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Family Promise of Blount County has a mission for local residents: give a thought to the homeless during this time of Thanksgiving.

“We're embarking on our first-ever fundraising campaign through a letter campaign,” board member Christy Newman said. “Those are probably landing in folks' mailboxes this week. It's our hope that folks will consider Family Promise as they are talking about their holiday gift giving.”

The campaign is called “Club 274,” Newman said. “For $274 folks could actually support Family Promise for one day out of the year. That's one day's operating expenses.”

The program recently received a $10,000 grant from Humana of Tennessee. The grant will be put to work helping with the transportation needs of the program participants.

Five months after opening, Family Promise is operating at capacity. Four families, suffering from economic hardships, are being given shelter and a chance to help themselves.

“We've had our first success story,” said board member Christie Newman. “We've already graduated one family out of the program since it's been open. Things are going along nicely. There is some good news to share -- the program is at capacity now for the first time since they opened in June. We have a full house, basically. There are five additional families on the waiting list.”

The Family Promise program allows local churches to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis. Green Meadow United Methodist Church serves as the day center for the program, giving families a place to stay during the day while they look for housing and work. The day center provides a stable telephone number, mailing address and a base of operations for participants.