I was thirteen when my parents told my sisters and me they were separating and fifteen when we moved out of the parsonage where I grew up. My father, a UCC pastor at a small church in a New England fishing town, decided to leave the church to spare our …
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Candice Stewart-Fife Nearly 23 years ago, Candice Stewart-Fife gave birth to her first daughter in the Family Promise program. In what could have been her darkest hour, Candice encountered overwhelming tenderness, and was not alone. Today, the native of Union County is offering new life for families experiencing homelessness as …
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Marie Muddiman (center) with staff and Regional Director Jeanna Beck (second from left).   “Our job doesn’t end with creating Affiliates. Our focus every day is on helping them march towards excellence.” Family Promise President Claas Ehlers. While the creation of Affiliates is a key goal for Family Promise, much …
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I must have spent an hour online, trying to find the right rug for Jordan, a five-year-old who had just left the Family Promise program to move into permanent housing with his mother. Finally, I picked out a colorful rug decorated with fire engines, trucks and buses.  It was a …
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“So, Tammi. What do you lose yourself in?” That is the question a co-worker asked me this week, and I must admit, it brought me up short. I could only respond with, “Oh, I like to travel and see new things. I love history and that’s why I’m going to …
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Each week we have a theme in yoga class. This week’s theme was “grace.” My yoga instructor started by saying that one of the reasons she was drawn to Anusara yoga (the kind of yoga she teaches and I practice) is because the first principle is “opening to grace.” It’s …
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The final returns from the 2015 Family Promise national census are in and the results are eye-opening. Last year, Family Promise Affiliates and our 180,000 volunteers helped more homeless and at-risk families than ever before—nearly 58,000 served nationwide. Inspirational, to be sure, that so many compassionate individuals are eager and …
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Most of my childhood I lived in the suburbs. That is, two miles outside of a town of 300 people. There was a pond next to my house, filled with bullfrogs, snapping turtles and dragonflies; across from it was a field of cows on a dairy farm. I was the …
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Davin’s last stand! A leap of faith…Family Promise’s Athens (GA) Affiliate truly went over the edge this spring.  They partnered with two other local nonprofits that also focus on improving the lives of children for a fundraiser that allowed winners to walk backward off a 7-story building and rappel to …
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Samantha and Shauna Bolton The lives of teenagers Shauna and Samantha Bolton were turned upside-down last year when their father, Shawn, lost his job of 25 years. The family ended up homeless. Determined to remain together during a difficult transition, the Boltons turned to the Summit-based Family Promise organization for …
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https://youtu.be/GCNsRd6sKCk  
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Holly and Raymond Bixby found themselves in a desperate situation—unable to provide for their family with no place in their community to turn for help. Holly and her oldest daughters. As the result of a back injury and subsequent surgery in 2014, Raymond was unable to return to his job …
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