Our mission is intersecting faith and community to empower

Grayson County families to end child homelessness.

Hello March!

What an exciting month! Trees are budding and flowers are starting to bloom in this Lenten season of spiritual preparation and anticipation of rebirth.

March also marks an anniversary! In 2018, the Executive Director Search Committee, comprised of Chair Michael Mattil, Deloris Dowell, Nancy Davis, Lisa Perkins, Mike Grubb, and Becky Frank, forever changed my life by kindly and generously offering me the opportunity to work in an official capacity with you and with the families we serve. The past five years have flown by, and through your generosity of time, talent, and resources, we have been able to assist hundreds of families in our community! Thank you! I look forward to seeing what we do together next!

Read on to meet one of our new Board members, see what's going on, and find out about some upcoming opportunities.

May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.

Leigh

Get to know the Board of Directors

Steve Showalter was born in New Mexico, raised in Washington, and married a girl (Becky McManus) from Sherman, Texas. After living in Washington for 40 years, Steve and Becky moved to Sherman two blocks from where Becky grew up. They became Texas residents in 2022. Steve part-time teaches entrepreneurship to low income business owners. Beyond entrepreneurship, his passions are physics education, finance, and impact investing. Steve is pictured with his wife, Becky, and their children Ross and Lexie.

Steve earned a BS in Physics from the University of Washington. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur in technical sales and software development. He retired early to volunteer. Most of his volunteer hours have been in science (primarily physics) and math education in high school classrooms. We are so fortunate and grateful to have Steve on our Board!

Financial Literacy Classes

We had so much fun at our financial class for children, hosted by Independent Financial! The topic was, "Learn to Earn" and covered career and money choices. Special thanks to Larsha' and Joshua for teaching this class! Independent Financial leads a class on the last Tuesday of every month. The next one (geared for adults) will be Tuesday, March 28th from 6-7 PM. The topic is "Credit Reports". It will be at the Family Promise Day Center (901 E. Houston Street in Sherman).

This Thursday, March 2nd, from 6:30-8 PM, Cadence Bank will host a class on "Savings". Thank you to Cadence Bank and to Laurie Mealy at Habitat for Humanity for allowing us to meet with them for this event (901 N. Grand Avenue in Sherman).

Watch here for topics, times, and potential date changes. If you have any questions, please call Leigh at 903-771-0322. Snacks and child care are provided. All classes are open to the public and everyone is welcome! Hope to see you there!

THANK YOU to our Host and Support Congregations!

Volunteers like you are the backbone of our Rotation program! You graciously welcome families into your church, provide meals, hospitality, and a safe place to sleep, and help struggling families get back on their feet. Thank you!

Our March host congregations are First United Methodist Church in Whitesboro, Grace United Methodist Church in Sherman, and Park Avenue Church of Christ in Denison. Thank you so much to the members of these congregations for loving our guests so graciously!

We do have two upcoming Open Host weeks March 26 and April 2. If your church would be willing to host one or both of these weeks, please call Leigh at 903-271-1088.

Upcoming Volunteer Training

In order to provide the best possible experience for our guests and volunteers, volunteer training is offered. The next scheduled training is Sunday, March 26, from noon to 2 PM at First Baptist Church in Whitesboro. The church is located at 124 Center Street in Whitesboro. If you desire to share your time and talent with Family Promise guests and to learn more about our programs, please come and bring a friend or two!

If another time is more convenient for you, please call Leigh Walker to schedule a class (903-271-1088).

If you want to dig a little deeper...

An article written by Gail Cornwall in April 2022 caught my eye this week. It's about a school in San Francisco that lets unhoused students and their families sleep on site. The students who stay there are improving scholastically. This program is a lot like our rotation program and demonstrates again how important it is that we end child homelessness in our community. If you want to know more, click on the link below. Either way, keep up the great work!

How a Homeless Shelter in a School Paid Off in the Classroom

"You'll never get bored when you try something new. There's really no limit to what you can do." ~ Dr. Seuss