The Village is Here and This Race is for You
Fundraising, they say, is a way of announcing our vision to the world - and inviting others into it. My vision, as Executive Director of The Faine House, Inc., is for every child and young adult to have a home and be equipped and empowered to live a life of joy and stability. And YOU, my friends, and family, are invited into this vision.
Before working for The Faine House, when Barrett and I went through five years of struggling to have our second child in 2011, I continued praying for the world to somehow connect me with "a teenager who needs a home." She came. Her name is Jessica. I won't share the details of her past here, but she is a talented young woman who more than anything, needed safety, reliable adults, and unconditional love. Without knowing where the adventure would take us, we welcomed Jessica into our two-hundred-year-old red farmhouse on a cold, December night. As of today, eight years later, Jessica has written her own story, earning a BA in music education from Buffalo State, a much-desired spot in the prestigious Marine Corps Band for voice and flute, marriage, and now a BS in chemical engineering. Her story is beautiful, powerful, and unique, but could have remained a distant dream of hers without the community surrounding Barrett and me. Jessica lived with us, but someone else brought her prom dress shopping; Someone else taught her to drive; Another bought clothes and college supplies.
Good, hope, miracles, and dreams coming true take the whole village.The Faine House, a nonprofit begun ten years ago, is a village of caring community members surrounding young adults bravely facing homelessness, instability, fear, & lack of resources. With families in complete turmoil, where addictions and poverty replace guidance and love, this village shows up.
I invite you - be a part of this village surrounding young adults in unconditional love, acceptance, truth, and hope. Be a part of this village bringing back dignity and saying "no more" to long days and nights spent in a shelter, on a cot, wearing the same clothes as yesterday and the day before, begging for food, and looking for love.
Today, my family is hosting another young adult who called me about two months ago, feeling at a loss and humiliated about having to call. "Annette, I have nowhere to go. Nowhere." My eyes welled up with tears as I listened quietly to her story. Again, I will not share the details here. Since she was 11, Aubrey has been fighting for safety, belonging, love, and reliable adults who do not just say they care, but DO. She has been deceived, let down, and left for her own. Here is what I said to her in that painful moment, "Aubrey, the fact that you called, that you did not let yourself fall to the street - to drug-dealing or to whatever else you could have done - is telling of your stamina and perseverance." I offered an affirmation, not a judgment, towards her asking for help. She did not want to fail. As tired and lonely as she was, she still believed that somehow, she could end up ok.
My family surrounded Aubrey.
Jessica called her from Japan to tell her not to be embarrassed, "Let Annette & Barrett love you," she said. My eight-year-old daughter loved Aubrey before meeting her, volunteering to share her room and clearing her toys for Aubrey's clothes and art supplies, "I can't wait for Aubrey to come," she said. My daughter was teaching me, about generosity and hospitality, despite its discomfort. Leah never asked, "Why are we doing this Mommy?" She just knew. We do it, and others do it because they CAN. Because in our corner of the world, where we are privileged, fed, stable, and have mighty hope in our hearts and souls, we move our toys, make space for the vulnerable, and risk love, simply, because we CAN.
After we surrounded her, the village surrounded her:
Love, gifts, and people from The Faine House community started showing up. Despite a pandemic, we met in coffee shops, hugged, and shared tears and inspiration.
The village had not met her, but empathy and compassion do not wait to know or understand - they boldly act on what is right and what will give life and love.
Thanks to The Faine House village, Aubrey will be moving into an apartment with all she needs.
She may never meet her own dad, but she has met grace.
She may never run a marathon, yet she has lived with perseverance. The village surrounded her. Her audacity got us to show up.
I invite you to be a part of this growing village of believers.
Let's give, love, and believe in those audacious young adults refusing to give in.
I invite you to do for them what you have done or would do, for your own. With The Faine House village, you will help launch young adults into college. You will help someone with nothing feel like they have everything.
And you will bring tears of joy to souls once feeling alone and helpless.
All of us at The Faine House invite you to give, run/walk, start a team, shout on social media you are raising excitement and dollars, and most of all, to never let go of HOPE. Our Faine House Run for Hope 5k honors, celebrates, and supports all Central Florida young adults with nowhere to go.
The village is here and this race is for you.
ANNETTE'S TEAM NAME:
RUN THE MILES. THEN DRINK THE COFFEE.
TEAM GOAL:
$5,000
REGISTER HERE:
This event has an in-person or virtual option. Read about our Covid protocol on the website. Please reach out to Annette to join her team - virtually or in-person!
Sincerely,
Annette
Executive Director
The Faine House, Inc.
407.608.2098
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