Adopt a North Richmond Family this Christmas!

Are you or your family looking for a way to bless someone in need this Christmas season? Families who have very little come each day through the doors of Helping Hands in North Richmond looking for assistance in food, utility bills, clothing or other basic needs they hope to have met.

If you would like to adopt a family to bless this year, please contact Melanie Murphy at 713.417.8028. Please do not contact Helping Hands. You will choose a family that best meets your ability to sponsor. Once you have your family contact information, you will be responsible for contacting them, finding out what their needs might be and following through to the day you deliver their gifts.

Families not adopted by November 23 will be returned to Helping Hands. Once again, please contact Melanie Murphy at 713.417.8028 or at Melanie Murphy for more detailed information on adopting a family.

Impact.

Mentoring: A Way Out Of Poverty

I’ve been reading the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby Payne. It’s a great resource for us in Friends of North Richmond.

Dr. Payne has found that an education is the key to getting out of , and staying out of, generational poverty. She says that individuals leave poverty for one of four reasons:

1. A goal or vision of something they want to be or have
2. A situation that is so painful that anything would be better
3. Because someone “sponsors” them, i.e. a mentor or role model who shows them a different way or convinces them to live differently
4. A specific talent or ability that provides an opportunity for them.

As I read this I get excited about our mentoring program that will launch next year. Our partnership with educators in North Richmond is key, and I can’t wait to hear the stories that will emerge in the coming days. This really underlines for me the importance of Friends of North Richmond being a long-term commitment.