Welcome to Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens
The Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide immediate shelter and guidance to homeless families with children, due to the impact of misfortunes upon their lives. Once accepted into our program, IHNA provides food, shelter, daycare, and transportation as needed. IHNA helps to create structure out of chaos by implementing a goal-oriented plan so that those desperately in need can focus beyond daily survival, to a life of stability. IHNA is part of the national Family Promise network that includes more than 200 IHNs in 43 states, and has served over a half million guests since its inception in the 1980's.
Special thanks to The Georgia Club Foundation!
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IHNA is most grateful to The Georgia Club Foundation for their support of our mission. They presented IHNA with a grant of $2,401 which we will use to purchase bus passes for our guests and for other homeless individuals.
Transportation is often a barrier to finding work and a sustainable life. We provide bus passes on a monthly basis to our families and other homeless individuals so that they can travel to and from work and/or job interviews as well as weekly errands. |
We want to know what you think about IHNA!
To all of our volunteers,
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to Interfaith Hospitality Network. We want to make our volunteer experience the best it can be for our current and future volunteers.
Please take a few minutes (5-10 to be exact) out of your day and fill out our completely anonymous survey. Some of the questions will be multiple choice and some will be typed response answers. The questions will ask you about how long you have been volunteering, what congregation you come from, and how we can improve our orientation and training.
This survey will help us make the necessary changes to make things run more smoothly.
Here is the link of the survey:
https://goo.gl/forms/LJNpDctTLjcbAPGk2
Thank you!
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to Interfaith Hospitality Network. We want to make our volunteer experience the best it can be for our current and future volunteers.
Please take a few minutes (5-10 to be exact) out of your day and fill out our completely anonymous survey. Some of the questions will be multiple choice and some will be typed response answers. The questions will ask you about how long you have been volunteering, what congregation you come from, and how we can improve our orientation and training.
This survey will help us make the necessary changes to make things run more smoothly.
Here is the link of the survey:
https://goo.gl/forms/LJNpDctTLjcbAPGk2
Thank you!
Due to rain the Golf Tournament has been postponed until Oct. 30
Because of the significant and continuing rain, we are having to postpone our Whole-in-One Golf Tournament from Oct. 9 to October 30. Please let Joe Neighbors (706-543-3387 or jbneighb@bellsouth.net) or Davin Welter (706-425-1881 or director@ihnathens.org) know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks for your understanding and support of IHNA!
Thanks for your understanding and support of IHNA!
Upcoming Training Sessions for Volunteers
We have several upcoming training sessions. The dates and times are:
October 19 at 6:30 pm at Bethlehem First United Methodist Church (709 Christmas Avenue, Bethlehem, GA 30620)
October 21 at 9:00 am at Bethlehem First United Methodist Church (709 Christmas Avenue, Bethlehem, GA 30620)
November 9 at 5:30 pm at First Baptist Church (355 Pulaski Street, Athens, GA 30601)
We welcome all folks who are interested in volunteering with IHNA to attend. It is also a good opportunity for current volunteers to brush up on their skills. Please contact Stacy Pardue to RSVP for a training session or if you have any questions. Her email is:assist.ihnathens@gmail.com.
October 19 at 6:30 pm at Bethlehem First United Methodist Church (709 Christmas Avenue, Bethlehem, GA 30620)
October 21 at 9:00 am at Bethlehem First United Methodist Church (709 Christmas Avenue, Bethlehem, GA 30620)
November 9 at 5:30 pm at First Baptist Church (355 Pulaski Street, Athens, GA 30601)
We welcome all folks who are interested in volunteering with IHNA to attend. It is also a good opportunity for current volunteers to brush up on their skills. Please contact Stacy Pardue to RSVP for a training session or if you have any questions. Her email is:assist.ihnathens@gmail.com.
Thanks to the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Service Teens in Action Day Camp
The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Service Teens in Action Day Camp completed several projects for us and made the Day Center a much nicer place. Check out the photos of their work. We say thank you for their help.
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Thanks to everyone who participated in Over The Edge on March 18! We are grateful to all those who went over the edge, raised money for our mission, volunteered, and gave donations to IHNA for each of our "Edgers".
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Richard Carswell, IHNA Board Member
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Davin Welter, Executive Director of IHNA
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Carrie Welter, Davin's mother
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Grant Whitworth
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Whit Richardson
Mark Woods
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Kim and Eric Ness and family
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La Table 2017 featuring Karen Olsen, founder of IHN national
Thanks to Athens First United Methodist Church for being the title sponsors for La Table 2017 which was held on Feb. 28 at the Athens Country Club. Karen Olsen, the founder of Interfaith Hospitality Network (now know as Family Promise), was our keynote speaker. We are grateful to Wanda Culpepper and our table host for their creativity and dedication.
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Volunteer with IHNA
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At the top of the page, click on "Join the Team" to see our volunteer and internship opportunities! |
IHNA mentioned in Betsy Butler's sermon at Athens First United Methodist.
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Take a listen to Betsy Butler's sermon from July 24, 2016 at Athens First United Methodist Church. Betsy is the Minister of Missions at AFUMC and in her sermon, she mentions the opportunity to stay close to God by hosting and serving the guests in the Interfaith Hospitality Network. She talks about how the volunteers from the church family offer hope to a hopeless situation. We are grateful for Betsy and to those at Athens FUMC who give help to those families in our community who are in need.
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Some homeless organizations are facing cuts from federal funding but thanks to you, IHNA is not having to face this situation.
One of IHNA's board members shared this article (http://tablet.olivesoftware.com/Olive/Tablet/AtlantaJournalConstitution/SharedArticle.aspx?href=AJC%2F2016%2F06%2F16&id=Ar01202) about federal funding for homeless organizations. Fortunately, because of your support, IHNA does not have to worry about this issue. This year we will not receive any federal funding and because of generous private support our transitional housing program will not be affected by changes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We ask that you continue to provide this important support so that we can continue to provide critical compassionate care to the children and parents who are in need of a home. To make a gift of support, click HERE. Thanks again!
Thanks to Jackson EMC Foundation for their support of IHN Athens
The Jackson EMC Foundation, funded by the contributions of the cooperative's members, has awarded a $10,000 grant to IHNA to help us provide compassionate care to our guest families. We will use the grant to fund summer childcare, transportation and other guest needs. We are most grateful for this generous support!
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Davin Welter, Executive Director; Jean Mullis, JEMC Neese District Manager; Regina Roth-Goldman, Service Director; Elizabeth Morris, Office Assistant; Wanda Culpepper, Board Member; Ken Sherman, Executive Director Emeritus; Capt. Mark Sizemore, JEMC Foundation Board Member; Dick Perpall, JEMC Foundation Board Member
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IHN Athens featured on WUGA's Athens News Matters
On Thursday, May 19, Alexia Ridley, host of WUGA's Athens News Matters, interviewed Edward Bolen, Milledge Avenue Baptist Church Senior Pastor and one of the founding member of IHNA; Courtney Tobin, IHNA Board member and Holy Cross Lutheran Church IHNA volunteer; and Davin Welter, IHNA Executive Director about the mission of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens. Take a listen by clicking the link below.
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What IHN Athens Does
IHN Athens is a coalition of Athens Area Churches and Congregations of Faith, referred to as Host Congregations or Support Congregations, that may provide shelter, meals, and support for homeless families in crisis for up to 90 days. Host Congregations, on a rotating basis, provide 3 meals a day to Network Families. Each network family is provided with their own room within the Host facility. Our network of churches provides shelter, meals, and compassionate assistance for up to three families (or maximum of 14 people) in crisis situations. As a group, the families rotate from church to church on a weekly basis. By uniting congregations through our Day Center, and through the support of social service agencies, our program assists these families with finding sustainable housing, job training, employment, and with meeting other various needs.
