Service Story: Family Promise of the Verdugos

The Hilton Garden Inn Burbank Downtown recently partnered with Kitchen on San Fernando for two events with Family Promise of the Verdugos to fight homelessness in the Burbank area. The hotel does an annual school supplies drive for the charity, but one associate wanted to take it further this year. Carol Nunez, catering and events manager for the hotel, through her work with the Burbank Chamber of Commerce's Burbank Young Professionals program chaired an event to give the families served by the charity a chance to spend time with the volunteers and show them a fun morning.

Out of this effort, Family Promise Day 2019 was born, and the Burbank Young Professionals and hotel staff were able to host a fun day in the park for the families. The families were hosted in a nearby park with games, crafts, food and fun. Vice Mayor of Burbank, Sharon Springer even stopped by to show her supporty.

In addition, Kitchen on San Fernando also stepped in to help Family Promise of the Verdugos by participating in the annual Empty Bowl program. The program is way to provide a reminder of the hunger and insecurity that homeless families face. Independent potters, arts associations, and other groups created hand-crafted ceramic bowls. Guests at the event were then able to choose one of the bowls, which they were served a simple meal of soup, bread, and dessert donted by local restaurants. Kitchen on San Fernando donated five gallons of soup for the event. After the meal, the guests kept their bowls as a reminder of the challenges faced by the homeless.

Family Promise of the Verdugos is part of the national Family Promise network committed to helping homeless families to achieve lasting independence by providing safe shelter, meals, and support services. Their goal is to transition homeless families to premanent housing withing 12 weeks.

Thank you to Carol, Hilton Garden Inn Burbank Downtown, and Kitchen on San Fernando for their commitment to their community.

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