Family Promise of Delco gears up for annual Food Truck-A-Thon

BROOKHAVEN » Family Promise of Delaware County is gearing up for its second annual Food Truck Fest and Fun Fair, set to take place on the grounds of Our Lady of Charity Parish, 245 Upland Road, Brookhaven, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12. The charity organization’s largest fundraiser of the year helps to fund its mission of uniting communities of faith through the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Delaware County to assist children and families in the county who face homelessness.

The Food Truck-A-Thon will feature inflatables for the children, a variety of food trucks, a flea market, and more. Radio station 101.1 More FM will be broadcasting live from the event. The rain date will be Saturday, Aug. 19, same time. Vendors are still being sought to sell crafts, food, flea market items and other goods.

Family Promise Director Lorie Ackerman said the program depends on the success of the annual Food Truck-A-Thon. Family Promise, which is housed in the leased former convent on Our Lady of Charity’s property, receives onefifth of its funding from the county, and four-fifths from grants and private donations. The charity depends heavily on the generosity of volunteers. The agency is one of only a few in the county that serves full families who find themselves homeless, keeping them together, with most being referred through Community Action Agency of Delaware County.

Family Promise coordinates the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Under Ackerman’s leadership, Family Promise assists homeless families in finding permanent housing and navigating other community resources.

Typically, the families are not chronically homeless, but rather they have just hit a rough spot in their lives and need some transitional help to get back on their feet.

On a rotating basis, host churches provide meals and overnight accommodations for one week, four times per year.

“Family Promise not only facilitates temporary (network) shelter for families who find themselves homeless, but it strives to resolve the families’ homelessness by achieving stable income, housing and childcare, by working hand-in-hand with other agencies and resources in the community,” Ackerman stated. Although Family Promise is based at the Brookhaven location, most of its day-to-day oper-

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PEG DEGRASSA — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Lorie Ackerman, director of Family Promise of Delaware County, sits at her desk in her office, located at the former Our Lady of Charity Convent in Brookhaven. Family Promise, which works hand-in-hand with a network of local churches, serves as an...

PEG DEGRASSA — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Lorie Ackerman, director of Family Promise of Delaware County, stands outside of the former convent at Our Lady of Charity Parish, 245 Upland Road, Brookhaven, where the organization is now headquartered. For more information on volunteering or getting...

SUBMITTED PHOTO A volunteer is pictured playing games with children during a network hosting event. For more information on how to be a hosting church, a supporting church or to volunteer or donate in other ways, call 610-803-8580.