About Us

History
Family Partnership was founded in November 2005 as an outreach program of the Mission Committee of The Presbyterian Church of Traverse City. A Board of Directors was established March 1, 2007. It quickly became ecumenical in nature and multiple churches are currently represented.

Mission
"Building mentoring partnerships between the faith community and low-resource individuals to address the issues of poverty in our region."

Vision
The vision of Family Partnership is "a mentor for every qualified family that wants one."

Core Values
The integrity of Family Partnership Program rests on a foundation consisting of the following core principles. These principles, many of which have been adapted from the Habitat for Humanity model, are:

• Family Partnership is a Christian, interfaith organization that has no allegiance to a particular denomination or theology. All people are welcome to participate regardless of religious background or preference.
• Family Partnership provides opportunities to put Christian faith and love in action but does not direct how or to what extent a mentor should witness to his or her faith.
• Individuals and families are accepted for mentoring without regard for their faith connection or lack of connection and will not be expected to abandon or acquire new religious beliefs or practices.
• The intended role of a mentor is to: (1) foster an environment of mutual friendship, trust and respect, (2) help the family set realistic goals and (3) help the family make choices that can lead to an improved quality of life.
• Partnership confers equality. Each partner has responsibilities clearly stated in our partnership agreement.
• Mentors help steer partner families to organizations that provide emergency assistance in the form of cash or material assets, but Family Partnership does not provide such assistance because charity can destroy the equality that makes a partnership work.
• Family Partnership will not attempt to replace or take over existing community resources or hinder any support currently provided by another program.