Family Promise of Monmouth County was established in 2001 with a mission to provide a safe haven to homeless families in cooperation with a network of interfaith congregations.
To accomplish its mission, Family Promise uses existing community resources, including the facilities and volunteers pledged by 11 congregations who comprise the network. Each host congregation furnishes overnight lodging and meals for up to five families for one week every 11 weeks on a rotating schedule. An additional 23 support congregations provide volunteers and financial support to assist the host congregations and professional staff.
Trained volunteers prepare meals, assist children with homework, provide babysitting and support parents as caring listeners.
The daily schedule begins each morning when guest families are transported by a 14-passenger van to their jobs, while children are taken to school in the last town where they lived. Others are brought to the Family Promise’s Day Center, where guests can bathe, wash clothes, prepare mid-day meal and receive intensive case management services. The staff offers professional case management services that assist families with housing, employment, job training, parenting skills and counseling and education.
Guests also have access to special counseling by volunteer accounting and legal professionals who offer one-on-one assistance with money management, debt control, credit repair and budgeting, as well as information and recommendations about bankruptcy. All volunteers must undergo Family Promise’s training. Volunteers of all ages are welcomed to help out at one of the host congregations or in the day center.
Ways in which volunteers work with guests include: time management, health and nutrition, exercise and stress management, leisure activities, tutoring, van driver. Ways in which volunteers can assist the agency include as: board members, fundraising and at the Day Center.
Does your parish, school or group need volunteer assistance? Put out a call for volunteers through the Faith in Action feature of The Monitor. Send all requests to Monitor-News@dioceseoftrenton.org. Type FAITH IN ACTION into the subject line.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
By volunteering, you can help to 'Enable' others
Whether it’s called community service, volunteering or civic engagement, one thing rings true when you connect with Enable, Inc.: you will experience work that helps you look beyond yourself and makes you feel that you are doing something worthwhile.
Enable is an agency devoted to supporting individuals with disabilities to live full and independent lives throughout central New Jersey.
Throughout the past 20 years, Enable has brought new possibilities to the “consumers” (the name person with disabilities prefer to be called) through various services. The agency assists about 450 persons with cognitive and/or physical disabilities and their families through in-home services and supports, group homes, day programs, respite care and other alternative means. Enable’s staff and volunteers help people with disabilities to pursue their dreams, goals and interests.
“If you’re looking to get connected to an important cause, make a difference and meet new friends, consider volunteering with Enable,” commented Sharon Copeland, Enable’s executive director.
One current volunteer need that Enable has is for “friendly assistants.” Through their efforts, volunteers can help a consumer living in Mercer County to remain in his or her own home, live in good health and with dignity and achieve the greatest independence possible. A four-hour time commitment per month is required and prospective volunteers must be at least 21 years old.
Volunteers are also needed to help plan the third annual “Walk ‘n’ Roll with Enable” event to be held Feb. 27 in PEAC Health & Fitness, Ewing. Volunteers can participate on the Walk Committee; on the Students in Motion Committee (for high school students); on the day of the event (set up; clean up; registration); by raising pledges from family, friends and colleagues; by becoming a sponsor; and in the event itself.
For more information on volunteer opportunities at Enable, which is located at 13 Roszel Rd., Suite B110, Princeton, N.J. 08540, contact Kirsten Yard, community engagement coordinator, by e-mail: kyard@enable.org or call 609-987-5003.
Does your parish, school or group need volunteer assistance? Put out a call for volunteers through the Faith In Action feature of The Monitor. Send all requests to Monitor-News@dioceseoftrenton.org. Type FAITH IN ACTION into the subject line.
Located in Epworth United Methodist Church, Palmyra, the Bread of Life Food Pantry will celebrate its first full year of operation in August.
The pantry is a cooperative effort of 10 Tri-Boro churches and one synagogue. Its mission is to provide food assistance for the needy of Palmyra, Riverton and Cinnaminson.
Special Olympics New Jersey is an organization that provides year-round sports training and Olympic-type athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities with the goal of giving them ongoing opportunities to develop physical fitness abilities, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community.
