› First Place Swarthmore: Calling All Volunteers!
First Place Swarthmore is a transitional housing location for newly arrived families into our area. It is a ministry initiated by SPC but owned by the whole community.
› First Place Swarthmore: Calling All Volunteers!
First Place Swarthmore is a transitional housing location for newly arrived families into our area. It is a ministry initiated by SPC but owned by the whole community.
T
he care for and nurture of families seeking refuge in our local area has been a ministry off and on for members of SPC going back many years—it is in our DNA to open wide our arms and to make people feel at home. We continue this long history with a new endeavor we are calling, First Place Swarthmore. First Place Swarthmore is a transitional housing location for newly arrived families into our area. In close partnership with Bethany Christian Services as an agency approved by the US State Department to resettle refugees in our area, we will house and provide support to families for a short period (typically 4-6 weeks) as Bethany Christian Services works to find a more permanent location for them to settle in our area. This will allow us to ideally help to house multiple families over the course of a year, providing a safe and welcoming place for them right as they arrive into the United States and begin to get their feet on the ground. We see this as a ministry initiated by SPC but owned by the whole community, and so our efforts to build support are both within and outside of our membership.
To learn the many different ways you can volunteer to help with FPS, click here and view our brochure!
Make a donation: If you would like to donate to First Place Swarthmore through the SPC online payment portal, click here.
Make a donation to FPS: If you would like to donate to First Place Swarthmore through the SPC online payment portal, click here.
› First Place Swarthmore Awarded by the Presbytery of Philadelphia and Updates
› First Place Swarthmore (FPS) Awarded by the Presbytery of Philadelphia & Updates
W
e are overjoyed to share the news that First Place Swarthmore (FPS) is a recipient of a Covenant Fund Grant of $15,000. This grant is awarded by the Presbytery of Philadelphia annually to recognize new initiatives and collaborative ministries that benefit the communities surrounding area congregations. This grant is an incredible gift to our ministry as we look to expand in this third year of operation. Thank you to Elder Carol Savery who attended the meeting as one of our Presbytery Commissioners and received this award on behalf of First Place Swarthmore.
Spring and summer of 2024 have seen a significant shift for First Place Swarthmore, specifically in terms of our partnership with Bethany Christian Services. In May we learned that Bethany will be closing its resettlement office in Jenkintown as of July 31, shifting their adult resettlement efforts to other agencies locally. This shift has brought to a close our partnership with Bethany. We are grateful for the lessons learned and the commitment to each family that we witnessed throughout these two years of working together. Now, we are excited about the next steps!
Having just completed a successful move-out of our most recent family, we are re-setting the apartment and evaluating lessons learned. In June, the Session approved a pilot initiative to directly sponsor families through the Welcome Corps Program of the US State Department. Once we were given the go-ahead, the FPS Leadership Team applied and we are officially in the process, the timeline for which could be up to 3-4 months prior to receiving a family. Significant gratitude goes to the Leadership Team members—Bob McCauley, Joyce Van Ravenswaay, Anne Wohlschlaeger, Midge Salvucci and Karen Polsen—who made the commitment as the five named sponsors required by the application and on behalf of First Place Swarthmore. In the meantime, and with the commitment to utilize the space as well as continue this ministry of welcome, we are in conversation with Nationalities Services Center (NSC) to be an ongoing referral agency. NSC is the largest resettlement agency in the area, contracted to receive 500 individuals this year and in 2025 who will be settled here in the Philadelphia-area. We hope to finalize an MOU in the coming weeks and be able to serve as a First Place Swarthmore housing option for those whom NSC refers.
As always, we give thanks to God for the commitment of so many in our congregation and in the wider community who have dedicated time, efforts, gifts, and funds to this ministry of welcome. What a difference it makes as our hearts expand to bring others in.
To learn more about the Covenant Fund Awardees for 2024, click here.
First Place Swarthmore Videos
FPS Videos
Moment for Stewardship: First Place Swarthmore
Written by Joyce VanRavenswaay, and narrated & produced by Charlie Seymour Jr.
Written by Joyce VanRavenswaay, and narrated & produced by Charlie Seymour Jr.
Moment for Mission: First Place Swarthmore
From the SPC worship service on December 11, 2022 by Bob McCauley
From the SPC worship service on December 11, 2022 by Bob McCauley
First Place Swarthmore Dedication & Blessing – August 7, 2022
(Video by Charlie Seymour Jr. / Photos by Betty Ann Flynn)
(Video by Charlie Seymour Jr. / Photos by Betty Ann Flynn)
To Our Community Stakeholders
We want to make sure to facilitate good communication and updates to all of our community stakeholders. We will be working on a regular mechanism to share updated information and needs. All of this can be found on this web page, and we will send the link out to our growing mailing list as updates are posted.
To Our Community Stakeholders
We want to make sure to facilitate good communication and updates to all of our community stakeholders. We will be working on a regular mechanism to share updated information and needs. All of this can be found on this web page, and we will send the link out to our growing mailing list as updates are posted.
