Meet the Crew - Malia Cary

Malia Cary joined the staff of Family Promise of Orange County as the Community Impact Manager in February 2020. She works closely with our host and support congregations in our Emergency Shelter Program, as well as manages our volunteer engagement and in-kind donations.

She also currently serves as the volunteer program coordinator for Family Promise at Church of the Foothills in Santa Ana, California. She holds a Master’s Degree from The Johns Hopkins University in International Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UCLA. She is originally from Southern California and enjoys theater, running, and Ducks hockey.

“Homelessness is truly an epidemic in Orange County, and every child deserves a place to call home. I believe so strongly that the path to ending family homelessness begins when we act as a collective community and embrace families who are struggling. The Family Promise model mobilizes this community and enables people to coordinate their compassion to work together to end family homelessness.”

Congregation Spotlight: First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton

The First Presbyterian Church (FPC) located in Fullerton, California, is currently led by Reverend Jeffrey Bridgeman. The church was first organized on February 19, 1888, and was the first church of any denomination in Fullerton and the sixth Presbyterian church in Orange County. As their memberships and activities increased, so did their need for a larger space pushing them to relocate to their present location on Euclid Ave. in 1951.

In 2010, the congregation adopted a new mission statement, “Bringing people together to grow followers of Jesus Christ to do God’s work in the world.” They strive to be a congregation who is faithful to God by gathering, growing, and going in Christ’s name. FPC proves to be a welcoming congregation for all to experience.

First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton began collaborating with Family Promise of Orange County in 2009, when the affiliate was just getting off the ground. The idea of FPC serving as a host congregation was taken to the Senior Pastor and then to the Deacons, who all immediately recognized a service opportunity that matched the passion of the congregation to serve the homeless community.

Family Promise at First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton is graciously led by John and Cathy Monson, and they are supported by a wonderful team of dedicated and inspiring volunteers. FPC has joyfully been hosting Family Promise families for four weeks each year, and the congregation looks forward to resuming hosting this fall.

To learn more about First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton and their wonderful ministries, please visit www.fpcfullerton.org.

Help Them Home Giving Day - 2021 Results

On Wednesday, April 28th, 2021, Family Promise of Orange County partnered with 19 other

nonprofit organizations in Orange County to come together for Help Them Home: A Giving Day for OC's Homeless.

Family Promise of Orange County originally set a goal of raising $75,000 in 24 hours. We are overjoyed to report that we blew our initial goal OUT OF THE WATER, and were able to raise a total of:

$117,000!!

Thank you to all of our 236 amazing donors - because of YOU, our families have hope for the future!

Overall Help Them Home Campaign Totals

The overall campaign raised a WHOPPING $2.1 MILLION+ in 24 hours, more than DOUBLING the original goal of $1,000,000 for the 20 organizations participating. Collectively, 3,793 individual donors gave on just one day to help support OC's homeless.

TOGETHER we CAN make a difference!

For the list of all final donation totals for all 20 participating organizations, please click here.

The official post-event press release for the campaign can be downloaded here:

HTH Post Event Press Release PDF.pdf

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