Volunteers are the unsung heroes for local non-profit agencies, and one woman's dedication to Family Promise has been key since the very beginning.
Since the start of Family Promise, Bev Beery has been working to help families who are homeless get back on their feet and become independent.
"For me it's all about the kids. When I think of these little children that came into the world, maybe their parents have fallen on hard times or made some bad choices, the kids are the ones that a lot of times pay the price," said Bev Beery, 2018 Jefferson Award Winner.
Besides Family Promise, Beery spends a lot of time helping others by volunteering with the Kiwanis Club, Heartbeat of Lima, mentoring children at Lima City Schools, and Trinity United Methodist Church. Because of Trinity Church, Beery got connected with Family Promise and has been working with them for the past 9 and half years to continue their mission of helping displaced families.
"We give them shelter, we give them support. We give them Christian love. We feed them. We help them secure employment. We get the kids in school. We help clothe them if they need that, get them medical care. And we just try and get them back on a good place again," commented Beery.
Executive Director, Russ Thomas, nominated beery for the award and says that she was a tremendous help to him, when he took over his job.
"So she was taking care of the fundraising efforts, pretty much entirely, so I can focus on the other things. She was fundraising for Family Promise in general. She didn't realize in the background, I was able to learn some things and get some things done. She took that load away from me that I didn't have to do so I can focus on learning," said Russ Thomas, Executive Director of Family Promise.
