Effort to begin Family Promise moves forward

By Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff

The effort to establish a Family Promise program in Blount County is nearing a significant milestone as volunteers prepare to file for tax-exempt status in order to begin fundraising.

“The 501(c)(3) application will be a really big milestone,” volunteer Jeanna Stewart said. “We do have our tax identification number now, so the application will be the next big thing. That signifies we are a nonprofit organization and that donations are tax deductible.”

The program would allow local churches to network to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis. There is a shelter in Blount County that serves men and women separately, but there is no place that takes families as a whole.

The effort began on Oct. 1 with an informational meeting that drew representatives from 16 area churches.

“It is going well,” said Stewart, who works with Good Neighbors of Blount County, a charitable organization that helps individuals in economic trouble. “We had our fourth community meeting this past Monday. We’re still getting a good turnout. From the initial turnout of about 70 people, we’ve whittled down to about 45, but there still a lot of interest and people getting involved.”

It would take about $100,000 and about a year to set up the Family Promise program in Blount County. If 13 churches participated, each church would host from three to five families for a week each quarter. Budgets for each church would run $200 to $250 each week.

Thomas Coulter, a deacon with the Maryville First Baptist Church, is chairman of the Blount County Family Promise Fundraising Committee. He said that the efforts to get the program running are going well.

“It took Knoxville two years to get started, but I don’t think it’s going to take us anywhere near as long,” he said. “We’ve benefited by having (the Knoxville group) to talk with. This is a good way to help people and get a lot of denominations of churches involved.”