Luncheon offers promise of hope to homeless

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Family Promise Annual Luncheon has been changed to a NO SHOW LUNCHEON on Tuesday, March 31 from 11:00am-2:00pm via Facebook Live at Family Promise of Montgomery County, Texas. www.facebook.com/FPMCT/. No tickets to attend the event are necessary! FREE!

Family Promise is a local non-profit serving 4 homeless families at a time in rotating faith communities in a collaborative mission to increase their job readiness, and stability to enable them to be self-sustainable. Approved families with children are entered into Family Promises 90-day personal plan to reach attainable goals with a case manager. Topics include positive parenting skills, stress management, family safety, and budgeting. Families are provided meals, hygiene items, clothing, childcare, transportation, and shelter through partnering churches in the community.

Family Promise families graduated from the 90-day program in 2019 with a 100% success rate securing employment in fields as a pharmacy technician, an administrative assistant, and a prison guard to name a few. Graduated families stay connected to the program through private group forums and staff engagement. It is important for families to know that the organization is still interested in supporting the families that graduate.

Church partners set up bedding accommodations on Sunday afternoon for a weeklong stay through the following Sunday morning. Volunteers with the church provide a morning breakfast for the guests and evening meals. Each family must leave each day to seek work, get children to school or daycare, or work on their goals at the Family Promise Day Center located near downtown Conroe. Church involvement is critical to the success of Family Promise. The Day Center is where the families conduct job searches, receive case management, cook mid-day meals, do laundry, and store most of their belongings.

During the event hear from a graduate family of the program, some of the Family Promise Board Members and American Idol Finalist Phil Stacey. The Annual Spring Luncheon is one of the largest fundraisers every year. Community support is needed more than ever to continue serving homeless families. The current families in the program are having to stay in hotels since they cannot stay in the churches with the coronavirus. This is an escalating cost to the Family Promise organization.

View all the silent auction items on the Facebook page and register for alerts when new items are posted by signing up online at https://conta.cc/2WFOxdU. Raffle tickets will be sold online, 1 for $5 or 5 for $20 for a gift card tree and phone calls will be accepted during the luncheon for silent auction items. Call (404) 323-9601.

Conroe Church of Christ is a collaborative faith partner with Family Promise. 'Family Promise gives us the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus through hospitality”, said. Lisa Van De Walle, a volunteer coordinator with the church. “The church is simply an extension of our own homes; a place we can offer rest and reassurance to families needing a little extra help getting back on track.'

Currently there are 9 churches sharing the hosting responsibilities for a week at a time. Without church support, Family Promise must pay approximately $562/week for food and lodging in a hotel for each client family.
“The families that enter our program have come from trauma”, said Marilyn Kasmiersky, Executive Director of Family Promise of Montgomery County. “The sudden loss of a job, accident, illness or domestic violence and not being able to provide for your family is a hopeless and scary feeling. The families have used all of their resources and may be going from couch to couch for shelter. Some families end up in their car with their children. You can see sadness and fear on the faces of the children. They did not have a choice in this situation.

Sponsors for the 6th Annual (No Show) Family Promise Luncheon include Amy and Chris Havern, Woodforest National Bank, the Kurtz Family, Dr. Ken Davis, the Woodley Family, Christ Church United Methodist, Woodforest Wealth Strategies, Re-elect Judge Claudia Laird Campaign, Dennis Fletcher, Savanah Manhold, Cherrie Watson, Claudia Hohlt Broker Associate, and Jo Ann Linzer, Attorney at Law. Annual Sponsors include Bleyl Engineering, Cowboy Kia, 5 Point Credit Union, MJR Services, America’s Home Place, and Conroe Church of Christ.

Since 2001, Family Promise of Montgomery County has served 350 families; including 600 children, to secure a stable housing, provide for their families, and contribute to the community. Additional programs include ROC Program (Reaching Our Children): counseling and supportive services for children, KAR-GO (Keeping Autos Reliable – Gas & Oil) Program to pay for repairs, tires, registration, and gas.

All donations directly assist families with needs of obtaining their driver’s license, meeting medical needs, paying rental deposits, providing families with gas cards, and covering childcare amongst many other essential services. Additional costs for the organization include maintaining the Day Center and supplying household supplies to support approximately 20 families a year.

All you have to do is watch the event via Facebook Live on www.facebook.com/FPMCT/ Tuesday, March 31 11:00am-2:00pm!

Find out more about Family Promise of Montgomery County by visiting www.familypromiseofmc.org. Visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FPMCT Call (936) 441-8778 7:00am-5:00pm Monday - Friday.