Volunteers are the heart of any organization. In our case, volunteers do much more than just show up and move boxes. They become a part of our community, an integral part of achieving our mission: every child deserves a home.
Our volunteers become a personal support system to homeless families in the network. They share contacts for jobs and housing, help write resumes and prepare for job interviews, donate clothing and furniture, and subsidize security deposits.
The relationships our volunteers build with the families we assist are often so strong that they continue after families leave the program. Thanks to the involvement and dedication of our volunteers, over 75% of the families we have assisted have found permanent homes, an important milestone towards financial independence.
In 2019, we had over 1,200 volunteers help us reach our mission in South Palm Beach County. That’s equal to 32,125 volunteer hours! With the help of our volunteers, we were able to provide 121,586 meals for families transitioning from homelessness to sustainable independence. Our volunteers have a measurable and significant impact on the families in our community.
Fundraisers and Events
The programs and services we provide to families transitioning from homelessness to sustainable independence aren’t incredibly expensive, but they do cost money. At Family Promise SPBC, fundraisers are one of our main sources of income—almost a third of the resources we obtain for our programs and services come from fundraising events.
For this reason, volunteers helping during these events is incredibly important. As a volunteer, you can help us run these events smoothly, ensuring that we can raise the money and resources we need to support the families in our county. Thanks to our volunteers, we are able to provide emergency shelter, meals, and other assistance to homeless families for about one-third the cost of traditional shelters.
Why Volunteer?
Although we all lead busy lives, volunteering can be a positive experience for both the people we are helping and the volunteers themselves.
Volunteering connects you to others, allowing you to make friends and also giving you first-hand experience with the issues these families face. You can also build professional connections through volunteering because through volunteering you can gain job experience and learn valuable skills. Many of our volunteers advance their careers through the people they met while volunteering.
Volunteering is also good for your mind and body, and it brings fulfillment and fun to your life. Our volunteers take on our mission of ensuring every child has a home in South Palm Beach County, and it gives them purpose and something to be passionate about. Many of our volunteers are not the type of people who just donate money online—they are hands-on and action-driven, and they want to see the impact they are having on their community.
We pride ourselves in providing the opportunity for compassionate Americans to make a difference in their own communities. We offer a wide range of volunteer activities to fit varying schedules and levels of commitment, and our program allows families to volunteer together, from grandparents to young children.