Home for Families

Families in our SPARK program recently attended a group lesson at Blacklick Woods Metro Park. SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) is a kindergarten readiness program offered in English and Spanish for kids ages 3-4.

At Blacklick Woods, our families read "Mouse Paint," a children's book by Ellen Stoll Walsh that educates readers in color mixing through the adventures of three white mice who discover jars of red, blue, and yellow paint. 🖌️After reading, families were able to do a painting craft inspired by the book before joining together for a pizza treat. 🍕

URGENT NEED: Our Resource Pantry is in need of alfredo and tomato sauce, fruit cups/canned fruit, peanut butter and jelly, and rice.

📍 You can drop off donations at Home for Families, 727 E. Main St, Columbus 43205, Monday–Friday | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Thank you for helping the families we serve access much-needed resources!

Students in our Dowd Education afterschool program recently received a visit from Columbus Fire Station 8! Students got to try their hand at the fire hose, and they also had a chance to walk inside a fire truck. Thank you, Columbus Division of Fire, for the visit and for helping our students understand a bit more about a day in the life of a fire fighter!

Wishing everyone a very happy and restful Memorial Day! Please note that our office is closed today for the holiday.

With helpful guidance from Scouts leader Mr. Ali, students in our Dowd Education afterschool program have been busy cultivating green thumbs and learning about conservation and eco-friendly food practices in their veggie garden!

Sprouts include four different types of bell peppers, jalapeños, tomatoes, corn, beets, carrots, okra, wax beans, and green beans! Special shout-out to ScottsMiracle-Gro for donating soil to help make this year's garden a reality! 🌱

We'd like to thank Ohio State Delta Delta Delta for their recent efforts in support of the clients we serve!

The group gathered monetary donations to purchase supplies and assemble 15 kits with cleaning supplies for our families. A group also visited our Resource Pantry to volunteer.

While often overlooked, hygiene poverty is an issue experienced by families with limited incomes. When income is stretched thin, families are forced to choose between paying the rent, keeping food on the table, and purchasing hygiene products like dish soap and laundry detergent.

Thank you, OSU Tri Delta, for helping us ensure the families we serve have access to these basic yet crucial necessities.

Our latest blog post is up, and we've been busy! Check it out and learn...

⭐ how our first-ever Strong Like a Mother 5K went (spoiler alert, it was awesome)
⭐ all about the self-care goodies we shared with our clients for Mother's Day
⭐ who helped give our grounds a much-needed spring makeover!

See the post for May at the link: https://www.homeforfamilies.org/about/newsroom/current.html

Last week, Hexion visited us for a Volunteer & Learn session as part of their Hexion Cares Day. Staff had the opportunity to learn more about what we do and then volunteered in our Resource Pantry. We're grateful to Hexion for their continued support of our mission!

Last week, we hosted a special Mother's Day Client Giveaway for our moms, featuring reusable bags filled with a variety of self-care items such as body sprays, candles, makeup, cozy socks, and gift cards to area restaurants. Our moms work so hard on behalf of their families, and we wanted to give them something special that would be just for them!

The project was truly a community effort. Bath & Body Works generously donated candles and body sprays. JPMorganChase Women's Employee Network donated a variety of self-care items, their Audit Practices department donated gift cards, and their Infrastructure Platform team donated 100 gift cards and totes (and also volunteered!).

Volunteers with Seeds of Caring Columbus helped assemble the gift bags. Thank you to all who contributed to this event and helped make Mother's Day special for the clients we serve!

📷: Special shout out to our super-awesome staff for modeling our self-care bags! 💅

Hydrating and getting a healthy snack is important after a 5K! Thanks to Fresh Thyme Market for providing water and bananas to everyone who attended our Strong Like a Mother 5K presented by Hexion. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!