Media Contact:
Jessica Rood
Director of Development, Interfaith Family Services
Phone: (469) 828-1833
Email: jrood@interfaithdallas.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES WILL CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF EMPOWERING FAMILIES AT 5TH ANNUAL AUXILIARY LUNCHEON | DALLAS, TEXAS
Interfaith Family Services’ 5th Annual Auxiliary Luncheon featuring keynote speaker Jen Hatmaker will be held on Friday, March 6th, 2020 at the historic Belo Mansion. Co-chairs Sarah Klein, Emily Miller, and Amanda Nobles are delighted to help Interfaith celebrate 35 years of empowering families alongside Honorary Chairs Kacy and Carter Tolleson and their children. NBC 5’s Meredith Land will join as the emcee for the fifth year in a row. Guests will enjoy the storytelling of New York Times bestseller, blogger, podcast host, TV personality, and mother of five Jen Hatmaker as well as a moving testimonial from an Interfaith graduate. Doors will open at 11:15 am for a wine reception preceding lunch.
Interfaith celebrated the Grand Opening of its $11 million Family Empowerment Center in September 2019 and continues to employ their holistic approach to address the root causes of family poverty to produce remarkable results. The need for their services could not be greater: The latest numbers from the Corporation for Economic Development show that 36% of Dallas residents are considered “asset poor.” That means many working families who lose a job or encounter an unexpected expense will be in immediate crisis and at risk for homelessness. 28.8% of Dallas families with children currently live in poverty, totaling to over 2,500 homeless students in DISD last year. At the same time, a remarkable 90% of Interfaith graduates in 2019 were employed with an average wage of over $17/hr and 93% of graduates exit in permanent housing.
Proceeds from the luncheon will support Interfaith’s Family Empowerment Program. Sponsorships for the 5th Annual Auxiliary Luncheon are currently available, but we fully anticipate that this luncheon will sell out quickly. The deadline to submit an underwriting contract is January 24, 2020. To reserve your spot today, please contact Jessica Rood, Director of Development at jrood@interfaithdallas.org or visit www.interfaithdallas.org/event/auxiliary-luncheon.
ABOUT INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES
For 35 years, Interfaith Family Services has been a leading resource for working poor families and a haven for homeless children who long for stability and hope. Today, their mission is to become Dallas’ solution to poverty by expanding resources to residential and non-residential clients as well. Their new Family Empowerment Center houses all programming modeled to eliminate the barriers that keep families in crisis from achieving stability. Services include rent and utility assistance, GED/ ESL and vocational training, extended-hours childcare to clients who are currently unemployed, financial coaching to reduce debt and increase savings, and career coaching to develop clients professionally – all at no cost to families. For families who are homeless, Interfaith Family Services owns 23 lovingly decorated and fully-furnished apartments that provide transitional housing for 6-9 months. They work simultaneously to educate and equip children through the Hope & Horizons Program; this special program is modeled to stabilize at-risk children through a combination of arts and crafts that emphasize creativity, play therapy to address emotional and social issues, individualized tutoring to address common academic gaps, and field trips & camps that expose children to the larger world. The program also includes a self-care and wellness component to help families develop and maintain healthy habits. This holistic combination of services produces results that elevate entire families out of poverty. 93% of our families’ transition to permanent housing, 79% create a savings safety net with $2,867.85 on average in savings, and 94% of graduates maintain employment one year later. For more information on ways to get involved with Interfaith Family Services, contact Mykia Gardner, Community Relations Manager, at mgardner@interfaithdallas.org or visit www.interfaithdallas.org.
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