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Family Promise's Fifth Annual Spring Event:the best one yet!

Thanks and Giving at Family Promise’s 2008 Spring Event

Chairman of the Board Martin Wise, Board Member and former Summit Mayor Janet Whitman, with Judy and Walter Shipley.

Friends and supporters joined Family Promise in celebrating our 20th Anniversary at the Fifth Annual Spring Event at Baltusrol Golf Club on May 2.  About 200 people, including business and community leaders from throughout the northern New Jersey area, were in attendance to mark the occasion.  Thanks to their support, and the generosity of 21 corporate sponsors, the event was a resounding success, raising more than $160,000 for Family Promise’s work to assist homeless and low-income families in communities across the country.

Family Promise President Karen Olson with founding Board Chair Jill Benedict.

President Karen Olson summed up Family Promise’s achievements in the last twenty years —

from 2,000 volunteers serving 400 families in 1988 to now more than 120,000 volunteers from 5,000 congregations reaching out to 30,000 families each year. 

What continues to make Family Promise so successful, noted Karen, is that we provide manageable opportunities for people to make a difference in the lives of others.  Karen explained how Family Promise does a lot with a little – through the cost-effective mobilization of existing community resources and thousands of volunteers, a remarkable 80% of the families we serve secure housing in a short time

Karen Olson, left, and Janet Whitman, right, with Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt as he presents a Proclamation naming May 2, 2008 “Family Promise Day”.

In recognition of our 20th year, May 2, 2008 was named “Family Promise Day” in a Proclamation presented by Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt, a co-chair of the event along with former Mayor Janet Whitman. Attendees participated in both a silent auction and a live auction, led by New Jersey State Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, and offering everything from a week in Jackson Hole, WY to box seats at a Mets game.  One of the most bid-on items was an initiative to build a new Family Promise network, with 26 people pledging over $36,000 to help Family Promise reach out to another community.

Board Member Kevin Dunleavy, Event Co-Chair Melissa Pflieger, with Candise Dunleavy and John Pflieger.

Family Promise’s Development Program Associate Cynthia Pai, Assistant to the President Wendy Alexander, and Director of Annual Giving Kit Hall.

Click here to read about last year's event.