Family Promise Holds Their Tenth National Conference in Orlando

Karen Oldon and Wintley Phipps following his keynote address and performance

Karen Olson, President, and Wintley Phipps, Founder and CEO of US Dream Academy, following his closing keynote address and performance.

Family Promise convened in Orlando from
April 30-May 2, 2010 for Dare to Dream, their national conference celebrating successes and exploring ways to continue meeting the challenges they face in their local communities. 2009 was an especially tough year for struggling families-unemployment peaked at over 10% and more families found themselves without homes than anytime since the Great Depression.

Directors and Board Members Networking throughout the conference.

Over 275 people from Family Promise Affiliates nationwide took part in the three-day conference. 116 Affiliates from 36 states were represented-from Board members to affiliate directors and program managers to local volunteers.

Fred Karnas, Senior Advisor to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, presents during the Plenary Session.

A dynamic duo of keynote speakers> headlined the conference. Dr. Christine Pohl, Professor of Church and Society/Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary addressed the group on Saturday morning, applying the theme of her seminal book, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, to the work we do every day at Family Promise. Tami Gough, Executive Director of Family Promise of Lima-Allen County (OH), responded, "I found the keynote speech most helpful to remind us of what we are about-compassionate hospitality."

Wintley Phipps, world-renowned gospel singer, motivational speaker and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy, brought the entire conference to their feet, mixing song and words of hope during his keynote address to close the conference on Sunday afternoon. He shared his life-affirming message that family must be the foundation as we work to build a brighter future for our children.

Ken Medema, Internationally renowned singer-songwriter, performs "Home Again," the newly unveiled Family Promise theme song.

And musician Ken Medema provided the entertainment on Friday night, with his uniquely interactive and improvisational performance. Dare to Dream served as the release of his new CD, Home Again, inspired by the work of Family Promise. Jennifer Broderick, new Executive Director for our Albuquerque affiliate, summed up his impact best, "I can't stop humming ‘Home Again,' our wonderful new theme song!"

Saturday's plenary session was on The Continuum of Care: Family Promise's Role in Unifying and Structuring Local Services to Meet the Needs of Homeless Families. Fred Karnas, Senior Advisor to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, was the featured member of a panel which included a Continuum of Care Coordinator and select affiliate directors, all gathering to discuss how affiliates can become connected and to determine the focus and shape of our future vision.

Network Directors participating in workshop sessions.

There was a wide range of workshops over the weekend providing something for everyone. Funding, event planning, donor development, and even the use of social media-the biggest challenge was finding the time to attend every workshop of interest. As Howard and Anna Claire Kuchta, Board members of Family Promise of Lawton (OK) said, "As a start-up network, we appreciated the vast array of workshop offerings which covered the entire gamut of IHN services. The presenters were astounding. Kudos to all!"

Board Member Chair, Martin Wise, and Board Members, Sig and Judy Huitt.

Dare to Dream was truly a collaborative effort, not just of the staff and volunteers who worked together for weeks to make the conference a reality, but of all the Family Promise representatives from across the country who strive each day to make a difference, one family at a time. Karen Olson, Founder of Family Promise, recognized that work in her President's Address on Friday evening, "Yes, dreamers are the people who make change happen, who dare to risk, to shake the status quo, to be persistent even in the face of tremendous opposition." But, although much has been accomplished, Karen challenged the conference to reach higher yet, "Dream big dreams...Families need people who will dream...Why not dream that together we can actually end homelessness?"

Article Posted:

05/07/2010