Giving Tuesday is a Global Day of Giving that takes place every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It’s a wonderful way to get immersed in the holiday spirit of giving.

This year Giving Tuesday is on November 29th and we’d love for you to join us!  

Here are 5 ways you can get in the spirit and help local families move from homelessness to home.    

#1- GIVE TIME 

Join or form a volunteer painting crew or a renovation site prep team. We need help at our Emergency Shelter apartments with painting decks and stairways. And we need help at the site of our soon-to-be transitional housing triplex with preparation for renovation inside and out.  Contact Sara Karbley, our Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, at Sara@FamiliesTogetherNC.org for details. 

#2- GIVE SKILLS 

Lend your expertise and special skills. Families in our program will benefit from your help in areas such as tutoring, resume writing, and mock interviewing.  We also need help from people with a knack for landscaping, carpentry, or gardening to give our properties ongoing TLC. Please reach out to Sara Karbley, our Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at Sara@FamiliesTogetherNC.org to explore opportunities. 

#3- GIVE MONEY 

TRIPLE YOUR IMPACT when you make a financial contribution on Giving Tuesday, November 29th! A special Match Fund is currently growing, and we’re excited to share the details with you soon.  If you’d like to help create the Match Fund, contact Danielle Pennington, our Development Manager, at Danielle@FamiliesTogetherNC.org.  

Please save the date – November 29th – and stay tuned. We’ll be sharing fun and exciting information as Giving Tuesday - our Triple Impact Match Day – approaches! 

#4- GIVE GOODS 

Donate a Thanksgiving meal for a family or holiday gifts to a child for Christmas. The Thanksgiving Meals Drive and Holiday Smiles program are two wonderful annual traditions at Families Together. For information on either one, please contact Sara Karbley at Sara@FamiliesTogetherNC.org.  Thanksgiving items will be collected on Monday, November 21st and Holiday Smiles sponsors will be asked to deliver gifts for their sponsored children between December 12-14.   

#5- SHARE OUR MISSION 

Spread the word about the rise in family homelessness in our community and the need for our mission. Did you know we are on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter? Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Our handle for all is @families2gether. Did you know we have a blog on our website? We need and welcome your help by staying informed about housing and homelessness in Wake County; by sharing, liking and commenting on our posts; and by encouraging your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members to join our efforts to help more families move from homelessness to home.  

Make your plan for Giving Tuesday and join people from across the globe working together to make the world a better place for all. We hope you’ll include Families Together in your plans! 

Families Together is bidding farewell to some of our Board members, which is always bittersweet. We say goodbye to members who have been with us through years of challenge, growth, and inspiring change. But we also get to welcome a new Board member who is sure to bring new ideas, passion, and talent to our organization.

Katie Kingsbery has been with Families Together since February 2014 as a representative of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and in more recent years as an at-large Board member. Throughout the years, Katie provided invaluable leadership, perspective, and guidance through her service on the Board and on several committees. A fact which we are grateful for is that while Katie leaves the Board, she has kindly agreed to continue serving on her committees. Having former Board members on committees helps ensure continuity and institutional knowledge so we’re fortunate not to have to say goodbye yet.

Doug Strom joined the Families Together Board in August of 2018 and became our Treasurer in October of that year – a position he held until December 2021. Doug served during a period of incredible growth at Families Together. His expertise, leadership and diligence have been enormously impactful and are much appreciated by all of us at FT. We look forward to staying in touch as Doug embarks on exciting new ventures.

Thank you so much, Katie and Doug, for your time, talent, and treasure. Your stalwart service and dedication have yielded amazing improvements in what Families Together does and how we operate.

We are now thrilled to welcome our newest Board Member, Michael Fagan. He joins us as the representative of St. Philip Lutheran Church, replacing Kathy Blum who has graciously agreed to remain on the Board for a period of transition. Mike is President and CEO of Attindas, an international company that produces adult and baby diapers. He brings a unique perspective as a church leader and a business executive to our organization. Mike is married to Catalina, who shares his passion for our mission, and has four children.

Welcome, Michael. We are excited to have you on board!

A single mother of 4 (ages 15, 12, 8, and 1), Ms. B began working with the Families Together FEE (Financial Empowerment and Employment) team with the hope of finding full-time employment to increase her household income.

The FEE team immediately got to work! They started with updating her resume, assisted with job coaching, and helped her search for a job that was the right fit. While on her search she was offered a job, but, with support and advice from the FEE Team, ultimately did not accept the position because it did not fit her needs for long-term stability.  It was great to see Ms. B thinking about long-term goals instead of short-term satisfaction!

While searching for jobs, it became clear that she would need to attend training and receive further certifications to increase her income. FEE team member Taniscia worked with Ms. B, and they decided it would be best to attend CNA (Certified Nurses Aid) II training. Families Together was able to offer her financial assistance so that she could complete this training. Once Ms. B successfully completed training, she secured a raise at her current place of employment. She then committed to continuing her education by getting her medical technician certification, which she was able to pay for out of pocket.  

While working with the FEE team, Ms. B also worked on her budgeting skills and created long-term financial goals. Ms. B and her 4 children are now in a STABLE home, she is earning more money, putting some in savings, and creating her own monthly budget. Ms. B recently graduated the Families Together program but we will remain in touch, and look forward to seeing all the bright things ahead in her future.

If you're looking for a rewarding ongoing volunteer opportunity where you can make a difference in a child’s day our After School Enrichment Program is for you!  Our Child Mentor Superheroes help children staying in our Short-Term Family Housing apartments (STFH) with homework and provide activities that encourage independence and self- expression.

This is a rewarding opportunity where you can watch a child grow and thrive!  

This opportunity is available every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30pm.  More days may be added based on volunteer commitment.  Occupancy is unpredictable in our Short-Term Family Housing and volunteers must be flexible with varying age groups and levels of participation.  Volunteers must complete our orientation and have all required documentation on file including a background check before they can start volunteering.

Are you looking for an opportunity to serve that works around your busy schedule?  Maybe you're a teen looking to make an impact, but it can be hard to schedule in the face time.  If this describes your interests, we have an opportunity for you!

The face of homelessness in Wake County is increasingly the face of a child. Student homelessness has risen 56% since 2010 resulting in an estimated 5,000 children going homeless this year. Your mission (if you accept) will be to raise awareness about this important issue and inspire action by liking, sharing, and commenting on social media content on Families Together’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram platforms. To accept, complete the form below. We'd love to welcome you as a Social Media Ambassador for children in need of a home.
 

DRIVING TOWARDS INDEPENDeNCE

Families Together has two ongoing supply drives throughout the year.  Our Welcome Basket program and our Supportive Assistance Food Pantry.  

Welcome Baskets

Many people do not know that food stamp benefits cannot be used for essential items such as, shampoo, cleaning supplies, toiletries (including toilet paper) and laundry soap.  For families living at extremely low income levels, sometimes these items don't make it into the monthly budget.  Not having access to these supplies can lead to unclean homes, bodies and clothes which can contribute to poor health and increase the isolation that homelessness often brings.

In order to support families and celebrate their achievement in signing a new lease, we present all families a Welcome Basket when they move into their new place.  Each Welcome Basket is filled with everything the family will need to start off their road to independence clean and healthy!  

In order to meet this need, we depend on Volunteers like you to organize supply drives in your community.  It can be a box at your church or letters to your neighbors asking them to help, get creative and challenge yourself to fill the car with supplies for families in need!  To download a shopping guide, please click the button below.

Food Pantry

Even with monthly food assistance, we often see families that need help bridging the gap.  Often time there are delays in receiving benefits, or the assistance couldn't make it to the end of the month. Sometimes, a family just needs a place to start as they get settled into their new space. In order to support families in our program we maintain a small food pantry.  We keep very specific items so that we can insure that families will receive healthy and balanced staples from us.  

Volunteers in the community that help us to collect these items ensure that families and their children in our program will never go hungry.  Being able to lift that stressor from parents, helps them to focus on making life changes to help their family gain independence.  

If you are interested in collecting items for our food panty, please download the shopping list below.  

Items that we are constantly low on are, breakfast cereals/pancake mix, canned tomatoes, canned tuna/chicken, canned fruits, powdered milk, peanut butter and health snacks to go.