Double Dave

Over the past week, there have been some changes made here at Family Promise. We exchanged one Dave for another Dave! Dave Queen, our former Case Manager has officially gone into retirement, well his second retirement. We are so excited for him to finally get to relax, but we are sad to see him go. He has left us in good hands with Dave Zinni.

Dave Zinni is from Conshohocken, PA. He grew up right outside of Philly. David moved from Conshohocken to Allentown in 2006. While in High School he began to have an issue with alcohol and substance abuse. He dropped out of high school, and was homeless for about two years. David knew that he needed help, and sought help from the Allentown Rescue Mission in August of 2006. Since then he has lived in the Lehigh Valley area. The Allentown Rescue Mission connected him to various programs.

Dave is excited for the various opportunities that come from working as a case manager, and getting to work here in Allentown. He is excited to work with families, and helping them navigate life’s challenges. In his past, he has worked at the Allentown Rescue Mission for twelve years, and primarily worked with men who were experiencing homelessness. While at the Allentown Rescue Mission he connected with a local church where he developed a passion and purpose for helping people change their lives. He has been involved in the ministry for more than sixteen years. He is excited to work with families that are experiencing homelessness, and finds himself in a unique position to connect as he is a father and a husband.

One of the most important things to Dave is his faith. To him that makes him who he is at the core. His faith in the Lord is at the center of his life. He has a passion for helping others, and is excited to make a positive influence here at Family Promise.

One thing that Dave knows will be essential is to work toward gaining the trust of those who come through the door. He knows that the family dynamic can make that trust difficult, but he is excited to work on making those connections to earn trust. Dave also can connect to those who are single parents as he grew up in a single parent household.

Dave is excited and eager for this new change. He understands that it is hard to quantify or measure success in this field, but he has the desire to work toward success in different ways. He has the passion, compassion, and the drive to make a difference. He knows how to stay dedicated throught the various ups and downs.

We are so excited to welcome Dave Zinni to Family Promise of Lehigh Valley!

Purse Bingo

On January 21, 2023 We hosted a designer purse bingo at Jordan United Church of Christ. This event had over 200 attendees, and was a huge success. How could it not have been when it comes to combining two favorite things; designer purses and bingo! We would like to thank everyone who attended this fun event. Special thanks to those who volunteering time, those who donated materials, and Jordan United Church of Christ for the location. If you were unable to attend, no worries, and keep your eyes peeled for other events that we have going on.

Family Promise Welcomes Roslyn Kuba as New Executive Director

We are pleased to welcome Roslyn Kuba as the new Executive Director of Family Promise of Lehigh Valley. Roslyn began her career working as the office manager of several local Lutheran Churches including Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Emmaus, Christ Lutheran of Lower Saucon, and Christ Lutheran Church in Hellertown. She is excited to build on this experience by working with all of the congregations who dedicate their time to Family Promise. More recently, Roslyn worked for Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley where she developed a passion for helping families who are experiencing homelessness. As the Counselor at Ferry Street Apartments in Easton, a transitional housing program, Roslyn was responsible for intakes, needs assessment, and case management. In this role, she met with the other staff of the Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown on a weekly basis. She assisted shelter programs with special projects including coordination of holiday gifts, ordering for the food pantry, and creating a community garden.

Tony Crimaldi, Board Chairman said, "Roslyn impresses us with an unwavering commitment to helping vulnerable families who find themselves in need of housing that our program provides.  It was this commitment to our program that made us decide that she was the person to lead our programming in this new season of our organization.  Her background with working churches and desire to network with organizations make her an excellent fit for Family Promise of Lehigh Valley."

We were able to sit down with Roslyn and ask her some questions about her experience and her connection to the Lehigh Valley.

What is it about Family Promise of Lehigh Valley that drew you to our program?

In one word: Community. Family Promise is based on a community of support. I have worked with families experiencing homelessness for over 10 years, but the Family Promise model is truly unique. The fact that it is run mostly by volunteers and people who have such a passion to reach out to others is inspiring. Many workers become burned out in this field but in my first week with Family Promise I can sense a renewed sense of purpose every day as I connect with people who are willing to give of themselves to those they don’t even know.

How did you come to decide in a career in working with vulnerable populations and the homeless?

I worked for some local churches and realized that I was very good with people. I have a firm belief that if people are given the tools needed to succeed, they would. The more I worked with volunteers in the church environment, the more I wanted to assist others. When a job became available at Community Action Committee, I jumped at it. It is there where I developed a true understanding of social injustice. I have so many success stories of families who have been helped over the years with just a little hand up. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

What do you hope to accomplish in the short-term with Family Promise of Lehigh Valley?

These are very unusual times with COVID-19 so it is very difficult to say what the future will look like. I certainly plan to have an open-door policy and love to brainstorm. I will listen to any idea or suggestion anybody has. We will be brainstorming and looking at different options going forward. Obviously, the immediate need is to figure out an alternate plan for housing families while the churches remain closed or open on a modified schedule. I have already started to look at the intake process and program details to make sure we are starting family’s exit strategy from day one. My goal is to make sure every family has the tools they need to succeed. I also hope to form relationships with the wonderful people already making Family Promise of Lehigh Valley an outstanding program and to create new relationships and contacts as we move forward.

Roslyn is thrilled to join Family Promise and looks forward to leading our organization as we address COVID-19. As stated earlier Roslyn has an open door policy and would love to hear from you or meet to brainstorm. Reach out any time to share your ideas about what we could do differently or better. Or just reach out to say hi, she can be reached at director@fplehighvalley.org or 610-351-1368.

Roslyn was a single parent and raised three amazing children: Alycia, Austin, and Jeremy – forever 22. She is also the Gramsey to two amazing and high spirited grandchildren, Brantley and Tara.

Harvest of Hope Festival - A Huge Success!

Our first Harvest of Hope Festival was a huge success. We were so pleased to entertain over 300 families from all parts of the valley. Our many free activities were a big success as all realized the only thing they paid for was food.

They enjoyed the scrumptious vittles from Vince’s and The Burger Wagon’s Food Trucks, along with our own specialty hot dogs with sauerkraut.

A treat for the kids was the fire truck from Greenawald’s Fire Company and The Cetronia Ambulance Corp. Healthy discussions and demos were available to all.

Troop 1600 from Jordan UCC offered free smores (big hit), and many games of skill for all.

The free hay ride was full all day. Face painting by Michelle Lanyon and pumpkin painting kept everyone’s creativity flowing. Macungie Christian Community’s Photo Booth offered memories and many laughs. See photos to see the fun.

All were beautifully adorned at Greenawald UCC’S jewelry making booth.

A real treat was had by all at the “not just a cake” walk where prizes of all kinds were awarded to the winners. Thanks St. John’s UCC Laury’s Station for running an amazing activity .

It was such a pleasure to see smiling faces all day as they enjoyed a true Fall Treat.

We look forward to seeing all of you next Fall.

Walmart's Sam's Club in Allentown Provide Grant for Family Promise

The volunteers, staff and board of Family Promise of Lehigh Valley are grateful that the Allentown Sam’s Club Store management has decided to become our partner and provide us with a grant of $1,000 from the Walmart Giving Program.

Homecoming 2019 - Our Very First Major Event

It was a festive, fun, and rewarding evening for all those involved with our First Annual Homecoming. We had over 180 in attendance at St. Joseph the Worker Church. Many thanks to St. Joseph for hosting and donating that venue.

Many, many volunteers helped in so many ways. We had a silent auction with over 40 baskets and they all sold beyond our expectations. The live auction, held by auctioneer John Pfeiffer was very successful with active and strong bidding.

Overall, the financial success was incredible and Family Promise thanks all the wonderful volunteers, sponsors, and attendees.

The true success of our program was witnessed by our former guests, who spoke at the event. They and their two children were our first graduating family. They spoke about how Family Promise truly worked for them as they reached their independence, and are currently enjoying their new apartment and jobs.

Please keep in mind our next Homecoming event will be in March 2020, and we will be sharing the date and venue in the near future. Also, if you are interested in participating in the development of the event, please let us know, as we are starting the event planning in August.

Thanks again for the help of so many, many people that make Family Promise Work so well.

If you would like to receive our newsletter, please click the Newsletter link here.

"Update on Our Progress" - From our June Newsletter

It has been a busy time at Family Promise since our opening at the end of last year. Many things have been accomplished in our first six months of serving homeless families.

We have settled into our new office and Day Center and have made many improvements including fresh paint, computer room, new washers and dryers, updated furnace, new electrical to handle air conditioners, and the list goes on.

We have been blessed with a special donation from Hope UCC Church. They have bequeathed adequate funding for a more reliable bus for our families. We have just purchased that vehicle. Timing was so special as our old school bus engine decided to die the same week we received the donation from Hope.

A fine time was had by all at our first major fundraising event - Homecoming 2019 - 180 people attended and enjoyed a scrumptious meal, silent and live auctions, and a special appearance and words from our first graduating family.

Case management is a vital part of our program. We now are going to provide case management support to our guests for a year after they gain independence.

We know there is much more to be done in our community as we grow with our guest families and our volunteers. And we are grateful for the opportunities to do more as spring moves from summer, into the fall, and onward towards 2020.

If you would like to receive our newsletter, please click the Newsletter link here.

Mesasge from our Executive Director - From June 2019 Newsletter

Jim Byrnes speaking with two guests at the 2019 Family Promise Homecoming Event in March 2019.

Hello friends of Family Promise of Lehigh Valley,

It seems like yesterday that we opened our doors. I am excited about our progress. We have graduated five families and our program continues to restart with new families in dire need of our support. We have been challenged in some ways and in other ways we have learned and grown immensely during this time. Many, many thanks to all of you for your support in so many ways.

Our first major fundraiser, Our Homecoming Event, was a huge success with many amazing volunteers and 180 attendees. Thanks to all for making this successful.

Needless to say, there are multitudes of children and families to help with their independence from homelessness.

We need your help in many ways. Please consider a donation at this time as our needs continue year-round. Please let me know if your congreation can help us in this program. Let me know if you want to volunteer with us. There are many opportunities.

Thanks again for your generosity,

Jim Byrnes,

Executive Director

If you would like to receive our newsletter, please click the Newsletter link here.

Celtic Classic 2019 - Family Promise needs volunteers Sept 27-29th

The 32nd Annual Celtic Classic (Sept 27-29, 2019) is presented by Celtic Cultural Alliance dedicated to preserving and promoting the Celtic heritage through education, musical presentations, and traditional competitions in athletics, piping and dance.

For our third year, Family Promise will be providing volunteer support at rest facilities and taking donation for our program. We are in need of volunteers to staff the three stations.

If you are available, please sign up at HERE.

Shifts are for three hours, but if you are even available for an hour, please consider volunteering with us.

Family Promise Making a Difference in 2018

As we all know, every life we change has a story. The Family Promise 2018 Annual Impact Report tells the stories of some of the lives we touched and the lessons we learned in 2018. The Report reminds us what it means to be a part of such a special, national network.

Thank you for all you do to make a difference for children and families!

https://fp2018air.familypromise.org/

Volunteers Needed for Day Center Support!

We are looking for willing volunteers to help staff our day center on weekend (from 9-5) and holidays. Any amount of time you have available would be greatly appreciated.

If you are interested, please contact Jim Byrnes at director@fplehighvalley.org. Volunteers need to have their background checks completed and go through a short training about our programs. It is a great chance to visit with our guests.

Exciting new changes with Family Promise of Lehigh Valley

We are grateful to be able to welcome two new board members, and one new staff member to our organization.

William (Bill) Ford is an attorney and a partner of Ford Law Office LLC. He also works as a civil mediator in Lehigh, Northampton and other eastern Pennsylvania counties. Bill served for 24 years as a trial judge on the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas where he presided over thousands of civil matters including jury and non-jury trials, hearings in personal injury, malpractice, contracts, business disputes, and real estate.

Keshia Macenat brings professional experience in staffing, sales, training, and customer service. She currently is a Financial Center Manager with Bank of America. She shares a passion for operating as a business owner, fostering a team environment, and instilling a client-focused culture to make clients’ financial lives better.

We are grateful to have Bill and Keshia joining our board.

Wally Frisch has accepted a staff position with Family Promise of Lehigh Valley as Operations Specialist. Wally resigned as a board member and will now working closely with our Director in many of the day-to-day activities of the organization. We are grateful for his continued desire to see our organization succeed.

A Story of Hope, An Understanding of Homelessness

Back in June of this year, Family Promise of Lehigh Valley had a Homeless Awareness Luncheon to bring attention to our cause and our program. The Keynote speaker was Hope, a former guest of one of the Family Promise affiliates that we are modeled after. Below is a video produced by Family Promise about her experience of being homeless. We are grateful to have met her and proud of her desire to continue to share her experience with others.

Family Promise Grand Opening

Lehigh Valley PA    Press Release

Family Promise of Lehigh Valley

Family Promise of Lehigh Valley seeks to provide assistance to homeless children and their families by providing safe lodging, meals and comprehensive support services. Our goal is for the families to obtain sustainable housing and financial security. Our families are provided housing and meals from our participating congregations. Our Day Center provides the support, training and assistance in the job search, housing and any other needed services.

Family Promise, located at 1346 W. Hamilton St., Allentown PA 18102, invites our friends in the Lehigh Valley to join us on Monday, Dec. 10, for a Ribbon Cutting ceremony and tour. A tour of our Day Center will be available for the media. Our director will be available for brief interview questions. We have just recently opened our doors and want to share the good news with the Lehigh Valley.

Where:   Our new Day Center at 1346 W. Hamilton St., Allentown Pa 18102

When:    Monday. Dec. 10, at 2 p.m.

Contact: Jim Byrnes Executive Director – 484.633.5121  -  director@fplehighvalley.org

Bennett Automotive Group Donates to Family Promise for 15-Passenger Van

The Bennett Automotive Group, Rob Bennett and employees, have given a generous donation to Family Promise of Lehigh Valley. The Bennett Automotive Group gave $5,000 and the employees contributed $541 toward the purchase, repair and maintenance of a 15-passenger van used to transport homeless families from member congregations to the Day Center on a daily basis. Family Promise of Lehigh Valley is a non- profit organization which helps conditional homeless families, with children, find permanent housing. (fplehighvalley.org)

The Bennett Automotive Group is a premier group of dealerships that serves customers in the Allentown, Bethlehem and Nazareth areas. They sell vehicles in the Infinity, Maserati, Jaguar, Land Rover and Toyota lines.

The volunteers, staff and board of Family Promise of Lehigh Valley are so grateful that the Bennett Automotive Group and its employees have found it appropriate to partner with us in addressing child homelessness in the Lehigh Valley.

Pictured in the presentation photo is: Steve Kovacs, Treasurer of FPLV; Tony Crimaldi, Chairperson of FPLV; Chris Rice, Product Specialist of the Bennett Automotive Group.

End of November Needs Update

With the grand opening a little under two weeks away, Family Promise of Lehigh Valley is ramping up to full speed. Our director and case manager are working hard to bring the first families on board. The host congregations are launching their evening activities and hospitality programs in anticipation of the families arrival. Our Day Center is ready for operation, and our van is out and about the Valley to support the program. We have the major components ready, but we still have some needs that you can provide:

• We need volunteer van drivers in the morning and afternoon. If you are interested, please contact Harry Kubat at 610-762-5522

• We need supplies for the Day Center operations. If you have any of the following, email Jim at director@fplehighvalley.org

  • Miscellaneous Office Supplies

  • Paper Napkins, Cups, Plates, Towels, Toilet Paper, Tissues

  • Male and Female Toiletries

  • Coffee, Tea, Juices

  • Juice Boxes and Snacks

  • Storage Bins

  • Hand Soaps

  • Diapers, Baby Wipes

  • Microwave

  • Keurig K-Cup Machine and cups

Finally, if you are interested in volunteering at the day center as an office volunteer, please contact info@fplehighvalley.org. You will need to make sure you have your clearances completed before volunteering.

The Countdown to Opening Continues

Work has begun on the renovations of the Family Promise Day Center. Several important items needed for the renovation process have already begun to come together. Through a wonderful donation from Behr Paints in the Lehigh Valley, we have the paint necessary for sprucing up the walls. Also the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley is providing a large collection of office furniture that is needed for the Day Center, that will be put in place towards the end of October.

We are still in need of volunteers from our community to assist with the renovation process. There will be painting sessions on the following days:

Thursday Oct 11th from 10-2

Saturday Oct 13th from 9-5

Tuesday Oct 16th from 10-2

Thursday Oct 18th from 10-2

Saturday Oct 20th from 9-5

Sunday Oct 21st from 2-5

If you are available, please contact please contact Brian Engler at 610-433-2782 or brenglersr@enter.net or Wally Frisch at 484-330-6061 or wallyff.jordan@yahoo.com as soon as possible.

Volunteers Needed at Family Promise Day Center for Renovations

The Family Promise of Lehigh Valley Board and Core Volunteers are proud to announce our new home for our Day Center at 1346 W. Hamilton Street in Allentown. This 3000+ square foot twin home will provide us with significant space for our day center operations, running our hospitality programs, and our case management services for our guests. It also will provide us with ample storage for our hospitality needs, laundry and shower facilities for our guests, and a back yard for our kids to play in.

Our new landlord and sponsorship partner, Rudy Amelio Real Estate has taken an active interest in Family Promise of Lehigh Valley, and has helped us find the ideal space to launch our services this coming November. But we will need your help! There are significant renovations that we are looking to have done in order to have the facility ready to go. We need volunteers for:

• Carpet Removal

• Spackle, Sand and Painting

• Deep Cleaning

• Debris and Trash Removal

• Basement Painting and Cleaning

• Office Furniture Pickup and Delivery

• Electrical Renovations

We also will need supplies for our Day Center. If you have a desire to donate supplies, we will need:

• Brooms

• Dust Pans

• Spackle

• Sand Paper

• Cleaning Supplies

• Heavy Duty Trash Bags

• Paper Products

If you are interested, in either volunteering or supplying materials, please contact Brian Engler at 610-433-2782 or brenglersr@enter.net or Wally Frisch at 484-330-6061 or wallyff.jordan@yahoo.com. Wally will be coordinating weekend volunteering, while Brian will be coordinating weekday volunteering.

We are excited to be this close to having our first guests and beginning the launch of Family Promise of Lehigh Valley.

B-I-N-G-O! St. Johns Laury's Station Raises Funds for Congregation Efforts

The volunteer committee at St. Johns United Church of Christ in Laury’s Station had a Gift Card Bingo Event on Sunday, September 30th which sought to raise funds for their local hosting process, as well as the Family Promise of Lehigh Valley’s efforts. Almost 200 people were enjoying an afternoon of games, and opportunities to win gift cards from almost 50 different businesses and individuals throughout the valley. Besides cards, there were a number of gift baskets donated from individuals and businesses that the attendees could raffle for.

Many thanks to the volunteers at St. John’s UCC Laury’s Station for making this event the success that it was! Also, many thanks to the businesses and individuals who participated in the event. They include:

• A Vassallo Mechanical

• Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

• Elias Market

• Northampton Seafood

• PC Beverage (Bath, PA)

• Villa Lentini Ristorante (Ballietsville, PA)

• Pizza Village V (Coplay, PA)

• Chuck Wagon Drive Inn (Ironton, PA)

• Crystal Springs (Schnecksville, PA)

• Mama’s Pizza III (Coplay, PA)

• The Hi-Way Restaurant (Laury’s Station, PA)

• Bakery Nook

• Isabella’s Pizza (Bath, PA)

• Angel’s Italian Restaurant & Pizza (Whitehall, PA)

• King Cone (Whitehall, PA)

• Wawa

• Paddock/Fogelsville Hotel

• Prime Steakhouse (Bethlehem, PA)

• Miller Supply / Ace Hardware

• Whitehall Pharmacy

• Target

• Fairgrounds Hotel (Allentown, PA)

Family Promise Serving and Sharing at 2018 Celtic Classic

Many of the Family Promise of Lehigh Valley’s volunteers were out at the 2018 Celtic Classic, stationed at several areas, raising awareness four our program, and providing wipes and taking donations. This is our 2nd year of participating in the Celtic Classic, which takes place over the final weekend in September each year. Through our volunteers over the weekend, we were able to raise almost $3000 for our operations, for our future guests, and for our day center.

If you would like more information about what Family Promise of Lehigh Valley is seeking to do, please email info@fplehighvalley.org.