf. They talked about the importance of what Family Promise does. NCC Council President Tom Kovach attended as well.
• Entertainment provided by Ray Seemans and Ross Troy, Kiki Marshall, and Lori Citro. Kiki is in 9th grade and attends Presbyterian Church of the Covenant; her peers were dancing the whole time she was singing!
• The youth of Grace Lutheran leading a worship service with a candle lighting ceremony and everyone saying their version of the Lord’s Prayer together.
• Awards given for the box decorating contest and the group that raised the most money. Congrats to Hockessin United Methodist for raising the most money! The individuals that raised the most money were Jon and Nicole Coady of White Clay Creek Presbyterian. They were named the Mayors of Box City!

By 11:00pm the rain had stopped and although our boxes and bedding were a little soggy, we braved the night. When we told Claas Ehlers of Family Promise national about our weather he said that inclement weather is the best way to experience a Box City! Although most Family Promise clients haven’t slept outside in a box, many have slept in their car or the floor at the houses of friends and family. It goes without saying that we are all more thankful for our warm, dry, quiet homes and soft beds. We hope you’ll join us next year to bond with others in God’s family and “Give up your bed… to change a child’s life.”

Family Promise "Box City" video starring Kymm Hockman & Ken Grant!

United Way Information

This time of year we are putting a major emphasis on United Way giving.  If you give through the United Way at your employer, please consider designating Family Promise of Northern New Castle County as a recipient.  Our United Way of Delaware write-in code is 12433.  We also have a flyer for posting at this link access the file directly by clicking this link.

Family Promise "Box City" Information & Links

Cardboard Box City Sets Up In Delaware - Sleep Out For The Homeless

A Cardboard Box City event will be held by Family Promise of Northern New Castle County from September 30 at 6pm to October 1 at 7am at Hockessin United Methodist Church. Anyone with a heart for homeless families may attend, however registration and payment of the registration fee is required by September 19.  The event is being held as a fundraiser and in an effort to bring  awareness to the problem of family homelessness.  Each participant is asked to raise at least $100 for Family Promise.  The event will consist of sleeping out in cardboard boxes, a box decorating contest, live music, games, an interfaith worship service, and a Soup Kitchen.  Participants may only bring their box, sleeping bag, pillow and toothbrush.  Sleeping in a box might not be for everyone.  As such, "virtual residents" can register, attend for the evening activities and not sleep out.  Go to www.familypromisede.org for details and to register.

WHAT: Cardboard City Event - sleep out for homeless families

WHEN: Friday September 30 - Saturday October 1

WHERE: Hockessin United Methodist Church 

The event Chairperson, Kim McWatters, states, "We are planning for hundreds of participants to sleep out for the homeless.  Although other Family Promise affiliates have held Box City events before, this is our first year doing so.  We are very excited to have so many people pull together to fight family homelessness.  It should be a safe, fun, and rewarding event for everyone that participates!"

Family Promise of NNCC helps homeless families with children move toward lasting independence, by providing a safe place to eat and sleep, intensive case management, life skills training, support, and encouragement.  Family Promise is a community of faith-based congregations, volunteers and homeless families.  The organization is an affiliate of the national Family Promise organization, with 165 affiliates in 41 states.  There are approximately 6,000 individuals in Delaware who are homeless each year and 2,700 of them are children.

 If you'd give up your bed for a night, to help a homeless child, consider joining in the Cardboard Box City event for Family Promise of NNCC on September 30^th in Hockessin.  Go to www.familypromisede.org before September 19^th for details and to register. 


IMPORTANT LINKS:
Flyer for Box City
Consent form

 

Cardboard Box City 2009