March 21 - Sponsor A Family

In the fall of 2002 The New York Times ran a series of articles on poverty in the U.S. One of those articles described the township of Pembroke, Illinois, a community so poor that many houses had dirt floors and there were tires on the roofs to keep them from blowing away.  After reading that article, Pam Koner, a Westchester, New York mom and entrepreneur knew she had to do something to help.


With the simple idea of linking families with more to families with less, Koner contacted an outreach worker in Pembroke and asked what was needed most. The answer was food. So Koner wrote down the names of 17 of the neediest Pembroke families, convinced 16 friends and neighbors to join her, and Family-to-Family was born.  Each donating family began sending monthly boxes of food (and letters) to “their” families. 17 families soon grew to 60 . . . and after a flurry of media exposure 60 families grew to over 700 families linked to each other.  Family-to-Family now serves 13 mostly forgotten, impoverished rural communities throughout the U.S.


Community based, Family-to-Family links families with "more" to families with much less. Once a month each sponsor family either prepares a box of non-perishable foods for shipment to "their" needy family, or makes a donation that allows F-to-F to buy and deliver the groceries for them.


Family-to-Family has many great programs and I have highlighted a couple of those programs in previous posts.  Recently on their facebook wall, FTF posted that they have 42 families waiting for sponsors.  Won't you consider sponsoring a family?


Get Involved:

Join the Family-to-Family Hunger Relief Registry and sponsor a family in need today… with their online cyber-sponsorship program.

With a monthly donation of $31.21*, F-to-F will:

Purchase groceries to provide 7 dinner-type meals (including fresh fruit and vegetables) and have them delivered to an outreach center for your sponsored family to pick up, or,

Provide your family with a food coupon they can use to shop at a local grocery store.

On a budget but eager to help? Join 2-for-1.

Two donors help one family in need…an affordable option.  The 2-for-1 option matches two online donors (contributing $15.69 per month each) willing to help one family in need. Combined, your automatic monthly donation will provide your assigned family with enough groceries to get them through the end of the month.

Share

Find One Way Every Day on Facebook.
Help me spread the word about One Way Every Day.
LIKE me on Facebook!  Follow me on Twitter! 






Source:  http://www.family-to-family.org/

October 25 - VOA - Adopt A Family

Today is October 25th and you know what that means!! Two months until Christmas! Each year seems to pass more quickly than the previous year! I am going to start highlighting some of the causes and charities helping others for the holidays to give you some time to decide where you can get involved.

I have mentioned on several occasions that I live in Michigan and the economy in this state is one of the worst in the nation. There are many organizations out there helping people, but they are struggling because donations are down and requests for help are WAY UP!

Today I am highlighting the Adopt A Family program, just one of the many programs administered by Volunteers of America - Michigan.   (Volunteers of America has offices and programs in many states, click on the link at the bottom to locate a branch near you.)

The Adopt A Family program matches families and seniors in need with individual and/or corporate sponsors who "adopt" them for the holidays.   As a sponsor for a family, you can make a cash donation or sponsor directly. Either way, a family in need will receive:

          -New clothes for each child
          -Toys or gift items for each child
          -Food for the whole family

The Adopt A Family program is unique because of the Direct Adopt option. Directly "adopting" a family in need is a personal, hands-on experience! Direct Sponsors receive a family or senior profile and wish list. Using their information the sponsors do the shopping and deliver the items to their adoptee! Sponsors are able to indicate how many children they’d like to help and a specific geographic area and are matched to a family meeting their requests.  What a great way to teach your children about helping others! 

The need is great... there are already over 5,000 families who have applied for the Adopt A Family program this year.

This is an awesome opportunity for families, coworkers or church groups to band together and adopt a family! My wife's workplace does this every year and it is such a great way to give a little back to someone who could use a little help. 

Get involved:

To sponsor a family this Christmas, please contact:

(248) 353-4862
sign up online to be a sponsor
or email emedvinsky@voami.org

Click here to find a Volunteers of America program in your area.

Share

Find One Way Every Day on Facebook.
Help me spread the word about One Way Every Day. LIKE me on Facebook!




Source:  Volunteers of America.
               VOA - MI