Category: local missions Page 1 of 3

FPOC Golf Tournament at The Winged Pheasant Golf Links! Saturday, September 30. Recruit a foursome or sign up individually, and join other Family Promise friends and supporters for a beautiful day of golf! The cost is $90 per person or $360 per team for a round of golf, a cart, lunch, and dinner! Please share this opportunity widely, to those who might like to play (or just come for dinner), and to any local businesses or clubs who might like to be sponsors! For information, visit https://birdease.com/familypromise or scan this QR code!

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Night Without a Bed – Saturday, October 21! Plan to spend the night away from your own snug bed in recognition of those families who lack a safe place to lay their heads. Individuals, youth groups, service clubs and congregations around the country will sacrifice a comfortable night of sleep to raise awareness about the scourge of family homelessness.

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Amazing Bed Race Recap!

Our first live Bed Race since the pandemic was a rousing success! Nine teams representing five congregations and four civic organizations competed for glory on July 25 at The Land of Legends Speedway, on opening night of the Ontario County Fair. The event raised over $25,000 to support FPOC’s mission, almost evenly split between local business sponsors and bed race team fundraisers.

• We express our appreciation to the following sponsors who contributed more than $13,000 to our mission!
• Title Sponsor: Glover Crask Charitable Trust, who provided a $5000 matching sponsorship
• Pit Crew Sponsors: Integrated Systems, Wegmans, Allied Financial Partners, East Bloomfield UMC
• Grandstand Race Fan Sponsors: LNB Banking, Canandaigua Veterinary Hospital, The JD Chapman Agency, Thrivent, Velmex Inc, Karl Rosengren, Joseph & Jeanne Guastaferro
• Advertising Sponsors: UR Medicine/Thompson Hospital, Tall Trainer Fitness Systems,
• Friend Sponsors: Farmington Veterinary Hospital, AG Paving, Inc., Folkcraft and Flora Apothecary, The Ontario County Bar Association, Northwestern Mutual/Constantino Financial, Barnes Law, Bauer’s Garage

Thank you, Bed Race Fundraiser Teams!  Nine teams from Ontario County congregations and civic organizations put in countless hours designing, building, testing, and racing their beds, and seeking donations… and raised more than $11,500 toward our mission.

• Over $4000:Lady Liberty (The Ontario County Democratic Committee)
• Over $1000: Race Judicata (The Ontario County Bar Association), Sleep Tight (First Congregational Church of Canandaigua), The Presbyterian Pirates (Presbyterian Church in Geneva), Bloomfield Rotary Racers (The Bloomfield Rotary Club)
• Over $100: The Trinity Trolls (Trinity Federated Church of Naples), Speed Demons (St. John’s Lutheran Church in Victor), Bryant’s Hoopsters (First Presbyterian Church of Victor), American Dreams (The Ontario County Republican Party)

Bed Race Results:

• Grand Champion: Speed Demons, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Victor
• Fundraising Champion: Lady Liberty, Ontario County Democratic Committee – $4543.52
• Sunday Driver Division Winner: Lady Liberty
• Hot Wheels Division Winner: Bryant’ Hoopsters, First Presbyterian Church in Victor
• Road Hogs Division Winner: Speed Demons
• Judges’ Best Bed Award: Lady Liberty

FPOC is grateful to the sponsors, bed race teams, staff, board members, and volunteers who made the 2023 Amazing Bed Race a spirited, fun, and financially rewarding event. We look forward to doing it again next year, with more beds and more excitement!

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Congregational Support Schedule

Thanks to generous support from many congregations, we are still in good shape with gas and grocery gift cards. Our greatest need is cash to pay rent, utilities, and staff wages. During and after the pandemic, 26 congregations have continued to provide financial assistance in support of our mission to end family homelessness in Ontario County. We ask each of these congregations to step up twice a year, to the degree that they can help.  Here’s the upcoming support schedule. If you’ve already contributed, thank you! FPCV week is first week of September!

• Aug 13  Willowbrook
• Aug 20  Zion Fellowship
• Aug 27  Farmington Friends
• Sept 3   First Presbyterian Church in Victor
• Sep 10   First UMC Geneva
• Sep 17   First Baptist Manchester
• Sep 24   First Congregational Canandaigua

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Volunteer / Support Opportunities – Call Jay!

• Weekly yard and garden work at our Chapin Street house (It’s a very small yard with a lawn mower on site.)
• We need volunteers to staff tables at the following events:
• Victor Days, Saturday, September 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Ionia Fall Festival, Saturday, September 16, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Climb Aboard Victor, September 16, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
• Volunteer to help with our first annual golf tournament on September 30! Visit https://birdease.com/familypromise for details.

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Please contact either myself (370-0839) or Jay (905-3988) at FP to get more information or volunteer. You can mail checks or food/gas cards to Family Promise 185 North Main Street Canandaigua 14424.

Thanks, Rich Cromwell 

Please consider a monetary donation, which will go towards the purchase of holiday food. For $55, VFFC will be able to provide a Thanksgiving Basket that will include many of the items we all enjoy at our own holiday tables. Read more about this mission HERE.

New Group Forming in Partnership with our Victor Methodist and Lutheran friends in Christ!

Victor Stitch-n-Chat 

Starting Wednesday, September 21, 1-2:30 PM

All handcrafters are invited to join us for 90 minutes of stitching and chatting!  We meet on the third Wednesday of every month from 1-2:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church in Victor.

Bring your current project (knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, paper crafting, etc.), work on a prayer (comfort) shawl or start a square for Blessings ‘n Blankets!  All skill levels are welcome.  Want to learn to knit or crochet?  We can help!  Contact Brenda Dean at [email protected] for more information.

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We’re making 10” x 10” squares to join together to make blankets. The blankets will be donated to one or more community organizations (TBD) that may have a need. 

Use worsted weight (#4) washable yarn and weave in all ends. The finished square should be 10 inches by 10 inches and dropped off/sent to First Presbyterian Church in Victor, 70 E Main St, Victor, NY  14564.

In a few months we will begin joining squares together into blankets. Email, text or call Brenda Dean if you wish to be added to the list for our joining parties. , [email protected] 
585-259-5687

Wondering what the finished blankets might look like? Here are some that were made by a church in Atlanta! There are over 2000 squares that have been sewn into 55 blankets.

Join “Blessings ‘n Blankets” on Facebook where you can upload pictures of the squares you’ve created or share additional patterns. Here’s a quick and easy way to join.

If you’re not on Facebook, I’ve included links below to patterns I’ve found – or use any pattern you like!

Knit patterns

Knitting Patterns

https://disleywi.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/how-to-knit-a-10-inch25-cm-square/

https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/swedish-blocks-10-inch-square-knitting-pattern-by-diana-troldahl

https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/05/18/1926872.htm

https://www.fiftyfourtenstudio.com/traveling-afghan-2020

Crochet patterns

https://marlybird.com/free-square-projects-to-crochet-and-knit/

https://www.smilingcolors.com/2019/07/basic-granny-square-pattern/

https://www.thestitchinmommy.com/2016/02/pick-a-square-make-a-blanket-20-free-crochet-afghan-square-patterns.html

Free Crochet Pattern: Block Stitch Square

1. In 2021, Family Promise provided Emergency Shelter for 53 people, 4977 bednights, 14,931 meals, average length of stay 97 days, and prevented 102 families from becoming homeless with rental assistance.

2. Family Promise Day of Giving (online) is Thursday April 28, 2022, with all proceeds funding the HUMI Challenge Grant. HUMI is a nonprofit organization working with communities to fund and create programs to help families facing a housing crisis.

3. Bed Race: July 30th volunteer opportunities! Looking for couples volunteers to help organize and run the Bed Race in Canandaigua. Leadership will be provided to help set-up tables, display signs, log in race participants, and run the race. Also, looking for a team of 5 to run the race with a VFPC pre-made bed. Event runs that Saturday morning from approx. 8am-12pm.  See Rich Cromwell for details.

Family Promise of Ontario County is alive and well and currently helping families in 3 apartments in Canandaigua and 2 in Geneva. Although our in church model has changed, there is still great work being done in our FP apartments and numerous families that have graduated from the program!

Here is a current “wish list” of opportunities congregations/ committees/individuals can get involved with, where there is no direct interfacing with the families. Please reach out to me by email, phone, or text if you need clarification or would like to volunteer for any of the tasks.   

Family Promise Congregational needs  

Donation Organizer – Assistance with large donations  

Delivery of food to our families and our graduates  

Guest Transportation – Doctor’s Appts, Mental Health Appts, SS Appts,  etc.  

Inventory specialist – someone willing to track our inventory and be  responsible for pulling items for apartments.  

Social Media specialists – Facebook, Instagram, someone willing to  make posts  

Tow & Carry Crew – Looking for team leader. As Items are donated or  acquired, straight to apartment or where they are needed in lieu of day  center storage.  

Clean & Stock for apartments – towels, sheets, kitchen items etc…Get  everything to inventory specialist. Taking inventory and bringing out  the dirty. Take laundry and linen with family as they leave.  

Congregations to adopt a new apartment, to paint, fix up…handman  type work. Once a year, freshen up with paint, clean, fix etc…. 

Office Angels, people for clerical support and thanking donors  telephonically. Notes put in data base.  

Volunteers to meet with children, to occupy children, to read to  children while parents are meeting with case worker.  

Volunteer team to go through toy and book inventory and distribution  for current items.  

Volunteer who can cut hair…  

Have a congregation adopt a family when they move in  

1. Welcome Dinner – At Day Center  

2. Transportation as needed.  

3. Keep contact with the family  

4. What personal items does the family need, where are their items  stored, etc.  

5. Teach budgeting classes, individual or with family  

6. Teach Good Tenancy Program  

Christmas Committee or Holiday Committee  

Congregational Space for Christmas 

Congregations and volunteers must understand that the families served can be encouraged to be vaccinated but cannot be forced.  Volunteers must wear masks during family contact.  

Additional items:

1. There will be new volunteer training available online in the coming weeks based on two modules, v101 and v102. This is both for new and current volunteers. Link is https://family-promise.coassemble.com/unlock/eXzJ5h3

2. David Simmons has taken over for Lauren Lamb as Volunteer Coordinator. He can be reached at the FP main number at 585-905-3988.

3. Our next “host week” in December 5 – 12. In lieu of in church hosting FP is requesting Byrne Dairy gas cards and food cards from Tops and Wal-Mart.

Thanks as always for all you do for homeless children and their families in Ontario County. Please reach out to Rich Cromwell directly at [email protected] or 585-370-0839 if you would like to discuss any of the above information or would like to volunteer.

Lots of news coming from the Food Cupboard this month!

In September we fed: 633 adults, 353 children, and 172 seniors.

Angel Tree Program: Our program is going to be primarily virtual again this year. The link to the sign up is bit.ly/donateangeltree  People can sign up there and we will have a dropoff box on the porch of one of our volunteer’s homes. All that information can be found at the link above.

Our Thanksgiving distribution will be November 18^th and our Christmas distribution will be December 18^th.  Anyone who would like this assistance should call the Food Cupboard by Halloween at 585-924-2720.  For the Christmas distribution, we would like to give pouches of cookie mixes, any flavor or brand.  We’ll need at least 300, so if folks could pick those up when they are on sale the next 6 weeks that would be wonderful!

The Target registry has been updated to include the cookie pouches and some other items we need. This is the direct link or donors can go to Target.com, click on registry and enter Victor Farmington Food Cupboard.

From October 1^st to December 31^st we are part of the Target Circle charity program. If anyone belongs to Target Circle (this is not the debit or credit card), you get votes each time you shop.  You can use your votes to help us raise money this quarter and it doesn’t cost the shopper anything!

November 30^th is #GivingTuesday. Most nonprofits participate in this and the Food Cupboard will be participating from November 16^th to 30^th.  More information will be coming out soon! Please save the date now!

Anyone who would like to help with deliveries this winter can contact Karen Guidarelli at the Food Cupboard. We are looking for two teams of two for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Some days we have no deliveries; some days we have 8, so we’re looking to split those with volunteers if we can.

We’re also looking for church cleaning teams for 2022. You would only need to sign up for two times per year since we have teams in once a month.  You can choose a Tuesday (afternoon or night) or a weekend morning to come. Please contact me (924-5642) to pick a month for the first half of 2022.

One last note:  We are currently allowing only fully vaccinated volunteers at the Food Cupboard until April 1^st.  If anyone is fully vaccinated and interested in volunteering, you can stop by the Food Cupboard MWF mornings or give us a call at the office number.

Hopefully you will be able to support the Food Cupboard in one or more of the above opportunities! We appreciate all the churches help to feed the needy.

Community Dinners will begin again at church and be held on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Saturdays of the month from 5-6:30 pm starting September 11th! Take-out meals will be available for people who call the church at 585-924-2289, during the Community Dinner time. Dinners will be brought out to your car.

*Please note that per CDC and NYS guidelines, vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks, but if you are unvaccinated we ask you to wear a mask until seated at a table with your dinner. If you are experiencing any symptoms of illness, please call and we will bring a dinner out to your car. Thank you for your understanding!

Menus for September dinners:

Sept 11th- Macaroni and cheese (Girls Scouts host)

Sept 18th- Chili (St. Patrick’s hosts)

Sept 25th- TBD (Deacons are hosting)

Volunteers Needed!

Would you like to volunteer to help with our Community Dinners? We are looking for (7) volunteers for October 9th and October 23rd, from 3:30-7:30pm. Please follow the link here to sign up! Thank you for your generous support with your time.