VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER

Where Are They Now?Luis and Maria are renting a house.

Both are working full time and

saving to buy their own

home. They are hoping to

be able to team up with

Habitat for Humanity to

get a house. Luis is

working full time at Pepsi

and was able to help Joslin (Teresa

and daughter) get a job at Pepsi as

well. Joslin is working part-time

at Pepsi but hoping to be able to get

full time soon.

Michelle is still working at

Universal and saving her money.

She is in the Housing Now program

and getting ready to go back to

school.

Eunice and Eddie have an

apartment close to the

airport where they both

have full time jobs. The

3 children were able to stay in their

schools until the end of the school

year. In the fall they will transfer

to schools closer to where they live.

New Families:

Bliss & 3 year-old daughter

Renea with 15 year-old

daughter

Claudia & 4 year-old son

Jermiesha with 13 year-old

daughter and 3 year-old son

A Few Words from the Director

We really have wonderful coordinators in our network. Being a

coordinator is a huge commitment of time and a huge responsibility

making sure that everything goes right. During a host week, the

coordinator is always on call. Our coordinators have such big hearts and

are always open to something new. Thanks, folks, you are terrific!

I am delighted to announce a new partnership with UCF College of

Nursing. Students will conduct classes twice a month with our families on

nutrition, personal health & hygiene, and creating a safe & healthy

home environment for children. This tremendously strengthens our

Life Skills program. Mary Alice Fish

Interfaith Hospitality Network 2313 1/2 N. Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32804

familypromiseorlando.org 407 893-4580 June 2011

A Volunteer

It was our first host year; I was staffing the table with labels for food and supplies. A

woman, leaning on her cane, was carefully scanning all the choices before selecting

one. “I’m so happy that there is something that I can participate in,” she said. “I

can’t do much any more but I can get this with my food stamps.” And she walked

slowly away, leaving me thinking, “a Widow’s Mite.” I have never forgotten her. AL

Golf Marathon

Coming 11/7/ 2011

New this year New this year New this year ——— teams of teams of teams of

two, to golf & raise fundstwo, to golf & raise fundstwo, to golf & raise funds

Check out our website for

pictures of last year’s

golfers.

Do you have a good story

about IHN? We’d like to

include it in the newsletter.

Send it to:

alandrum2@cfl.rr.com

Answers from April

Q. You have been answering our questions for over a year, now tell us something about yourself.

April: I grew up in Oviedo. My

mom was a single mom, so I

spent a lot of time with my grand-

parents who owned a restaurant. I

guess I was always drawn to this

work, because I used to go out to

people in the neighborhood and

ask them if they needed food.

Then I would go back to the res-

taurant and get them something to

eat. My grandparents must have

approved since they let me do it. I

have worked at several social ser-

vice agencies, including the Coali-

tion for the Homeless before com-

ing to Family

Promise in 2005.

One thing I like

about this program is that it is

faith-based. Families see that faith

is not a once a week thing, but the

way you live your life and it helps

them be closer to God. Another

wonderful thing is that I get to

work closely with our families

treating them with dignity and re-

spect and not as part of an assem-

bly line. And the payback is ter-

rific. Former guests call me all the

time to tell me how they are doing

and thank me for staying on their

case. Even many of the ones who

were dismissed early, call to say,

“Miss April, you were right! Now

I understand what you were talk-

ing about.” And then, of course

there are the children. Last week,

one of our little girls talked to the

phone Cat App and said, “Remind

me to tell Miss April what a good

job she did cleaning the

stairs for the Open

House.” How can you

resist that!

A Day in the Life of a new *guest family

in Family Promise/IHN

(Maria and 2 daughters, ages 4 and 7, lived in

Apopka until they were evicted; since then they

have stayed with friends in Orlando and slept on the

family room sofa. Maria does not have a car. The

girls’ father had been paying child support, but re-

cently got behind in his payments. The family came

to the Day Center on Sunday about 3 PM to meet

the other families. Sunday night they spent at the

host congregation where they had a

good meal and their own space with

their own beds.)

5:45 AM Alarm — Mom gets up, gets

herself ready, wakes the kids, gets them

ready, takes kids in for breakfast.

7:00 AM — Family gets on the van, which stops at a

daycare, at the elementary school and drops 2

adults at the Lynx Depot downtown before ending

up at our Day Center.

9:00 AM — April takes family to Apopka to with-

draw the 7-year old from her previous school. Then

they go on to our local school to register her there.

Then it is on to the daycare center to enroll the

younger girl.

12 noon — Back at the Day Center. Mom was too

shy and nervous to make lunches at the congrega-

tion so they find something there.

1:00 PM — Maria gets bus pass and takes the girls

on the city bus to Child-support Enforcement.

3:15 PM — Family returns to the Day Center. Maria

starts a load of laundry.

4:45 PM — Van leaves for host congre-

gation. Once there family enjoys their

own room for a little while.

6:00 PM — Dinner with the group. Chil-

dren play and Mom sorts laundry.

8:30 PM — Bed time; children start school tomor-

row. Maria will begin her own program.

*Guest family is a composite of several IHN guests.