Family Promise at Bay Life
18% of Hillsborough County’s homeless population are families that generally have to be split up when going to a typical shelter. Family Promise is a national organization that successfully helps homeless and at-risk families get back on their feet. Family Promise is committed to empowering homeless families to obtain sustainable housing and lasting independence by partnering with area Christian congregations and local resources.
How It Works:
First time volunteering with Family Promise? Contact so that we can review responsibilities of volunteers and guidelines for volunteering.
Bay Life hosts families in this program for 7 days approximately every 9 weeks. When we do so, we need volunteers throughout the week to help provide a caring and nurturing environment for these families. Please see the specific volunteer jobs below:
- Set Up (Sunday@12:30pm)/Tear Down (Sunday@7:30am): These behind-the-scenes volunteers set up the Student Center as the temporary home for these families. This job requires the ability to move medium-weight pieces of furniture. At the end of the week, volunteers come in to make sure everything is set back and ready for children’s ministry on Sunday morning.
- Dinner Volunteers (5:45pm): These volunteers provide dinner for the families and volunteers (up to 20 people). Volunteers sign up for one or several nights of the week and often enlist their friends, family, or Life Group members to help them. Meals are to be ready to serve at Bay Life by 5:45pm each evening.
- Evening Hosts (5:30pm-9:00pm): Each evening, we enlist volunteers to be at the Student Center with the families. These hosts have the option of helping children with their homework, playing games with the families, or just socializing with the parents.
- Overnight Hosts (9:00pm-6:00 or 7:00am): Bring a pillow and some twin sheets with you and sleep overnight at the Student Center. These volunteers are here mainly to make sure all is well throughout the night. In the morning, hosts will make coffee and put out breakfast items for the guests.
- Breakfast (Saturday@7:00am): Provide a warm breakfast for the guests on Saturday morning. Breakfast can be cooked at home and then brought in or volunteers can bring a griddle and supplies to the Student Center to cook breakfast on-site.
- Laundry: After the host week, a volunteer takes the sheets and towels home to be washed and folded, then returned before the next host week.
Sign Up to Volunteer
Our next week with Family Promise will be September 24 - October 1, 2023. The volunteer sign up will be posted around the beginning of August. If you have never served with Family Promise before, please send us an email at to get started!