Families Moving Forward
About Us
Families Moving Forward is a grassroots, interfaith social service agency that provides emergency shelter, affordable housing and supportive services to homeless and low-income families with children.At the center of our work is our concern for the children. Children in homeless families are blameless, but suffer the most harm. So we do all we can to love them and make sure they know how special and wonderful they are.
Our goal each day is to help the families in our shelter and housing programs find and keep stable housing. The motivation behind our efforts is our desire to strengthen all the families we serve so that they can move forward toward self-sufficiency.
Our shelter is unique because our overnight services are provided by over 40 local congregations. Each congregation hosts our families 2 or 3 times a year, for a week at a time. Everything that each family needs for the week is provided by the volunteers from the congregations: food, beds, and fellowship. During the day, the families make our Day Center their home base, going to and from school or jobs, looking for employment, or housing, or caring for preschoolers. Families Moving Forward staff work one-on-one with each family to provide support, resources and guidance.
Why We Need a New Website
Our site is old, too cluttered, and not user friendly.We want a site that once you land there, you want to stay for a while, (more than the average 50 seconds that Google tells us people are on our site). You're intrigued by the information and feel compelled to hang around to learn more about our programs, services and about the larger issue of family homelessness.
We have several goals for our site -
1. Our volunteers access our site to obtain documents that we have in a secure area on the site specifically for them. Unfortunately, they often have trouble finding the documents they need because the site is so cluttered and filled with information in a disorganized manner. PLEASE - help us clean it up. :o)
2. We want to become a leader, locally and nationally known, for our knowledge and expertise on the issue of family homelessness. Our site currently does not give that impression. We want it to grab hearts first, then minds, so that the issue of family homelessness becomes clear. People will be able to find resources to educate themselves about family homelessness and feel motivated to do something about it.
3. We have several great video's that Fox 9 News has recently done regarding one of our families. They gave one of our 11 year old boys a video camera, so that he could document his "story" of being homeless. We need to incorporate these video's into our website. They get to the heart of family homelessness, especially the highs and lows, from a child's perspective.
Having a new website, including these things, will help us accomplish our mission because:
1. Our volunteers will be able to locate the resources that they need in order to better serve our families;
2. We can make a clear and compelling message about the issue of family homelessness and its affects on children. Once people know about it, they will want to support us and our efforts to end family homelessness. We will be able to help more families, more quickly, and get them into their own, stable housing. Since the children will be stable and in school, our ideal is that this will essentially end the cycles of poverty and homelessness for each family.
Messages From Supporters
When the judges choose which non-profits will be selected to participate in this year's F1 Challenge they will take into account testimonials from beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, board members and other
That we truly care about the families we serve and the work that we do. We want to make a difference in our community and strive to do it with excellence. A new website will help us reach a greater number of people in a more effective way.
Tracey - Families Moving Forward Staff
Families Moving Forward is a great asset to our community. They have stepped forward with sheltering many families and developed affordable housing options to help end homelessness. They have proven to be a valuable partner in the efforts to end homelessness.
Anonymous
Families Moving Forward is a great organization with a great cause. When everything else in life is letting you down, and causing you pain, your family is what keeps you going, making you believe that things can and will be better. If a new website can help Families Moving Forward touch more members of my community, and help families feel together and have hope, they should definitely be at the top of this list!
Dan Eichstaedt donor/vendor
I have volunteered as a FMF church coordinator for 16 years. Families are treated with dignity and respect while they are working hard to find housing, take care of their children and create a sense of home while they are without housing. Beyond the benefit to the guests in this program, the growth in understanding the problem of family homelessness that occurs at the churches is a catalyst for working toward a larger solution.
volunteer
Families Moving Forward offers a unique response to the heartbreaking tragedy of homelessness in the Twin Cities... and their response works! Our retreat center regularly sends our retreat participants to volunteer at Families Moving Forward and be a part of their good work. Our participants consistently have a better volunteer experience when they have access to meaningful, organized and accurate information about the place they are volunteering. A revamped website for Families Moving Forward would do just that!
Brian Reusch, Retreat Coordinator
Families Moving Forward has given our whole family a chance to volunteer at our church, and gets us thinking as a family about homelessness, poverty and how society treats those less fortunate than us. It also gets us thinking about how similar all families are, regardless of our station in life.
When it is our church's turn to host FMF families, it is my children who drag me to the sign-up table. FMF is not only a blessing to the homeless families it serves, but is a blessing to families in the congregations that host!
Karen Westwood - Volunteer and Donor
Tracey is absolutely correct -- we need to redesign our website so that it attracts more attention from the community and is more helpful for our various constituencies (congregations, volunteers, current and former clients, etc.).
We have a great mission and are very good at what we do, but our website is not doing enough to let others know about us.
Please help!
Leslie Frost, Executive Director
I have been involved with many non-profits but I believe FMF is one of the best. Their premise of assisting families to find their own housing has such an enormous impact on the families, the government, and society in general. These families no longer need to rely on further assistance as they've done it themselves. I've seen such satisfaction and improved self image in the adults who can now provide a home for their children. I mentor a boy whose family moves every 6-8 months and I've seen how devastating this is to him, his sisters, and his mother. After every move, there is increased tension in every aspect of their life. The children's grades suffer, they become more agitated, and the home environment is much more stressful. Also, FMF concept of sheltering these families in churches adds to their effectiveness. All of the costs of sheltering and feeding are borne by the churches. The church members benefit by providing many personal services to the families which is what Jesus commands us to do. We help with emotional support to the adults and the children as well. The volunteers are rewarded with a sense of satisfaction by helping those families who are showing a desire to make their life better....they just need a little short term help and they will be fully functioning members of society again. FMF's effectiveness can be seen when you look at their success rate in 2007. All, yes all, of the families who showed the initiative to find suitable housing and didn't break any of the rules, found housing. This is an amazing statistic that speaks to how well the program is designed and operated.l
Gary Preston, volunteer
My congregation is a newer host congregation for Families Moving Forward. We have found the opportunity one that brings our families together as we help to keep other families together. Families Moving Forward have a unique staff and niche in today's society and help to fill a huge void in our society--that of giving homeless families a sense of self-worth and belonging. An attractive and easily accessible site would be very helpful as we attempt to find more information about the program and volunteer opportunities and needs.
volunteer
A place to call home. That's what FMF offers to the community. It's not just a bed for the night, it's not just shelter from the cold - although these are very important things - but it's a place to call home for a few days while you are on your way to a permanent home. It's help to find that home. It's a community of people serving each other. It's a place where children are safe, cared for, and allowed to be children. Updating the website will help to recruit more volunteers so that more people can find a place to call home.
Mary Anne, volunteer
FMF brings dignity and care to those in our society who need hope. Being homeless is degrading and stressful. FMF offers people who don't have any resources, shelter and basic needs for their family while they work toward more permanent housing. FMF in partnership with congregations across the Twin Cities serve families with such needs in the most respectful way, and at the same time expecting families to work together with them toward their expected outcomes. I highly recommend FMF as a candidate for your WEB design event.
Mary Schatzlein, Director of Family Support Services for ECS. I know FMF professionaly. Our work in the community in partnership with FMF provides housing and case management to those less fortunate in our society.
Families Moving Forward occupies a unique place in helping to solve the problem of homelessness in our society, as well as equipping people in families to make life enhancing choices that will place them on a road that will lead to self-sufficiency which will be a blessing to themselves, their family and their community. FMF doesn't just talk the talk, they definitely walk the walk in terms of real, practical, and lasting help for their clients.
Steve Dornbusch, pastor of one of FMF's many host churches
My wife and I have been volunteering as overnight hosts with families moving forward since our honeymoon. (In fact that was our honeymoon)
Now after 13 years and two children we still volunteer as a family for this important work. It is more than just a shelter program. It involves all aspects of the home finding process and truly lives up to its name "Families moving Forward"
Evan Peterson , Volunteer
This is an organization of wonderful people who truly want to help families, from those on staff at the day shelter to the hundreds who help every week by opening up their churches as "homes" for those who need it. I was first touched by Families Moving Forward as a volunteer in my church, and was so impressed by the organization, I ended up on the Board! A new website that our volunteers and supports could use - one that better represented who we are to our families - would simply be great!
Deborah Carlson; Vice Chair, Board
I am a volunteer from one of the host congregations for FMF. We have partnered with them for many years because it has been and continues to be a very well run, effective program. The staff are remarkable in their dedication, competence, effectiveness, and loving care of both their guest families and all those they come in contact with. They also continue to develop their program, resources, and support for long term solutions of families in need. They are available as a resource (so a better website would be really beneficial) and are on the forefront of an initiative to end homelessness in our area. Homelessness is not going away soon in today's economy so helping the pros support those in need is imperative and a new website is where most people first contact organizations to find out about them. We believe that Families Moving Forward will responsibly maximize its use of a new website.
Liz C., volunteer with host congregation.
As a member of the Board of Directors of Familes Moving Forward, I am proud to be connected and excited to give a testimonial. This agency is unique in its outreach and assistance to homeless families with young children. Today it is a bitter cold day in Minnesota and I'm glad to know our homeless children have a warm place to stay with a staff and a host of faith communities who have warm hearts.
Our Website is in need of some spark and there is sooooo much more it could be doing to educate and inform, to publicize and invite. Please consider assisting our mission and our love of KIDS!
Rev. Richard Buller, pastor of one of host Faith Communities, Member of Board of Directors
I have supported this fine group over the past couple of years. It is my understanding that they are quite small—something like six people—but do great things. Given that they are spread quite thin, a top-notch web-site would help them considerably lessen administrative work without forfeiting the quality of what they are accomplishing. We need more dedicated groups like this one who take the time to help the homeless, and by giving them a web upgrade, we are maximizing their fine work.
Sandra Krzyzanowski, donor
I have worked as a volunteer and host coordinator for many years. The staff and program are top notch. In todays busy world, most people use the internet for information gathering. As a coordinator, I send volunteers to the website frequently. In addition, my children have volunteered in this program and also written high school papers on homelessness using both their experience and the information about this program and its homeless guests. Please help us to teach more people about Families Moving Forward and homelessness in our community and country. With your help, we can reach even more people.
Mary Gormley, Host Coordinator and volunteer
Families Moving Forward has been a component of our parish and school ministry for several years. I have always been impressed with the efforts of all volunteers and organizers to protect the dignity of the families involved. It is a organization that reponds in justice and charity. Our students at Highland Catholic School have also benefitted from their relationship to this program. It speaks to the core of Catholic Social Teaching. Students have responded to opportunities to donate food, help with entertainment, assist with serving and clean-up. FMF is a very welll-run operation, true to its mission and inspiring to others. Please consider them for your website offer. You will be opening doors for many people.
Jane Schmidt, School Principal
I am a volunteer at a host congregation. FMF is great because its focus is on helping mitigate the impact of homeless on children. FMF website is important to its congregation volunteers because we use it to access valuable information form FMF about the nuts and bolts of hosting homeless families at our churches and synagogues.
John C.
Families Moving Forward offers such a unique and wholistic approach to the challenge of homelessness and unemployment. It addresses the needs of everyone in the family by finding appropriate childcare and schooling for children while helping parents find approprate permanent housing and jobs/and or schooling. The special focus of FMF is that the needs of the children are what really drive the whole program. By creating a better web site, more families could be reached and helped toward long term solutions. It would also help FMF in forming more partnerships with individuals and companies wanting to be part of FMF's mission. As a long time volunteer through my church as a host site, I urge you to consider Families Moving Forward for your selection.
Ann Beane, volunteer
Though I am not a FMF volunteer, my good friend is the director; at book group every month, we hear about FMF; we hear about the folks FMF helps; we see the videos and the TV coverage. What better effort could we undertake than to help families stay together with dignity and with hope for a bright future. Any avenue that helps raise awareness, such as a user-friendly website, would be a boon to this marvelous organization - and to is clients.
Katherine E (friend)
FMF just does good work, important work. In the 16 years that I have volunteered with a host church, I have seen the help for the families working to regain homes. I have also witnessed the impact on the volunteers who meet real people in need and gain new understanding all we have in common.
This is an organization that does it's work well. The program is run well even as so many of the families are in high stress situations. Dignity and compassion are at the core. All the money at FMF is well spent.
Mike Mostrom, volunteer
FMF is a great example of an organization that provides necessary, immediate help to those in need while also working on long-term justice issues. Families are provided with the bare necessities of survival while FMF also supports them in finding solutions to help them out of the vicious cycle of poverty or violence that they find themselves in. A website is a necessary tool for any organization these days, and FMF is certainly deserving of this tool.
M Skold
I have had nothing but great experiences working with the staff of Families Moving Forward on one of their fundraisers. Not only does the staff jump right in but the families that I have met have been wonderful. The work that this group does offers aid to families to help them get a fresh start. If we had more non-profit organizations like this one, the cycle of continued poverty &/or violence within an individual's and family's structure could be decreased.
Nicole Anderson, Event Coordinator Oak Marsh Golf Club
Families Moving Forward when you donate to this organization you know you are helping the children to cope and improve with their situation. It's the children that make me want this organization to be the best they can be. That is why I donate to Families Moving Forward. They are doing a terrific job.
Brad P.
Donor
This is a wonderful faith-based organization helping families who all of a sudden find themselves homeless. Families Moving Forward helps them get back on their feet in a very short time. They strive to keep families together which I believe is a very worthwhile effort in this day and age.
Brenda Kern/volunteer
I have been involved off/on with FMF ever since our church became involved. It has to be more than 15 years now! Wow! How time flies. I love the opportunities that are available to lay people to help with homelessness in our community. I have helped with set-up, take-down, hosting families, providing gifts for Christmas, whatever is needed. My children often accompany me, and they see that homelessness is a problem that can affect children just like themselves. Through FMF the stigma of homelessness has been removed for my family. The families that are helped are so varied, but they have the common need for a home. Many families just need a little time to get their affairs in order. The kids are able to stay in school which helps the parents focus on the primary goal of doing what they need to obtain a home for their family. Please help this organization continue to do good works in our community.
Elizabeth, volunteer
The value of your best design work will be realized to its fullest by Families Moving Forward.
Their outstanding vision, leadership, staff and volunteer dedication will allow them to take full advantage of the powers your web design will afford them.
Give FMF the absolute best you have to offer. You will be very proud to say you had a hand in this organization!
Greg DeMarco, Host Coordinator, Lumen Christi Catholic Community
The population served by FMF is just the type of people we all feel good about helping out of a tight spot. They are typically working a plan to get back up to productive contributors within their community and this service allows them to do that, while keeping their dignity and their family intact. It's the sweet spot of charitable services in the Twin Cities.
Cathy, donor
My family has participated in FMF events at our church and seen first hand the benefit they offer to the recipient families. Your involvement in helping them update their website will be a service to everyone that might benefit and to raise awareness with volunteers and sponsors. This would assure that more families can be helped to be self-sufficient and rise above the difficulties that sometimes prevent them from having the opportunities and the time they need to get back on their feet.
Paul and Lana Wickberg, Deacon, and volunteer at Christ Presbyterian Church
Volunteering at FMF has been a life changing experience. The program really helped me to connect with families even though we had never met before. I believe an top quality website can continue and better the relationships that FMF helps create. It would help to connect people to others who need their help and will in the end help families in need get a step up in society.
Tommy D, Volunteer
Families Moving Forward is the first step in the movement towards breaking the cycle of homelessness. They and their volunteers provide not only shelter, but hope. Something needed so desperately in todays society. It is not a hand out, but a hand up, and any way this good work could be brought to the public eye would benefit each of us in the community!
Amy Matthews, donor
Families Moving Forward provides a positive experience for both the guests and the volunteers. The guests appreciate being around friendly people and the volunteers benefit from knowing that they played a part in helping others less fortunate get their lives back together.
Wayne Schmieg, Volunteer
Families Moving Forward is a unique organization that brings people of many different nationalities, races, and religions together for the primary purpose to provide homeless families with temporary shelter and food, and on the long term to assist families in acquiring permanent housing and employment. One of the tools used to coordinate this program with the participating forty one congregations and the many people within these congregations is the internet and specifically the FMF website. The website currently cannot provide the level of service needed and therefore needs to be revamped. Hopefully you select Families Moving Forward to be one of the luck non profit organizations to benefit from your generous offer.
Larry-Volunteer
This is a great organization. I have done overnight and breakfast hosting for years at Christ the King in Bloomington and have seen the families that are helped by this group. They are a no nonsense, just help when needed. they diserve a new web site.
Jan Gasterland, volunteer
I know of no better way to explain what a marvelous non-profit FMF is than this testimonial on how one of the guest families gives back:
Giving Something Back
It was not that long ago that (name withheld) and her four children was a client in the Families Moving Forward program. My church was one of the host churches during her family’s transition to permanent housing. During that host week, she offered to cook a special soul food meal for our guests and volunteers – what a feast it was!
A feast that catalyzed much laughter, conversation, and joy. That host week established a connection with this family that most of us never dreamed possible at the time.
But impossibility is not a word she embraces. And she continues to catalyze a sense of hope.
Soon after finding permanent housing, she became a volunteer during host weeks. Not just a one-duty volunteer, but a volunteer who shows up nightly to cook, or chat, or clean, or overnight host, or change diapers et cetera. She talks openly with guests about how she was once where they are. She is authentic. She is nonjudgmental. She is friendly and upbeat. She is a sign of possibility and hope to families who are experiencing hard times.
Amelia Kroeger - volunteer
I am new to the Families Moving Forward group. I was fortunate enough to find out about this organization through a friend. FMF is completely supported by private donations so exposure is key to keeping the organization strong. FMF touches so many lives with a life long impact. In today's world the internet is a must. Without the credibility of a cutting edge web site, I think companies/organizations struggle to create a positive image and keeping the public interested in what they do. I would love for FMF to be able to house a user freindly web page that would not just educate why this is a good cause, but show the actual results of the organization - why FMF is successful. I believe a good web site can do this.
Brad Lonning - Board Member
FMF has provided countless opportunities for families to advance their circumstances through housing assistance, childcare, job counseling and food in times of need. Our church continually supports their efforts and is blessed by this ministry. My family has volunteered many times when the call has been made and we have seen the good work that is being accomplished through FMF. A new web design would provide another tool to help those in need.
Barb & Larry Johnson Family, Valley Community Pres. Church
Dear Judges, if you're looking for the most dedicated and committed group of people under one roof, I would have to say that it is Families Moving Forward. FMF has supported my family significantlly over the past 3 1/2 years. We have become accustom to STABILITY because of FMF. FMF is a community based non-profit with alot of needs to fill. With your help of improving their web site, this will bring attention to many that are unware of FMF presence. Please consider FMF because of the endless efforts to build and reshape our community. They proven to my family that it's worth fighting for your life.
Shantae Holmes (client)
I've been involved with FMF since our parish began supporting it about 9 years ago. In going through the training, two things hit me--changed me and my thinking about homelessness and its impact. One, Leslie Frost pointed out that all of us could be two or three missed paychecks away from homelessness depending on our family support network. And two, homelessness hurts children most of all. Boys especially get separated from their families at age 14 to go to a men's shelter. Families Moving Forward is committed to families, to keeping families together through the stressful time of homelessness and providing the resources to help them "move forward." It's not a handout--these parents are actively seeking employment and/or housing. Most are good parents, with good kids weighed down by the stress of tough times. A caseworker helps them. FMF even has housing available for some. FMF gives priveleged people like myself and other parishioners a chance to do something so important. After sharing a meal or playing games all night with the kids, my family goes home and looks at our nicely heated, furnished home and all our blessings with different eyes. Supporting FMF has given more to my family than we could ever have given our guests.
Anne Maley, volunteer and donor
FMF serves to shelter families in crisis as they find affordable housing. FMF allows our Edina church building to transform into a home for 1 week a quarter. This opportunity for my family to dine, shoot hoops, swap stories and laugh with home-seeking kids and their parents is a treasure no other organization I know of can deliver. It may be the most worthwhile, Kingdom-building challenge for your web-site developers to architect and build a site for this organiztion who coordinates 41 overnight host sights and tthousands of client and volunteer families.
Jeff, volunteer
FMF is a wonderful organization. Not only has it helped numerous families during transition. It has taught many more adults and children who have volunteered with FMF about homelessness, gratefulness, compassion, service, differences and so much more. A new website would help get the information about the work that FMF does out to more people which would make the work they do easier and more accessible
Bronagh M Volunteer
Families Moving Forward does more than just offer shelter to homeless families with children. Its numerous programs offer families the opportunity to improve their lives. I have volunteered through my church for many years, and the interaction with the families help me better understand the struggles of families living on the edge. I also love connecting with the children and sharing hugs. I believe that a new website would connect staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. It may also bring in new volunteers and donors to help with the program.
Dianne Star, volunteer, former Coordinator for University Lutheran Church of Hope
Families Moving Forward is such a beacon of light for people in their worst times and to have a website that enables both people familair with FMF and people that are just learning about it to be able to have a clear picture of what their mission statement is as well as what their needs are in terms of volunteers and finances etc would be invaluable to their continued success.
Volunteer
Our Temple recently joined as one of the many houses of worship to provide weekly shelter to families participating in FMF's program. As a volunteer at the Temple, I saw firsthand the tremendous service being made available to these families who so desperately need the support and training to better manage their own lives. We are now hosting families for the first time over a 2-week period. I was thrilled to learn that one of the families, with several children ages 3-11, would be moving directly from our space and into their own rented home! FMF is a most worthy organization. It can use all the support it can receive, and the addition of a new website will better help them communicate their message.
Jim P, Volunteer
Families Moving Forward gives students a chance to donate items and volunteer to help at school and church. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together and to teach students how to help another person.
teacher/volunteer
Families Moving Forward has been helping homeless families for many years. The way they work with folks to achieve their own dreams is truly inspiring. They treat everyone with respect and recognize all forms of families. I am always glad to refer families to this program.
Anonymous
Families Moving Forward has been a significant part of the social ministry fabric of our congregation for over a decade. In large measure it's longevity is due to the care the organization has for the people it serves and the hosting congregations in its network. Attractive and functional web sites are ever more important in our increasingly online world. A new site would help FMF to carry out its vital work in an even more effective way.
Bruce Eldevik - volunteer
Imagine if you can... getting off the bus or out of your car and going into a diffrent church every week, seeing faces that are different than yours, and knowing that you are with people who care and love you with out knowing you. By the end of the week everyone knows everyone. But the week comes to an end and the folks that volunteer go back to their NORMAL lives. Unfortuntaley for the homeless famlies the cycle starts all over again and there is nothing NORMAL about that. I and my family have seen first hand the wonderful work that Famlies Moving Forward does. They bring hope. Just look in the eyes of the kids. That's all you need to do. We have been volunteers at our church and the shelter for several years now. My wish is that we would not have to, but the truth is it takes many to help. Help Families Moving Forward continue the great calm and hope they bring to so many lives.
Robin Gault volunteer
Families Moving Forward is a tremendous organization that I am extremely proud to be a part of. Our mission of helping the homeless, with special emphasis on children, is a very important issue. We believe we do an excellent job with addressing the homeless issue, given the resources we have. One thing we don’t do as well as we like is promote ourselves, which would help us further the cause. A new website would help us spread the word about Families Moving Forward and allow us the opportunity to have an even greater impact.
James Evans - Board Member
As someone who is deeply involved in efforts to address and eliminate homelessness through my church, I understand how critical it is that our churches and organizations like Families Moving Forward become powerful partners in this mission. No one meets families' on-the-ground needs like FMF. They deserve all the support we as a community can give them. The other thing I've learned is that there ARE lot's of people out there who care and want to help. We just need to help them discover where the opportunities are. This website will go a long way toward that goal.
Connie W, supporter
As a volunteer and host coordinator in our church for more than 10 years, I know that FMF will use their updated web site to help families in more ways than they ever could before. Is there anything that needs more attention and support than homeless children and families? I don't think so. This organization, staff and all of the volunteers, using limited resourses supported by donations, are dedicated to taking care of families, until we can end homelessness.
Sandy Dockter, volunteer
No one deserves to be homeless tonight or any other night. FMF provides a unique service for families - not just mothers and children, but entire families allowing them to stay together and work through their problems. A new website would get the word out to more people to volunteer and help people to get back on their feet again.
Elaine, friend
Families Moving Forward has been the most tangible avenue for my children to learn how important it is to help those in need. The FMF operations are very organized, and my elementary-aged children truly enjoy meeting and playing with the kids from the families who receive temporary shelter from FMF. We still talk about children that they met two or three years ago, and hope they are doing well. FMF is a real win/win program.
Inger, volunteer
When MN expereinces windchills of -40 it reminds me of why we have a program like FMF. While not a shelter- it provides families with a place to 'get back on their feet' in a safe environment. We have volunteered with FMF as a family ourselves and find it to be a supportive and caring place -giving families one less thing to worry about (a place to eat and sleep) while they remain under tremendous stress. While the participants don't always verbalize appreciation- they show it in many ways- that grateful look- the shy smile from a youngster that makes you know that FMF is doing "the right thing" for PEOPLE.
Karen, volunteer
Families Moving Forward could use your expertise to redesign a user friendly website. Join the FMF volunteers by donating your time and talent to redesign this site. FMF works with the community, involving many volunteers to work together to provide help to homeless families. Our church has been a FMF host congregation for many years. Look at all the volunteers FMF use each day, each month and all year. I hope you join our FMF volunteer roster.
Anne, Volunteer
I was so moved by Jamonte's story on Fox News, that I called Families Moving Forward the next morning and became a volunteer the same week. I work Wednesday afternoons with the kids when they come back from school..helping them with their homework, playing games with them, and giving the parents a little free time. Prior to the Fox News story, I was not aware of Families Moving Forward. I was looking for a volunteer opportunity that seemed to feel right...and I have found it! My visits are one of the highlights of my week; I would love for other potential donors and volunteers to find Families Moving Forward.
A new website is needed to show the "heart" of Families Moving Forward...to highlight the mission, to encourage donations. I see how the small staff encourages every member of each family. The kids are just like yours...bright and happy...but living without a home they can call their own. I hope you will select Families Moving Forward!!
Lisa, Volunteer
Families Moving Forward is a beneficial program in so many aspects. As a long-time volunteer at my congregation, I have met many wonderful families in transition. This program offerscongregational members a chance to volunteer their time as cooks, servers, babysitters, etc. My daughter is now involved with the program and she brings her eight year old daughter in the evenings to entertain the children. What a wonderful learning experience for a young girl. I have experienced homelessness myself when our home burned down in 2001 and I now realize how helpless and hopeless one feels. Being offered a temporary solution to homelessness is a true gift.
Phyliss - volunteer
This is the most important outreach program in which our church participates.Families who otherwise might have to place their children in foster care are allowed to stay together and have a support group around them while they are assisted in solving their problems. Even though it's not totally home-like, living in a church for a week and having meals provided relieves them of the daily worries they would otherwise have. A professional website is essential for this organization to communicate with their supporters and volunteers.
Norm Saunders, volunteer
I recently co-chaired my congregation's first Families Moving Forward hosting period. We had over 200 volunteers during our two week hosting period. The volunteers appreciated being able to help (do a "mitzvah") while at the same time having a lot of fun -- playing games with the kids and having engaging conversations with the parents. During the planning process, I learned a lot about the Families Moving Forward program. I was struck by the organization's acknowledgment that it cannot help everyone and its commitment to helping those people who can move through the program into sustainable housing. I was so impressed, that I sought (and was elected) to a seat on the Families Moving Forward Board of Directors. This has been the most meaningful volunteer activity in which I have ever been involved.
Marcy Frost, Co-Host Coordinator and Board Member
FMF is doing a wonderful job in providing a place for families to have temporary living accommodations while they look for permanent housing. A new website could help this organization be more effective. What I appreciate about the FMF program is the passion and concern there is for the children of these homeless families. My two sons, now 14 and 17 have actively volunteered the past 8 years and I believe they've learned compassion through their volunteer experience. I also believe FMF is building community by getting our local church families involved so they can not only say they care about homelessness--but actually show these families they care about their struggles. Hopefully through the support given, these families will feel their surrounding communities' concern for their situation. Having a new website could help get more of our community aware of how they can help too.
Faith Church of Mtka Volunteer
FMF, and more importantly the homeless families we serve, will benefit exponentially from a first class "virtual door" to this wonderful organization.
Thank you for this opportunity to better serve our volunteers; tell the story of family homelessness; provide a medium for collaboration with other agencies; and provide hope to child; dignity to a parent; and change a Community.
Kevin Pleasant, Board Member
Families Moving Forward - that is what we do; help homeless families move their lives forward. We focus on the children and in keeping the family together, we welcome them (our guests) and provide them tools and resources to change their lives and regain their independence. Through our loving community of volunteers, our excellent staff, and generous donations we are able to continue the support needed in our community. Our website is a critical component for us to connect with donors, manage giving, communicate with staff & volunteers, combat homelessness, and provide a new beginning to our families. Thank you for the opportunity to introduce you to FMF. Your gift of a new, improved, and functional website will allow us to focus on promoting and improving our work for our guests, our volunteers, our partnerships, and our community.
Jo & Juli Baecker, Board Members
Families Moving Forward takes people where they are and meets their individual needs. It is meaningful to the volunteers because they give their time and meet the people they are helping. They do not simply write a check and hope that it helps. Volunteers learn that we are all people with similiar problems and goals.
Families Moving Forward does follow up to help insure that families continue to be succcessful toward their goals.
The website has the potential to give information about the homeless situation in general, and thereby help many types of people, both clients and donors, and volunteers and even students writing reports! They need a better website for this!
Thank you for your gift to whoever gets it!
Cheryl M. co-coordinator for Faith Pres
Homelessness is heartbreaking. When I have had the opportunity to visit with the families during their stay at our church, I am struck by their strength. In talking with some of the parents, I find that they have the same sort of dreams for their children that I have for mine. Families Moving Forward is such a wonderful organization, working to help these families make some of those basic dreams come true---a place to call home, a job, a sense of community, dignity. We all have a stake in helping to end homelessness.
Jane, a volunteer
I have been involved with Families Moving Forward since our church began participating in this ministry about 7 years ago. It has been life-changing for me to experience the issue of homelessness up close and personal. The staff has always been very professional and compassionate in dealing with their clients and very suuportive of the host congregations, all doing our part to help ease these people through a difficult time in their lives. Just the support that they give to children is the best form of "no child left behind" that I know. Please consider Families Moving Forward as the recipient of a new web site so they can keep doing their excellent work and have the added benefit of a great web site to further reach out into the community so we can all work together to fight homelessness. Thank you!
Eileen Bezat Co-coordinator for St. David's Episcopal Church
The staff at FMF is all about finding the best ways to reach and assist families in their care. The staff offer hope for a better, more stable tomorrow for these families and assist in giving the parents the tools they need to provide that stability for their children. I have been involved with FMF for over 7 years and I have seen this organization evolve and meet the changing needs of the homeless in the Twin Cities as the needs and situations of the homeless have changed. And even though FMF has evolved, the website has not. Updating the website will invite more people to explore what FMF has to offer and will be more consistent with their approach to helping homeless families in the Twin Cities.
Val (host coodinator Christ the King Lutheran Church--Bloomington)
Families Moving Forward is a great organization. We worked with them to create 16 units of transitional housing in south Minneapolis several years ago. The property still looks fantastic and very well maintained. We have continued to work with them through the years on various projects - all of which continue to fill the need of housing for homeless families. Please select this group to receive a new website so they can enhance thier invaluable work.
Michael (Miller Hanson Partners - Architects & Planners)
I have worked with the staff at Families Moving Forward and rarely have I seen a group of people more dedicated to their mission. This is not a job for them; it is their chosen life's work. They have a clear vision of exactly what they are trying to accomplish and how to get there but at some point they have to reach out to the wider community to accomplish those goals. A little help from a lot of people will work wonders for this invaluable community asset.
Mike S., Miller Hanson Partners
Our Foundation funded Families Moving Foward because of the good work they have done, and continue to do. Imagine what our city will look like without homelessness ...
Jeff, donor
I believe it is important for families to stay together---parents & children. Many shelters offer overnight shelter for women or for men. FMF supports maintaining the family unit and our church is able to provide space for families to spend a week together --- eating meals, playing games in the evening, talking with volunteers. Our goal is to give families support, both physical and emotional, as they journey beyond whatever negative circumstance forced them into homelessness and to a new home of their own.
volunteer
The church I served as senior pastor completed a $3.000,000 plus renovation and addition. Immediately, we began to host Family Moving Forward families. Now, thirteen years later, it continues to be a vital part of the congregation's ministry. As a vehicle to make a difference for individuals in need of temporary assistance, a means by which people can help make a diffrerence isn sour community and a way members and friends can learn more about the issue of homelessness: all these are gifts this program offers.
Whatever can help them pursue their mission is deeply appreciated.
Paul O. Monson
Retired Pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in South Minneapolis.
Paul O. Monson, former host pastor
Families Moving Forward1808 Emerson Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Our Mission
Since 1991 we have been working to provide emergency shelter to homeless families with children. Our goal is to help families build a solid foundation so that they can obtain and maintain self-sufficiency in their own housing.Through faith, we partner with congregations and volunteers to build communities on a family foundation by:
Providing emergency shelter for homeless families with children.
Helping locate and develop affordable family housing.
Listening with compassion to each individual family's concerns and dreams.
Maintaining integrity in all circumstances and insisting on quality in all programs.
Helping sustain the dignity of our clients while they build a stable future for their children.
