Family Promise Club President Amalia Tobias and her winning team.
The most valuable lessons are often those learned at a young age.
Summit High School students have put that adage into action, forming the Family Promise Club in 2013 to support the efforts of Family Promise-Union County through volunteering and fundraising. Sunday, the club hosted their “Pursue the Promise” scavenger hunt, designed to educate participants about homelessness through a series of hands-on activities at several Family Promise host congregations in Summit.
Nearly 50 students showed up for the event, racing against the clock to complete the competition and return to home base at Central Presbyterian Church. The winning team received baskets of in-kind donations from local businesses and tickets for the New York Rangers hockey team. At the end of the day, the club donated $22,000 to Family Promise-Union County to help serve local families.
Family Promise Club President Amalia Tobias was thrilled, not only with the fundraising totals, but with her fellow students’ buy-in to the cause. “I’ve been volunteering with Family Promise since I was little. One day, I brought along two of my friends and they enjoyed it as much as I did. That’s when I decided to try to get more students involved and form a club at my school.”
Family Promise President Karen Olson thanks students for their efforts.
For the scavenger hunt, club members formed teams and worked all summer, approaching local businesses for sponsorships ranging from $100-$500, as well as asking their friends and family for support. Club Vice President Jackson Stern said, “When we first started, we were hoping we might be able to raise $5,000. To reach $20,000 is amazing.” Once they topped $10,000 in donations, they were assured of at least doubling that total, thanks to a generous $10,000 matching offer from the Turock Family Foundation.
Tobias addressed her tired troops at the end of the hunt, “What you did today is a huge accomplishment, especially for a high school club—most clubs don’t raise that much money. All the funds are going to help families, many with kids our age, and that’s the most important part.”
Family Promise would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: Turock Family Foundation; Bressler, Amery, Ross; Lois Schneider Realtor; DriTac; Robert Rosen, DMD; Mitchell Bayroff, DDS; Sweet Nothings; Skin Deep; New Jersey Running Company; and Blue Mercury.
