HOME hosts annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes

Walk a Mile in My Shoes —
Community Awareness walk to reveal the face of homelessness

Would you know I was homeless? It’s the question Helping Others Make the Effort is asking to those in Osceola County as we work to raise homelessness awareness through a community
awareness walk on Nov. 13, 2010 at 11 a.m.

November is Homelessness Awareness Month and HOME hopes that through the event residents of central Florida can get to know who the homeless really are in their community. Right now, in Osceola County alone, there are over 1000 school-aged children who are homeless. HOME is working to provide safe housing for those children and single mothers through case management, life skills, and transitional living.

Walk a Mile in my Shoes will be held at the Saint Cloud Lakefront, in downtown Saint Cloud, Fla. and registration will be located at Crabby Bill's Restaurant (1104 Lakeshore Boulevard Saint Cloud, Fla. 34769).

Walkers are encouraged to arrive at 10 a.m. for registration and fun at Crabby Bill's patio area and then begin the walk at 11 a.m. The walk will conclude with a statement from HOME board members about homelessness in Osceola County. Each participate will receive a Walk a Mile T-shirt to commemorate the event.

To register for the walk simply go to http://www.osceolahome.org/walkamile.asp and fill out the quick and easy registration form.

Business and individual sponsorships are available for the event. For more information please contact Mary Downey, HOME Deputy Director, at mdowney@osceolahome.org.

We look forward to you being a part of breaking the cycle of homelessness in Osceola County and Central Florida! Sphere: Related Content

Retired Residents of Solivita Friend-Raise to Help End the Cycle of Homelessness

Many snowbirds and national retirees move to the Sunshine state in the hopes of leading a leisure filled lifestyle. What they find however is that they have never been more occupied with activities and charity gift giving in their entire lives. This could not be truer of the local retired residents found in the Solivita community. Many come to Helping Others Make the Effort (HOME) seeking an opportunity to make a difference and help break the cycle of homelessness in Osceola County. What we receive is their gracious time and talent. Their efforts and dedication could not be more evident given the current times when many local non-for profits find it harder than ever to meet the needs of their constituents as budget cuts run rampant and personnel is downsized. HOME volunteers have continued their commitment to our organization and shown their passion through these trying times through the facilitation of local fundraising events.

Retired Solivita residents and steadfast tutors at HOME, Joe and Meg Burkhart recently hosted a charity wine tasting event with the Solivita’s Women’s Golf Association. They were able to not only raise $600 (check presentation pictured) for HOME but raised awareness about homelessness and how HOME is working towards helping families get a second chance at life. Many of the participants were eager to get involved and have since been trained to work as fellow volunteers. What is even more exciting is that the Burkharts and Griffith family, also dedicated volunteers at HOME, have been able to purchase a much needed storage shed for HOME and installed all the shelving units it required! These volunteers were able to turn a social event into a charity fundraising experience.

HOME is lucky to have the core volunteers we have to give back to families in need in the community. Whether it is through the didactic role of tutor or instructor, as a childcare facilitator, or involvement in a special service project, volunteers make a commitment to give the best of themselves every time they serve at HOME. Moreover they help maintain the campus and keep the facility running. They are truly the backbone of our organization.

If you are interested in getting involved please click here to volunteer now!

*Post by Albery Melo, HOME program assistant.

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Community Presbyterian Hosts Yard Sale

HOME is so excited to receive $2503.06 from Community Presbyterian Church's Ohana group. The small group raised the funds by participating in Celebration's Community Wide Yard Sale and gave the proceeds of their sale to HOME. According to the group this is the most they have raised from the sale. Their donation will sponsor a family for three months!

Thank you so much to Community Press for all their hard work, in fact, in just a few weeks members of the group will be back on campus for their annual garden party with the HOME families! Sphere: Related Content

Give Kids Safe Shelter Golf Tournament

Give Kids Safe Shelter is sponsoring a Golf Tournament and HOME is one of the beneficiaries!

If you like to golf and are looking for a great way to support HOME simply participate in the tournament and HOME will receive part of the proceeds. If you sign up saying that HOME encouraged you to join, even more $$$ are donated to help homeless families in Osceola County!

Hurry, the deadline to register is soon!

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If you are interested in participating on HOME's behalf please contact mdowney@osceolahome.org for registration forms, the event is Sept. 19!

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School Supply Drive for August

It is almost time for back to school! Can you believe it? HOME families often look at this time with worry because there are so many items they need to get their kids back in school! The kids need new uniforms if they have outgrown last years, they need notebooks and binders, and they need pencils and pens!

That's where you can help! HOME is hosting a school supply drive for our families in our resident, scattered site, and HOMELite program. We are partnering with area churches as well, so if you can't make it to the HOME campus to drop off your donation, you can stop by The Vine Church located at 1003 S John Young Pkwy Kissimmee, FL 34741 or Community Presbyterian Church located at 511 Celebration Ave Kissimmee, FL.

Here is the list:

Supply List for K-8

• 1 - book bag or back pack
• (full size, no wheels)
• 8 - boxes of 24 pack Crayola Crayons
• 6 - folders with prongs
• (2 red, 1 blue, 1 purple, 1 yellow,
• 2 green plastic)
• 4 - composition notebooks
• 1 - large box of tissues
• 1 - pack of 24 #2 pencils
• 1 - bottle liquid hand soap
• 2 - 4oz bottles Elmer's Glue (white)
• 1 - pair Fiskars scissors
• 1 - Package 500 sheet copy paper
• 1 - plastic supply box
• 1 - large pink eraser
• 1 small blanket or small sheet, for rest/nap time
• 2 - packages of loose leaf paper (wide ruled)
• 4 - packages of #2 pencils
• 2 - boxes of tissues
• 3 - packages of white copy paper
• 1 - dry erase marker
• 1 - box of colored pencils
• 1 - pencil sharpener, with cover
• 1 - supply box (must fit in desk)
• 1 - package of construction paper
• 2 – highlighters
• 2 – small black dry erase markers
• 1 - small pencil box
• 1 - dozen blue or black pens
• 1 - notebook with dividers and lined paper
• 3 - packs of Post-it Notes
• 1 full change of clothes (in a Ziploc bag) (Kindergarten)
• 1 box of large markers
• 1 1-subject spiral notebook
• packs of wide ruled lined paper
• Gift Cards for School Uniforms

Supply List for 9-12

• 3 ring binder
• Spiral notebook
• Blue or Black pen
• Pencil
• Notebook paper
• Red or Green pen
• A packet of graph paper
• Scientific calculator
• Protractor
• Flash Drive (optional)
• Dividers
• Hand sanitizer
• 1 Ruler – metric and standard
• 3x5 index cards
• Roll of scotch tape
• 1‐3 Ring binder, 1 ½”
• Scissors
• Gift Cards for School Uniforms

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Food Donations Drop-Off Point

We have a new location that you can drop off your BOXED food for HOME. Discount Tires in Orlando has a donation box. So if you can't make it out to the HOME campus, feel free to drop items at Discount Tires! To view our current food needs click here.

Discount Tire

8107 S John Young Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32819

(407) 226-3276‎

discounttire.com Sphere: Related Content

Super Saver Saturdays!

HOME is very excited to begin our new donation program starting Aug. 1, 2009 at 10 a.m. Super Saver Saturdays will be similar to our free yard sale day but will occur each month on the First Saturday.

Here's how it works:

1. Donations are dropped off the Friday before 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.

This new system is a perfect set-up for HOME, since we have very limited storage space. However, it still gives families the opportunity to receive help from the community! If you would like to participate please contact mdowney@osceolahome.org. Sphere: Related Content

A Very Merry UnBirthday!

HOME is having our very own Unbirthday Party for the kids in our residential and scatter site programs! Each child is looking forward to receiving a birthday present, cake, cookies, and fun and games! The party is planned for July 18 at 10-12 on Saturday morning!

But, don't be like Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, and just sit back and watch! Join in on the fun! HOME has several needs that you can help with and make this the best Unbirthday party ever!

Items Needed:
3 Bounce Houses (if anyone knows a company that would like to donate these for a couple of hours!)

2 Large Sheet Cakes

60 Gifts of $15-25 each (Please call for an assigned child)

100 paper plates

100 plastic cups

10 Blue plastic "party" table clothes

2 large packages of napkins

2 (32 oz) Pink Lemonade mix containers

3 One Gallon Pitchers

3 Gallon Containers Ice Cream

25 $10-25 monetary gifts to cover other expenses

We are asking that all donations be in by Friday, July 9, so we can make sure that we have everything we need to have a GREAT Unbirthday party. If you would like to help please contact Mary Downey at mdowney@osceolahome.org or call 407-433-1248.

Happy Unbirthday to you ... AND YOU!



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HOME Free Yard Sale

When: April 4, 2009 @ 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Where: 924 Determination Way • Kissimmee, FL 34741

What: A community yard sale to provide free items such as clothing, furniture, baby items, books and more to those who may not be able to purchase these items.

Why: Because Helping Others Make the Effort is a non-profit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness in Osceola County. By providing these items, free of charge, we are providing a service to those who may be needing such items to get back on their feet.

Want More Info? Visit www.osceolahome.org, call 407-932-0943, or look for signs off of John Young Parkway and Vine in Kissimmee on the day of the event to direct you to the FREE YARD SALE!
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HOME Open House

Please join us as we celebrate one year at Helping Others Make the Effort!

This Open House Event will include free food, informational tours, and a chance for you to get more information about the families that we have helped this year!

Click here to RSVP.
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Volunteer groups going strong

HOME is happy to broadcast photos of our latest volunteer teams and trainings.

We have recently began focusing on volunteerism here at HOME and you have answered the call.

We have had two groups visit us with the past few months from the Hands on Orlando organization. About 50 people got together and gave the HOME campus an "Extreme Yard Makeover." During these makeovers the teams do weeding, lay mulch on the campus, and have even been working on HOME's very own walking trail! We have plans to have another group from Hands on Orlando visit us on April 15 for a big project that will incorporate over 450 people on campus!

The Girl Scouts were also on campus in the last few months decorating cookies and having a craft day with the kids here at HOME. We are looking forward to another great event with the girl scouts when we do a Spring Egg Hunt on April 11.

Celebration Presbyterian Church visited the campus a few weeks back and presented a "garden party" to our residents. The team worked with the residents of HOME to plant their very own vegetable garden, and then also brought a cook-book and crockpots to the residents as well!

Finally, we have had a host of volunteers go through our first volunteer training orientation and are working to get each one of our new volunteers in place. If you are thinking about volunteering see the story below, more dates are coming up soon to learn how you can Help Others Make the Effort! Sphere: Related Content

Holiday Survival Kits

Helping Others Make the Effort was amazed at the outpouring of love from the community during the holiday season. Several churches, organizations, county groups, and individuals worked together to provide gifts for the families for HOME.

Each group was asked to provide a brand new outfit, shoes, board game, favorite toy, and gift card for each child! This opportunity saw each child receiving not one new outfit but two or three! We were able to give the Moms giftcards and even some groups bought gifts just for the Moms to have!

The board, staff, and residents of HOME would like to thank ALL of you who were so willing to take time away from your own holiday shopping to do for others in your community. Please enjoy the photos, and we look forward to next year's Holiday Survival Kit Campaign to be even more successful!

Special Thanks to:
Celebration Presbyterian Church
Jean Styles, Valerie Brown, Maria Berry & Friends
Trinity Lutheran Church
Osceola County Stormwater Section
First United Methodist Church
First Christian Church
The Vine Church
And all others who gave this holiday season! Sphere: Related Content

A Wonderful Community Social

It was a great pleasure to celebrate networking and community on Nov. 18, 2008 at the Stadium Bar and Chophouse. We had a great event where our residents had a chance to network with those in the community, our volunteers received a free meal, and we got to present our holiday survival kits to the community!

We want to give a big thank you to Jean Styles and Valerie at Stadium for all of their help and hospitality! We especially want to thank all our sponsors who donated door prizes for the event. Amazingly enough, several of our door prizes were won by HOME residents!

What a great night! Sphere: Related Content

Walk a Mile in My Shoes

WHAT A WALK!

Almost 150 walkers, HOME residents, volunteers, board members and staff all were on hand Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008 for Helping Others Make the Effort's first annual "Walk a Mile in My Shoes." An opportunity for those in the community to come together to break the cycle of homelessness in
Osceola County.

We began our day at Great Outdoor Days with staff at the site at 8 a.m. Cara Eule, Executive Director of HOME and Mary Downey, Development Associate, mapped out the course by driving around Osceola Heritage Park about 20 times before making our decision (and confusing every parking attendant along the way!) The rest of the HOME staff arrived at 11 a.m. to help field registrations and HOME residents and storytellers — Lynn, Layka, Kiana, Jacquie and Betty showed up at noon to began decorating shirts with walkers and telling their story. Many volunteers and board members showed up during this time to also lend a hand!

When registration began at 1 p.m. it was a madhouse, but in a great fun sort of way (so maybe more like a funhouse!) We had limited space and tons of walkers, but were able to get tee shirts and goodie bags to walkers and everyone lined up by 2 p.m.

We began with a few photos and then we were off! After 7 minutes we realized that 1 mile only takes about 14 minutes for our incredibly in shape crew, so we altered our path and ended back up at the HOME tent at 2:35 for cookies and water. After a small wait, we were given our chance on stage and board member Gregg Hostetler gave a wonderful speech about homelessness in Osceola County.

We hope that you had as much fun at "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" as we did and we can't wait for next year! It's going to be even bigger and better!

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors!
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450 Deloitte Employees to Help Others Make the Effort

There are lots of ways to help others make the effort. HOME is pleased to announce that the auditing company, Deloitte, has found one way — redesigning the landscape and building a play area at the campus of HOME. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008 Helping Others Make the Effort and Hands on Orlando will team together with Deloitte to improve the HOME campus between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

According to Deloitte's website "Deloitte is the brand under which 165,000 dedicated professionals in independent firms throughout the world collaborate to provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax services to selected clients." Of these 165,000 professionals, 350-450 will visit the HOME campus to make improvements to the landscaping and design a future play area for HOME.

Deloitte's website explains the company's community involvement policy as an approach focusing on delivering maximum social impact and business value. Deloitte will be delivering that maximum social impact by Helping Others Make the Effort through giving back to the central Florida community.

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For more information on Deloitte please visit www.deloitte.com. For more information on Hands on Orlando visit www.handsonorlando.com. Sphere: Related Content