A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Saturday, May 15, was a day filled with fun and games as HOME celebrated its annual Unbirthday Party for the kids on campus!

The day started with some Bounce House fun donated by Peace United Methodist Church and then we had a great magic show put on by Mr. Tim Howard! The kids loved watching the show and were attentive for a full hour, something we don't get to see that often!

The kids were then treated to a pizza lunch followed by more fun and games by Mr. Howard.

To round out the day the kids had a very special cake delivered by the great folks over at Walt Disney World that was not only beautiful but also very very yummy!

The day ended with the each child opening gifts donated by those in the community and by Community Celebration Church and face-painting by Ms. Daisy and Ms. Amy!

We would like to thank all our sponsors, Walt Disney World Community Relations, Peace United Methodist Church, Mr. Tim Howard, Community of Faith United Methodist Church, and Community Celebration Church for making this such a special day for the kids at HOME! Sphere: Related Content

Community Garden on Campus

For the past three years Community Presbyterian Church has helped HOME residents plant a Community Garden on the HOME Campus. It's always a very fun time for the moms and kids to get their hands dirty and work to provide another source of food for their families. On March 20, with the help of volunteers from Comm Pres, the residents planted tomatoes, carrots, peppers, turnip greens, watermelon, pumpkin and many other yummy vegetables.

Community Gardens are popping up everywhere and HOME is happy to be able to provide this food alternative to our residents on campus. There are many benefits to having a community garden. According to the American Community Gardening Association benefits include:

• Improves the quality of life for people in the garden
• Provides a catalyst for neighborhood and community development
• Stimulates Social Interaction
• Encourages Self-Reliance
• Beautifies Neighborhoods
• Produces Nutritious Food
• Reduces Family Food Budgets
• Conserves Resources
• Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education
• Reduces Crime
• Preserves Green Space
• Creates income opportunities and economic development
• Reduces city heat from streets and parking lots
• Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections

To conclude the fun day lunch was provided in crockpots (for each resident to keep!) and the youth group from Peace United Methodist had game time with the kids while the moms took time to visit and relax! Sphere: Related Content

Super Saver Saturday a success!

Our first Super Saver Saturdays went great! We had nearly 100 people show up to take advantage of the free donations provided by wonderful people in the community! And, we are going to do it again! Our next Super Saver Saturday will be Sept. 12, 2009!

Here's how it works:
1. Donations are dropped off the Friday before, Sept, 11, 2009, between the hours of 10-4, or the day of, to the HOME campus. These can be any items (clothes, furniture, books, etc.)

2. Volunteers will sort the donations on Saturday morning early, and place them in an easy browsing set-up.

3. Families in need of items can come and "shop" until 1 p.m. at no cost to them!

4. Any unclaimed items will be delivered to the Salvation Army, who uses their funds to support emergency shelter in central Florida.

If you would like to participate please contact mdowney@osceolahome.org. Sphere: Related Content

A Very Merry UnBirthday!

Jammies the clown, parachutes, bounce houses and presents — not the typical Saturday on the HOME campus, but a fun one!

On Saturday, July 18, HOME hosted its annual Unbirthday party for the kids living on campus and in the scattered site program. Over twenty-five children, 10 parents, and a slew of volunteers met at 10 a.m. to celebrate the birthdays of all the children through-out the year in one big bash!

The morning started out with kids meeting Jammie, the clown. Jammie did magic tricks, made silly jokes, and told cute stories. The kids then split up by age group for games. There were bounce houses and water balloon tosses, a shoe toss, and even a parachute! The kids spent time in the fresh air playing with each other and working up an appetite for cake!
After games the kids had a scavenger hunt where they looked for their name. Once they found their name card, they turned it in to pick up their birthday present! Each child received a gift of $10-15 value for their "unbirthday" present.

Following gifts, the volunteers brought out a huge, delicious cake and it was served with juice and ice cream sandwiches. After cake and ice cream the kids played on the bounce houses, received balloon animals, and got their face painted by Jammies.
It was a great event and it couldn't have been possible without the help of the community. Each child received a gift, had a great time, and knew that they were cared about.
Thank you to everyone who helped with the Unbirthday Party! We can't wait to do it again next year! Sphere: Related Content

Memorial Day Weekend

We've had a busy week here on campus. On Saturday, Stephanie coordinated a Memorial Day BBQ potluck, which was a hit. We got to use our brand new grill (Stephanie now knows how to use a charcoal grill) to make hamburgers, hot dogs, and boca burgers.
Sunday was another fun-filled day. First, the families headed off to the Spring Fever Car Show, hosted by our buddies at Goin' Postal. As special "guests of honor," the kids got wristbands to go on the bounce houses and slides. They loved it! Did I mention that the raffle proceeds went to HOME as well?? Thank you Shane for everything!!!!!

The final event of the weekend was teen night. I was the lucky chaperone for this- we ate pizza and watched Hitch. The teens had a really good time and got to know each other a little better.

Coming up: we have a HOMELite event here on campus on June 7th from 11AM-2PM. This event will provide food, fun, hygiene items, and signups for the HOMELite program to motel families in Osceola.

We have an unbirthday party on June 9th. This is exactly what it sounds like- an un-birthday celebration for all of our kids at the same time. We are looking for people to sponsor kids and volunteers for the day of the event. Sphere: Related Content

Watch our families save!

I'm a big believer in transcendentalism- that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This seems to be a common theme in philanthropy and social services (case in point: the classic tale of the child throwing starfish into the ocean)- you may not be able to solve all of the world's ills, but you have to start somewhere, right?

This is a value that we instill on a daily basis at HOME, to show the women that each tiny triumph is a step towards something much bigger. As we all know, wealth accumulation is a massive goal that's a long time in the making but is integral in obtaining self-sufficiency. Our families pay 15% of their monthly income as a program service and then are required to save money towards their next step- independent living. As a tangible way to show the women (and the world) that every bit matters and that small steps add up, I've developed this cool Google chart that lets you, the reader, follow how much wealth our families are accumulating. It will (read, should) update on a monthly basis, so you can always come back in a few months and see how far we've come.
In other news, HOME was notified last week that we are the recipient of a Disney Helping Kids Shine grant! We are so thrilled, as this means we will be able to increase the number of families served through our HOMELite program, which is proving to be very popular. Congratulations also goes to some of our closest partners, including Community Vision, the Children's Advocacy Center, and The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola. In such a tough time it's great to know that we've got local support for the work that we all do. Sphere: Related Content

Catching up

Once again, time has flown by and I'm way past due for an update. Where to start?
HOME, along with Community Vision, Habitat Osceola, and the Osceola County Council on Aging, was lucky enough to be the recipient of Texas Roadhouse's corporate conference fundraiser. Roadhouse representatives shopped till they dropped, purchasing items that will directly impact families in Osceola County. Our organization received loads of hygiene items, vacuum cleaners, kiddie sized picnic benches, and even a karaoke machine!

The volunteers created a chain to unload the supplies from their truck, and then the nonprofits divvied up the items.

We also received a gift card to a home improvement store to purchase plants and supplies for our community gardens which were previously built by a Hands on Orlando led volunteer group. I bought a variety of plants and seeds, including tomatoes, peppers, basil, parsley, cilantro, carrots, beets, squash, and eggplant. First, we had to pull out the weeds that had accumulated and get the beds ready. We planted the seedlings and then got the seeds settled into a planting tray. It has been hard to keep the gardens alive, since it's not irrigated, but it is neat to see the love and care the kids have been putting into this project.

By the way, the outreach event for May 17th is postponed as we confirm a location.
If you are interested in getting involved, we can use volunteers to teach classes and to work with the kids while the moms are in class. Sphere: Related Content

What we've been up to

We are pretty much settled in here. Classes have begun in earnest- the past two weeks have been all about credit and financial literacy and we're just getting started!

We've also been doing some fun activities on the weekends. Two weeks ago, we had a weeding party to get all of our beautiful flower beds in shape. This past weekend, the Solavita Quilters' Club paid a visit and distributed awesome handmade quilts to all of the kids. Hopefully we'll soon have some pictures to share.

Also coming up- we have an outreach event planned for May 17th- more info to come. Sphere: Related Content

Long awaited open house is a success!

We hosted about 150 people on Friday for our ribbon cutting/open house, and it was great fun! We had so many friends and supporters that were excited to check out the project- many who have been involved for close to a decade. Pastor Pete Zieg provided a meaningful and thoughtful invocation, followed by a statement from Commissioner/HOME Board Chair Paul Owen. We were lucky enough to have a resident come forward to share her moving story- I think that many of the members of the audience could relate to her struggles. After recognizing our partners and contributors, we officially cut the ribbon on the project and our guests were able to tour several apartments. Thank you to all who attended, contributed, and have supported HOME.
Ribbon Cutting

Platinum Sponsors with their special HOME-made" awards

We had some great media coverage to accompany the open house, including this piece on WFTV9 and this article on the front page of the Sentinel. Sphere: Related Content

Good Friday

It is a good Friday indeed. Today, our first families are moving in! We received our temporary certificate of occupancy yesterday and immediately called the our moms to tell them the good news. Of course, since it's been such a long time and because we at HOME are known to play jokes from time to time, most of the moms thought we were joking. Stephanie and Cliff had to convince them that they really should pack their cars and head in the direction of Determination Way. The families moving in today are in the most dire circumstances of any of our clients- all in motels and all with no way to pay next week's rent. One mom is actually due to deliver a baby today, and I can't tell you how thankful we all are that we were able to get her into HOME before the new arrival. The next few days/weeks will be spent settling in and getting used to the new lifestyle.


In other news- don't forget about the open house next Friday the 28th at 10AM. All are welcome, and we will be giving tours of the campus. Sphere: Related Content

An announcement...

If you look on the right hand side of this page, in the calendar section, you will see something VERY exciting. It's a date for our open house! Finally the time has arrived! I hope you will be able to join us for the grand opening of the very first transitional housing program for women in Osceola County. I can't tell you how anxiously the Board of Directors and staff has been awaiting this.

Of course, our families are even more excited than we are! This week we are (finally) getting the water hooked up and working on our certificate of occupancy so that moms & kids can move in. The campus looks great- all the landscaping has been installed, sidewalks are in, drywall is patched and we're more or less ready to go! Sphere: Related Content

New shared articles/Home for the Holidays

I have been very selective about what gets added to the "we've done the research for you" section, in an effort to give you only the most important and relevant information. If you're really interested in housing, homelessness, social justice, or philanthropy, please check it out. Today's add is from Tactical Philanthropy and is about Google Finance's new effort to provide a centralized source for information about nonprofits- and the ability to create forum for user/donor interactions with each other and with the agencies. I'm a strong believer in all things Google- they are constantly adding relevant and practical tools that make my life easier. Another Google thumbs up goes to Google.org, their foundation arm. They are taking a venture capital approach to social change that I believe is the future of philanthropy. Anyways, check it out, and research Google.org if you have a chance.

Other news- Home for the Holidays today was a great success, in my opinion. Our social service and job fair was a hit, we were able to serve many needy families with toys AND provided food to take home for their whole family. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event possible! By the way, HOME took the opportunity to get some important data from guests. In the next month or so, we'll have some really interesting information (with zip code level data, for all you dataheads) on the current needs and issues in the County. This is probably the most comprehensive and largest survey of Osceola families living in poverty that's been done for a long time (if not ever). I can already tell you just by glancing at 50 or so surveys that food security is a HUGE issue for our families. Almost all respondents reported that they "sometimes" or "often" worried about not having enough food to feed their family. Wow. We need to work on that.

As for the HOME campus update, site work is in full swing, and we are looking at a matter of weeks until move-in. Expect a big announcement early next week (no, it's not an open house date, but it's just as exciting). We have gotten lots of calls for donations since the Sentinel ran a blurb about our needs last week. Thank you to all who have donated- it is much appreciated. Sphere: Related Content