Family Promise of Salem County
SUMMER 2014
Double Your Money!
Salem County Health & Wellness Foundation will
match your donation to FPSC dollar for dollar!
Please see the information on page 7 for details.
CLEAR SKIES, CLEAR VISION, CLEARLY A DAY FOR GOLF
QUINTON TWP – Last year our golf
outing ran headfirst into a hurricane. Well, Tropical Storm Andrea to be
exact. But this year the skies could not
have been clearer and our vision of having a day of fun that also served as a symbol of support for our guests was underway.
Friday marked the 4th Annual Family
Promise of Salem County Golf Outing
held once again at Wild Oakes Golf
Course; our partner for the last three
years. We’ve also continued our trend of
growing the event bigger each year with
34 golfers and a host of dinner guests that
joined the supporters after the golfing was
done. And dinner was a fantastic BBQ
catered by Sgt Smokey’s. If I heard it
once, I heard it a dozen times – “Oh, the
brisket!”
Family Promise of Salem County is the
only charity in Salem County that provides meals, shelter and case management
to homeless families. The charity is comprised of a network of churches and community organizations working together to
sustain families who would otherwise be
homeless. Over 500 volunteers across the
county have been providing meals, transportation and encouragement to families
since 2009.
The Family Promise of Salem County
Annual Golf Outing occurs on the 1st
Friday of June every year. So SAVE
THE DATE: Friday, June 5 2015! See
you there!
10 ways YOU change lives with Family Promise!
PENNSVILLE TWP —
We, includes the Board of Trustees, our
Director, Christine Hoehn, and EVERY
volunteer. Each volunteer is an integral
part: van drivers, the linen launderer, the
person that donated 10 reams of copy pability of being in Family Promise and not
per, the family that donated a sofa to a
having to worry or find a place to sleep
graduating family, etc.. We wouldn’t be
for the night, she was able to concentrate
able to help ANYONE without EVERYon finding an apartment.
ONE. Some of the ways lives were
4. Many of our parents have suspended
changed….
drivers licenses. Usually these are for
1. Rick Pfeffer donated a van to family.
minor traffic tickets that went unpaid and
This was an amazing gesture that helped a then licenses were suspended. This is
single mom with four kids be able to
something that before they are with us
drive to work and daycare.
gets pushed way down the priority list.
2. A mom while in our program completed While they are with us, they are able to
CNA program. She is now a Certified
pay off tickets and have their license reNurses Aid and is able to make $11 to
stored.
$13. This is a job that is always in de5. Families are required to save 30% of
mand.
their income, but are encouraged to save
3. A family was able to find housing in
as much as possible. We had one family
three weeks. Mom had a housing subsidy that was able to save 80% of her income.
through Health Care Commons. The staThis allowed them to pay off debts and
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
FPSC Newest
Board Member
Do you know Jennifer Batezel? We’d like
to take a minute to introduce this special
lady who has been blessed by and is a
blessing to FPSC.
Jennifer grew up in Salem County and
moved to FL in 2000 to pursue life opportunities. After ten years time and encountering some intense challenges, Jennifer
decided it was time to return to Salem
County and re-establish a better life here
with her two sons.
With $300 in her
pocket and most of her family having
moved from the area, Jennifer and her sons
headed back to NJ.
After staying with different friends for
almost a year, Jennifer learned about Family Promise, but was hesitant to come into
the program because she couldn’t imagine
living in the churches and moving every
week.
Page 2
How Every Volunteer Helps Families Achieve Their Goals
Con’t…
6. We had a child that was able to attend school for the first time. Before
he was in FPSC, his family was afraid
to register him a student, they had
been staying with a grandmother in
senior housing, and drawing attention
to a school age child staying them, the
grandmother could have lost her housing.
7. Families have been able to file past
years taxes that haven’t been filed and
then able to use their refunds to obtain
housing.
8. Couples in crisis have been connected with counseling with pastors or
therapists from our churches
9. Most families acquire health insurance or are able to obtain healthcare
through the clinic in Salem. Some-
times they are able to address health
issues that have been ignored for years
or pregnant moms find their Doctor
10. Many of our families find “their
church” home and now have their extended church family to support them
and many are new volunteers for Family Promise in their church!
But, once in the program, she says “I enjoyed all the people I met at the different
churches. They were nice, sweet and
really open to listen – the people were
awesome!”
By working through the various Family
Plan action items that she established with
Network Director, Christine Hoehn, Jennifer was able to complete the tasks required
and get back on her feet and in sustainable
housing in less than two months. “It was
just the hand-up I needed,” says Jennifer
who has been out of the program for 2 ½
years and still finds the organization supportive and says she “is glad to now be in a
position to pay it forward.”
Jennifer found a special connection with
the folks at Quinton Baptist Church, now
attends worship there and supports FPSC
through that Host Congregation by volunteering to make dinner for our current
guests where she shares that she was a
former guest and understands their situation is scary, but tells them “you have to
do what you have to do” to get back on
your feet.
Jennifer pictured in the Center along with Gino Mistichelli and Family
Owners of “the County Store” on Pedricktown Day 2013
works in the FPSC office part time, she
hosted a booth for FPSC at Pedricktown
Day and was an active fundraiser for the
Taste of South Jersey this year - if you
were there, you may have heard her speak
at the event.
Under the Work First Program, Jennifer It is especially exciting to share that Jen-
nifer was recently voted onto the FPSC
Board of Trustees. FPSC will definitely
benefit from the enthusiasm and perspective that Jennifer brings. Having her share
her talents and perspective with FPSC will
be a huge asset to this organization.
Thank you, Jennifer!
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
Page 3
The 12th Sorta Host Church!
United Way is a Supporter of Family Promise of Salem County.
Family Promise of Salem County is a Community Impact partner agency with the
United Way of Salem County. Their commitment to serving Salem County families
aligns with more than one of the four Community Impact Areas chosen by the United
Way of Salem County. Those areas include:
Education, Income/Financial Stability,
Health and Youth Development.
The United Way of Salem County proudly
funds Family Promise of Salem County and
appreciates their support for the Community
Impact Council, the Faith Works Council, the
Women's Leadership Conference, LIVE
UNITED events and the annual Campaign
Kick-Off.
Cohansey Baptist Church in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, has been helping out Family Promise of Salem County since the Fall of 2013. This July
they will be completing their third Host Church Rotation, AND they called
us to get back on our schedule!!
Cohansey Baptist Church will be a Host Church for Family Promise of Cumberland County once they open. Until then we welcome them into our family. Cohansey Baptist Thank you for loving Salem County too.
Rick Pfeffer is our
#1 In-kind Donator
In March 2014 a request was put out to
Family Promise Churches to see if anyone
had a reliable vehicle for under $1500 for
a family to purchase. The hope was to get
the most reliable vehicle for that amount
of money.
Woodstown Presbyterian Church member, Rick Pfeffer responded. Not only did
he have a vehicle, he DONATED it! This
was a blessing when other unexpected
expenses came up and the money set aside
for a purchase would have meant that
mom would have not been able to purchase a car .while in our program, and
after graduation her finances were much
Rick and FPSC Director, Christine Hoehn, pictured in front of the
tighter that she wouldn’t have been able to
van he donated to one of Family Promise’s graduate families.
get a car. Please thank Rick if you see
Rick is a volunteer at Woodstown Presbyterian
him for loving Family Promise!
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
Calling all Volunteers!
Anyone interested in helping and being part of the
“Best Event” in Salem County. Taste of SJ Meeting Dates
(all volunteers encouraged to attend all meetings):
8/14 – TOSJ Board Member meeting 4pm prior to trustee
meeting
8/26 – TOSJ Ticket Sales Info Session – Tickets first available
9/11 – TOSJ Board Meeting 4pm
9/16 – TOSJ General Meeting Check-in Drop off forms
donations ads
9/30 – TOSJ Deadline: Ad Book, Basket Donations, Vista
orders must be placed
10/1—TOSJ General Meeting
10/9 – Board Meeting TOSJ Focused
10/10 – TOSJ Program Build 4:30pm until…
10/11 – TOSJ Program Build 11am until complete
10/13 – EVENT DAY TOSJ 2014
Page 4
Taste
Of South Jersey
SAVE THE DATE
Taste of South Jersey
returns
Monday, October 13
at Riverview Inn
Call Christine Hoehn at 609-202-2217 for details
Taste of South Jersey Save the Date – Monday, October 13, 2014
Taste of South Jersey has won the “Best Event” in
Salem County for 4 years- 2010, 2011, 2012, &
2013! We are so grateful to all of the restaurants/
caterers who participated in the TOSJ 2013 competition: Riverview Inn, Carolina Blue, Doña Provís,
Graystone Café, Broadway Diner, AJ’s Tavern, Sgt.
Smokey’s Travelling BBQ, Italian Kitchen of
Pennsville, Roman Pantry, Conte’s Pasta, Ranch
Hope Catering, Franco’s Restaurant, Acton’s Catering, Sweet Mary’s Exceptional Chocolates. We are
all winners because of you!
Almost all of our food vendors will be returning
and there is limited space available for this year’s
event- let us know any restaurants you would love
to see at the Taste of South Jersey this year. Rumor
has it we will get to see the Geico Gecko and
WXTU again too! We are blessed with so many
donations for baskets that last year we had over 70
Baskets.
The event has morphed and changed, but is always the most fun Countywide event. What started
as a dinner has become a premium food show and
competition. Awards are given to the best in the
following categories: appetizer, entrée, side dish,
soup, snack, and dessert
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
Page 5
Who Loves Family Promise?
FPSC Loves
the Businesses
that Love
Family Promise
Family Promise operates with such a
small budget when we have a problem or
a need many times we do not have the
resources to immediately address or fully
address the problem. At these times there
are a number of Local Business that always seem to be there for us when we are
in need. Family Promise would like to
remind our volunteers and supporters to
remember these businesses when your
family would need any of the following
services. Each Newsletter will highlight
some of our Local Business Supporters.
Franklin Bank- Franklin Bank is at
EVERY Family Promise Fundraiser.
And they are having fun!
Laury Services- Ben Laury sent us a
plumber to clean out our laundry room
sink which was no longer draining. The
plumber was with us for 2 hours.
Brian Cowan Auto Center- Will
always help Family Promise quickly with
any van issues and get us back on the
road. He also tries to help graduate families maintain the vehicles within their
budgets. Brian is a good Christian man
living Gods word every day. Brian attends Sharptown United Methodist
Church, which is a Family Promise Host
Church.
Bill McAllister with Edward JonesBill heard we were looking for a used
refrigerator and purchase an new one for
Family Promise so that we wouldn’t have
to worry in the future about having a
working refrigerator.
TD Bank- TD Bank has been the
banker for our families free of charge.
We open escrow accounts for each family
when they are in our program. This is
where families save their money while in
our program.
Chips Auto Center– Chip’s helped
when the Family Promise van tire had
become completely flat in the driveway.
They came out and towed the van to their
shop for free, where they were able to
repair the tire on their lift.
WHS Students of Service Donate to Family Promise
Students of Service at Woodstown High School donated
$350.00 from their March fundraiser to Family Promise of
Salem County. The students have supported Family Promise’s efforts to help homeless families for the past several
years. Pictured from left to right are vice president Corinne
Hoopes, president Jessie Walker, Family Promise Board
President Dawn Parker, secretary Rachael McCorkle and
treasurer Candace Corsey. Thank you to the Students of Service for all that they do to help our community! –
West Jersey Presbytery Blesses FPSC…Again!
David Hoeldtke, Parish Associate at
Woodstown Presbyterian. volunteering
For the second consecutive year, West
Jersey Presbytery has blessed FPSC with
a grant for $7,000 which will be used to
sponsor the expenses associated with insurance coverage, maintenance costs and
fuel for the FPSC van.
Woodstown Presbyterian Church (one
of the churches in West Jersey Presbytery) was one of the first Host Congregations to sign on with FPSC and, as some
of you may remember, they gifted FPSC
the funds to purchase the van in 2011.
So, we find it especially touching that
West Jersey Presbytery has seen fit to
provide funding for the ongoing support
of the van and we thank them tremendously!
The West Jersey Presbytery is comprised of 63 Presbyterian churches, 7 of
which are in Salem County and Family
Promise is thrilled to have them as a partner who shares in our mission to help
homeless children and their families regain their independence. .
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
Page 6
About the Family Promise of Salem County Staff...
Since FPSC opened its doors there has
only been one budgeted employee, the
Director of the Network. Most Family
Promise Networks throughout the country operate with multiple employees.
There are a few with one like ours, but
it requires some creativity.
The types of positions vary from network to network. There could be a case
manager for family plans, a volunteer
coordinator that manage the schedule of
churches, volunteers, and families, a
paid driver for transportation of families
between the Family Center and the Host
Churches, an office assistant, or a funding position- grants/events/marketing.
Some Networks have as many as 5 employees, most Networks operate with 1
full time and 1 part time employees.
At FPSC our Director, Christine
Hoehn, has been able to find “free” em-
ployees. These are employees whose
compensation is provided by another
entity and does not affect FPSC’s
budget. There are three sources where
source for employees is through One
Stop and NJ Work First program.
Each employee has a specific set number of hours a week they can work which
range from 10-20 hours per week. We
currently have 2 employees, Lara and
Diana. We have had a total of 8 employees since these programs began in 2012.
These employees work as “assistants”
who are able to transport families, answer phones, light cleaning, work on
fundraisers, light office work and have
been a great resource for Family
Promise.
FPSC obtains employees. Federal Work
Study—students are paid as part of their
financial aid package through their college. We have a contract in place with
Salem Community College and with
Wilmington University. The third
B-I-N-G-O! 20 Winners! 20 Prizes! A Total Value of $2,665.00!!!
A lively group of Bingo Players entered the doors
of the Pennsville VFW on April 26, 2014 ready to
win! Up for grabs: Door Prizes, fun Raffle's & 20
Bingo Prizes ranging from a Goggle Android Tablet
to Coach bags, to a trip to the Borgata!
Thanks to our Sponsors & Donors, over 90 guest
received a Goodie Bag. Margaret Matthews (FP
Friend) also made it possible for each of our 18
Queens to receive services courtesy of the Cuckoos
Nest & Pink Lotus Yoga. Royal treatment was given
our Queens as FP Friends, Judie & Janice, served their
tables! Thanks Ladies!
Michele Norton (long time FP Friend), once again,
rallied the troops, providing homemade soups &
the best chicken salad you could eat! Always a
"Winner" are the generation donations of complimentary sweets, tea & coffee offered to our Bingo
Players.
Terry Ostrander (FP Treasure & Basket Guru)
showed her unbelievably creative side with
Prizes you would have to see to believe! Terry
you are the Best!
What a Great Time We All Had!
2015 SAVE THE DATE-April 25th, SEE
YOU THERE!
Dawn M Parker
Margaret Matthews
DJ Hybrid-Jason Reese
Michele Norton
Terry Ostrander-Baskets by Design
Janice Adamek
Pink Lotus Yoga Studios
Donna's Hallmark
Sweet Mary's Chocolates
Judie Burcham
Cuckoos Nest
All Those Wonderful Individuals
Who Donated:
Tasty Food
Raffle & Door Prizes
Their Time & Effort to Make this
an Event that will Continue
“enabling homeless children & their
families as they regain & sustain
their independence”.
FAMILY PROMISE OF SALEM COUNTY
Page 7
2014 Donation Drive to Help Pennsville Families in Need
Gasoline Cards (For FPSC Van)
Used Printer Cartridges (recycled for product by FPSC)
Laundry Supplies
Laundry detergent, Baby laundry detergent
Fabric Softener/Dryer sheets
Paper Products
Toilet paper, Paper towels, napkins
White multi-use computer/copy paper
Food Serving/Storage Products
Hot liquid cups, Cold liquid cups,
Microwavable Paper plates, Microwavable Paper bowls
Foil/plastic wrap/food storage bags
Personal Soaps
Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Soap, Hand Soap, Toothpaste
Cleaning supplies
Hand dishwashing liquid, Dishwasher Detergent
Spray bottle of sink/tub/tile cleaner
Spray bottle of glass cleaner, Toilet bowl cleaner
Febreeze odor eliminator
Large trash bags
Personal Items
Feminine Hygiene Products
Hand and Body Lotions
Diapers sizes 3, 4, and 5
Hairbrushes, Toothbrushes
Drop-Off Site
FPSC Family Center
391 South Broadway
Pennsville, NJ 08070
856- 678-3772
Emeritus Board Trustees:
Pastor Ralph Siegel,
Julie Acton
Kathy Bodine
Trustees:
Jennifer Batezel
George Daisey
Butch Edmeads
Kim Gatusso
Board of Directors:
Dawn Parker, President
Tom Webster, Vice President
Eric Sharp, Secretary
Terry Ostrander, Treasurer
Executive Director:
Christine Hoehn
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 856-678-FPSC (3772)
Website: www.fpsc-nj.org
Family Center
391B South Broadway
Pennsville, NJ 08070
Family Promise
of Salem County
NON-PROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
PENNSVILLE, NJ
PERMIT NO. 362