This past fall, the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club presented Family Promise with a $5,000 donation ($4,000 from a Rotary District Grant and a $1,000 match from the club) to update the Family Promise computer room and wiring for Wi-Fi in the newly renovated community/warming and cooling center.

On Feb. 11, members of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club and Student Rotarians met at the Family Promise Homeless Shelter in Nesquehoning to get an update from Director Cathy Lamm along with a tour of the community center located at the former St. Francis of Assisi, which is adjacent to the shelter.

To address the increasing need for shelter during extreme weather (heat and cold), Lamm envisioned an expansion and spotted an opportunity with the adjacent church building. Family Promise staff have worked tirelessly to raise the funds to expand and develop a warming/cooling emergency shelter in the basement of the church building.

With the addition of the community/warming and cooling center, Family Promise will look to provide increased case management, energy assistance, a food bank, a drop-in center, and computer classes for clients and the community.

Lamm explained that Family Promise continues to provide temporary shelter, meals and a safe place to sleep to meet the needs of families and single women experiencing homelessness in Carbon County. Currently, nine adults and 22 children are in residence at the facility in Nesquehoning.

In 2024, 134 individuals were served at the Family Promise shelter and 934 individuals were provided diversionary case management and Carbon County Rental Assistance.

The Jim Thorpe Rotary Club is grateful for the opportunity to support Family Promise and the homeless families in Carbon County. Annually, the Rotary Club donates to 35 local organizations and charities and has also funded numerous community projects through Rotary District 7410 grants.