"This is the Indianapolis Police Department. We have an 8 year old boy who is homeless and we understand you might have a safe place for him." "Yes" was the answer. Little Bobby was taken into a safe environment, given food, friendship and unconditional love."
595 children later, (as of 7/15/2011) the two soccer moms who were at the start of this movement are still in the thick of things. Things being the lives of families that have little or no safety net to help them through their crises.
Krista Davis and Diane Palma are the soccer moms.
Both have families and other interests that could keep them occupied, entertained and otherwise fully consumed. Being busy or entertained is not what fires them up.
They look beyond what you and I might consider the important things of life and find fulfillment by being obedient to the call of God. They are the hands and feet of Jesus to the least of these.
One and 1/2 other full time professionals round out the professional staff of Safe Families for Children Central Indiana (SFFC). They lead a volunteer team of over 150 families that volunteer to open their homes to the children that come to SFFC. These volunteer host families are motivated by compassion for children. They assume 100% of all expenses. They receive a lot of support from the SFFC staff, but no financial support.
9,000 volunteer days is a rough estimate of the value of the SFFC volunteer team. What if these children had become part of the Department of Child Services program? We estimate a tax payer expense savings of $200,000 - $900,000.
The two soccer moms have started a movement in Central Indiana that is changing lives in ways that are beyond our ability to measure. "God knows how lives are being changed", is their response to the measurement question. If you ask the volunteer families, they will tell you that they have seen God at work in their lives.
Stay tuned. The two soccer moms have more to tell us.
Chuck Gross
President - Advisory Board
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