Family Promise plans day-care open house, soup cook-off

STAFF REPORT

GIRARD — Family Promise of Mahoning Valley Inc. will have an open house from noon to 3 p.m. May 23 for its day-care center at First United Methodist Church, 22 N. Market St.

The event also will feature a soup cook-off with competitions in three categories — professional, nonprofessional and clergy — with celebrity judges.

There is an admission fee for the soup event — $10 for adults and $5 for children for all the soup you can eat.

Family Promise is a program that helps families in crisis by providing housing and hospitality. Participants are Howland Community Church, Howland United Methodist Church, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Central Christian Church, Christ Episcopal Church and Seventh-day Adventist Church, all in Warren; First Christian Church and First United Methodist Church, both in Niles; and First United Methodist Church of Girard.

Families will rotate weekly among the churches for accommodations and meals. During the day, there will be transportation to the day center, where they will work with a caseworker to find jobs, housing and other services. The program is projected to begin in June.

For information, contact the Rev. Dr. Brian Byrne at (330) 856-3628. For information about the soup cook-off, call Patty DiGiancobbe at (330) 219-3511, or visit the Web site at www.familypromisemy.org/events.html.