Most non-profit agencies have one major thing in common: They lean heavily on their volunteers to do the work and provide services. Family Promise of Green County is no exception, but at Family Promise, volunteers are promoted to "angels."
"Office Angel" is the official title given by this national group to those who donate their time at their local Family Promise Day Center. The job is part secretary, part counselor, part chauffeur, and part task manager. It involves a little computer work and a lot of listening.
The Green County branch of Family Promise started in November of 2011 as a solution to the growing problem of homelessness in the area. The group provides shelter and meals through a network of churches that open their doors to the homeless on a rotating schedule. With about 13 "host" churches involved, each one offers shelter for a week at a time, four times a year. The Day Center, a vacant house owned by Grace Lutheran in Monroe, is where the guests go during the day to shower, do laundry, care for their children, and look for work. Bryce Riemer as Network Director and Kendra LaGrange as Case Manager are the paid staff members who offer financial counseling, employment advice, and case management to clients. Their roles are supplemented by the work of the "angels."
Norma Slaback is a retired teacher who volunteers for a regular Wednesday morning shift at the Day Center. She spends her time there answering questions, taking messages, accepting donations, and taking guests to jobs, appointments, or to run errands. When guests are present, she spends a lot of time talking with and getting to know them.
"I suppose, like a medical professional, I'm supposed to remain a bit uninvolved," Slaback explained, "but I find that impossible. When things don't work out, I feel disappointed - questioning if I should have done more." On the flip side, she said, "when things work out and the guests move on to what comes after Family Promise, I feel a sense of accomplishment."
Having the churches involved has, in Slaback's opinion, a plus side and a negative side. The churches have "a body of members who are concerned with others and following Christ's words," she said. But, she countered, "we're only providing a stopgap measure to keep them going until they can have their own home." That's hard for people to accept and means they will try every other solution before entering the Family Promise program. "It's hard not to have your own bed," she said, "a place where you can put your favorite doll during the day, or any of the other things that make a building a home."
Slaback doesn't know anyone personally who has been homeless. But her definition of "homeless" has been modified by her experience with Family Promise. "I'm now much more aware of people who are 'one paycheck away' from needing to scramble to find someplace to live or ask someone for temporary shelter," she said.
Heidi Schutte makes time for a five-hour shift at the Day Center every Monday, in spite of her busy schedule attending Madison Area Technical College and working part-time caring for adults with disabilities. She isn't new to volunteering, she said, but "the biggest thing that grabbed my attention about Family Promise was that they are helping people in this community."
The most rewarding thing about Family Promise, according to Schutte, is helping at one of the churches. "You really get to interact with each family," she said, "and if you're willing to listen and not judge, the families are more than willing to open up and they appreciate someone who will listen."
Schutte doesn't have any friends or acquaintances who have experienced homelessness, but she acknowledged how easily it could happen. "I know that if it wasn't for the help of my family a few years back, I probably would have been close to homeless myself," she said.
Shirley Holland works full time as payroll support staff in Madison. But she also finds the time to work as an "office angel" periodically, along with volunteering as the van driver coordinator for Family Promise. She spends six to 10 hours a week emailing and calling the volunteer drivers, and keeping track of their schedules on a spreadsheet on her home computer. The drivers are responsible for picking guests up at the church each morning and delivering them to the Day Center by about 6:45 a.m. Then they make the reverse trip later, taking everyone back to the church by about 5 p.m. It's an important duty that must be covered twice a day, seven days a week, and Holland sees to it that someone is always there.
Working in Madison has made Holland more aware of the homelessness situation than many of us. "I have met many people who are nearly homeless or actually homeless," she said. "They struggle to make ends meet and raise a family; surviving on a daily basis is a struggle for them."
Holland has taken this mission a step further by getting her granddaughter involved when her church is hosting. "Our young guests feel more comfortable around young children who volunteer," she said. "They can help our school-age children with their homework or play games." It's also a valuable lesson for young people on the importance of volunteering. In Holland's words, "the biggest benefit people get from volunteering is the satisfaction of incorporating service into their lives and making a difference in their community and country."
"Volunteering gives me the opportunity to change lives," Holland said, "including my own."
To learn more about becoming an angel, call (608) 328-2600. To find out more information about Family Promise, visit the website at Familypromisegreencounty
.org.
- Deb Weis is a Family Promise board member
"Office Angel" is the official title given by this national group to those who donate their time at their local Family Promise Day Center. The job is part secretary, part counselor, part chauffeur, and part task manager. It involves a little computer work and a lot of listening.
The Green County branch of Family Promise started in November of 2011 as a solution to the growing problem of homelessness in the area. The group provides shelter and meals through a network of churches that open their doors to the homeless on a rotating schedule. With about 13 "host" churches involved, each one offers shelter for a week at a time, four times a year. The Day Center, a vacant house owned by Grace Lutheran in Monroe, is where the guests go during the day to shower, do laundry, care for their children, and look for work. Bryce Riemer as Network Director and Kendra LaGrange as Case Manager are the paid staff members who offer financial counseling, employment advice, and case management to clients. Their roles are supplemented by the work of the "angels."
Norma Slaback is a retired teacher who volunteers for a regular Wednesday morning shift at the Day Center. She spends her time there answering questions, taking messages, accepting donations, and taking guests to jobs, appointments, or to run errands. When guests are present, she spends a lot of time talking with and getting to know them.
"I suppose, like a medical professional, I'm supposed to remain a bit uninvolved," Slaback explained, "but I find that impossible. When things don't work out, I feel disappointed - questioning if I should have done more." On the flip side, she said, "when things work out and the guests move on to what comes after Family Promise, I feel a sense of accomplishment."
Having the churches involved has, in Slaback's opinion, a plus side and a negative side. The churches have "a body of members who are concerned with others and following Christ's words," she said. But, she countered, "we're only providing a stopgap measure to keep them going until they can have their own home." That's hard for people to accept and means they will try every other solution before entering the Family Promise program. "It's hard not to have your own bed," she said, "a place where you can put your favorite doll during the day, or any of the other things that make a building a home."
Slaback doesn't know anyone personally who has been homeless. But her definition of "homeless" has been modified by her experience with Family Promise. "I'm now much more aware of people who are 'one paycheck away' from needing to scramble to find someplace to live or ask someone for temporary shelter," she said.
Heidi Schutte makes time for a five-hour shift at the Day Center every Monday, in spite of her busy schedule attending Madison Area Technical College and working part-time caring for adults with disabilities. She isn't new to volunteering, she said, but "the biggest thing that grabbed my attention about Family Promise was that they are helping people in this community."
The most rewarding thing about Family Promise, according to Schutte, is helping at one of the churches. "You really get to interact with each family," she said, "and if you're willing to listen and not judge, the families are more than willing to open up and they appreciate someone who will listen."
Schutte doesn't have any friends or acquaintances who have experienced homelessness, but she acknowledged how easily it could happen. "I know that if it wasn't for the help of my family a few years back, I probably would have been close to homeless myself," she said.
Shirley Holland works full time as payroll support staff in Madison. But she also finds the time to work as an "office angel" periodically, along with volunteering as the van driver coordinator for Family Promise. She spends six to 10 hours a week emailing and calling the volunteer drivers, and keeping track of their schedules on a spreadsheet on her home computer. The drivers are responsible for picking guests up at the church each morning and delivering them to the Day Center by about 6:45 a.m. Then they make the reverse trip later, taking everyone back to the church by about 5 p.m. It's an important duty that must be covered twice a day, seven days a week, and Holland sees to it that someone is always there.
Working in Madison has made Holland more aware of the homelessness situation than many of us. "I have met many people who are nearly homeless or actually homeless," she said. "They struggle to make ends meet and raise a family; surviving on a daily basis is a struggle for them."
Holland has taken this mission a step further by getting her granddaughter involved when her church is hosting. "Our young guests feel more comfortable around young children who volunteer," she said. "They can help our school-age children with their homework or play games." It's also a valuable lesson for young people on the importance of volunteering. In Holland's words, "the biggest benefit people get from volunteering is the satisfaction of incorporating service into their lives and making a difference in their community and country."
"Volunteering gives me the opportunity to change lives," Holland said, "including my own."
To learn more about becoming an angel, call (608) 328-2600. To find out more information about Family Promise, visit the website at Familypromisegreencounty
.org.
- Deb Weis is a Family Promise board member