Temple Sinai has been a partner with Family Promise of North Fulton/DeKalb for many years. Chairs Olen Earl, Mary Baron, Lisa Herman and Lori Spett share their experiences with us. For more information about how to get involved with Family Promise, go here.
Why did you want to get more involved with Family Promise?
Olen: My friends Lara and Josh Tolchin were Family Promise leaders and they inspired me to volunteer.
Mary: For the last several years I have been involved with a local nonprofit organization that focuses on educating the community about housing affordability. Through that work I’ve become aware of the terrible affect housing instability has on children and families. It touches so many families and if I can help some of them, I wanted to be a part of it.
Lisa: I met the families and learned how much I could impact their day by having a simple conversation and listening to them talk about all the things we have in common, knew I wanted to get more involved. Once we can all identify things that make us more alike than different, they almost always smile!
Lori: I had just completed Atidaynu (Sinai’s leadership program) when Rabbi Brad Levenberg came to me with this opportunity. I was looking for ways to get more involved in the Sinai community, and Family Promise offered a way to not only give back to Sinai, but also to give back to the broader community in need. Family Promise also offered the opportunity to get my family involved through volunteering together.
Why is the organization so important?
Mary: Family Promise provides support when families are going through a tough time. A friendly face, a nice meal at the end of the day and a place to sleep can ease their worries and burden. It’s a unique organization because it uses untapped resources from local congregations and also provides services to help the families with childcare and finding housing once they’ve completed the program.
Lisa: Family Promise is very important because most of the adults in the program are just a couple of bad or unlucky decisions/circumstances removed from having their own home. This program is a safety net that prevents them from being on the street and helps the families get back on their feet.
What can Sinai members do to get involved?
Olen: Volunteer and Give. It’s easy.
Lori: There are so many ways to get involved from bringing dinners, supplying items needed during the stay, washing laundry at the end of the week, helping move items in and out. Teens can also come hang out with the families and play with the children and/or help with homework (usually the kids just want to play!), and sleeping over so that the families aren’t left alone.
Should families with children volunteer? Why?
Olen: Yes, children should volunteer because Family Promise provides Sinai families with perspective in difficult times. Helping others helps you appreciate your advantages.
Lisa: Absolutely! That’s how I got involved. The families with children love playing with other kids. It’s so much more fun for our guests; kids playing together while adults get the pleasure of watching their kids happy. It’s not something they’re used to seeing much-happy kids. You get so much more than you give!
Anything else you want to share about Family Promise and what it has meant to you?
Mary: It’s been very meaningful for me to be a part of Family Promise and to get to know our guest families. There are very few organizations providing these kinds of services in North Fulton so Family Promise is really filling a need in our community. I’m grateful for the work they do and so happy to be involved.
Lori: It can seem intimidating – the idea of volunteering with homeless families – but our guests are truly grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the program and really seem to enjoy meeting our Sinai volunteers and the relief of having dinner as well as company for their kids at the end of a long day.
