Our mission is intersecting faith and community to empower

Grayson County families to end child homelessness.

MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

As Christmas carols begin to fill the air, I am filled with gratitude for the generous souls who sprinkle kindness like snowflakes. From community elves gathering much needed supplies for the families we serve to local groups sharing their time and talent to organize the Day Center, it is heartwarming to see how good will and hard work create joy.

I am beyond grateful for gifts such as a beautiful new transitional home from Clayton, talented Resource Advocates Tara Hickerson and Kristi Shilling for the more than three years they each have served Family Promise, and our industrious Board of Directors, led by Jessica Wright and Maureen Kane Stevenson, for its guidance and support.

Here's to those who remind us that the true spirit of Christmas shines brightest when we come together to make our community a little brighter, one act of kindness at a time! Thank you to each of you for your generosity and abundant kindness.

May the spirit of Christmas be with you,

Leigh

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

As part of a national program, "A Future Begins at Home", Clayton donated a new home to Family Promise of Grayson County! The home will be used as transitional housing for local families seeking to rebuild their lives. A precious, hardworking family moved into the home immediately following the ribbon cutting!

We are thrilled to have this opportunity, and are overwhelmed by the generosity of Clayton and Freedom Homes! Special thanks to Ted Rutland, Pete Sepulveda, Victor Bordeaux, Les Stone, Margaret Chwat, Malorie Hahn, and Meghan Francis for making this happen! Thanks, too, to our very own Regional Director, Lindsay Moore, for coming all the way to Texas from Michigan for the ribbon cutting ceremony!

This is the second home Clayton has given us. Currently two families live in the home we received in 2021. We cannot thank Clayton enough for their generosity and their vision to partner with Family Promise!

SCOUTING FOR CHRISTMAS CHEER

Cub Scout Pack 7 recently participated in the Bear Paw for Action, which required them to learn about a nonprofit and participate in a service project. The Scouts meet at Grace United Methodist church, which is one of Family Promise's Host congregations. Laurie Aleman and the Wolf den's third graders learned about Family Promise and collected a car load of toiletries for families struggling to make ends meet. We are SO grateful to these Cub Scouts for doing their best to help our community!

MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT

Seven energetic 6th graders from Texoma Christian School recently spent a morning doing service at the Family Promise Day Center! Not only did these kind and compassionate students complete an entire list of helpful tasks, but also they collected and donated an enormous pile of supplies! Bottles of bleach and laundry soap and huge packages of toilet paper and paper towels will bless many families! We truly appreciate Amy Huckle and her class! If you know Mrs. Huckle, Ramsey, Holland, Amelia, Emerson, Zoe, Ava Claire, or Ms. Maddy Zeringue, please thank them for caring, and thank them for doing such a great job!

Stocking our Blessing Box, filling bags for Thanksgiving meals, sorting toys, games, and puzzles, and organizing school supplies are among the many ways these young ladies helped!

THE STARS ARE BRIGHTLY SHINING

Eight members of the Rho Lambda Theta fraternity spent a recent Saturday morning partnering with Family Promise as part of Austin College's Great Day of Service. These very personable and hard working guys organized two previously chaotic closets, cleaned walls, moved refrigerators and rearranged canned goods, and updated our wall of stars!

The stars represent families that have been in our Rotation program. The numerals indicate the number of people in each family. Forty three families comprised of nearly 150 people have been hosted in the Rotation program.

Huge thanks to Ethan Proctor, Joshua Melvin, Nicholas Paul, Samuel Rainey, Matthew Vorderbruggen, Rayone Mountassir, Brice Weinstein, and Luis Hinojosa for all their help!

OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE

Here are a few other nuggets you might like to know:

• First United Methodist church in Sherman recently hosted a Family Promise training for new volunteers. 21 people from at least 3 congregations attended!
• Two Board members are rolling off the Board after completing their terms. We are very grateful to Steve Showalter and Christy Close for all the ways they have supported Family Promise over the past three years. We wish you well and will miss you!
• Check out next month's newsletter to find out who are three new Board members are! We will welcome them at a Meet & Greet later this week!
• Thanks to James Johnston and the Lions Club for providing a couple of our families with Thanksgiving dinners!
• We currently have no families in Rotation. Congrats to our most recently hosted families for graduating into stable housing!

CLOSING THOUGHT

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."



~C. S. Lewis