Day 1 Families Fund grants $96.2 million to 32 nonprofits across the country to provide shelter for children and families in need
LAKE WORTH, Fla. – (November 17, 2021): Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending and preventing family homelessness in Palm Beach County, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—the largest grant in Adopt-A-Family’s history. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families.
“We cannot thank the Day 1 Families Fund enough for providing our agency and county with a path to a reality where all children have a safe place to sleep each night,” said Matt Constantine, CEO of Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches. “We are extremely grateful for this award and look forward to providing housing and hope to those who might not otherwise be served.”
This one-time grant will allow the Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches to significantly expand and enhance community efforts to end family homelessness in Palm Beach County through diversion, shelter and rapid re-housing initiatives. The magnitude of the grant will enable Adopt-A-Family to swiftly bring hundreds of unsheltered families with children to safety and a stable housing solution.
Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by an independent advisory board comprised of homelessness experts with experience in policy, advocacy, racial equity, child welfare and housing and service delivery, as well as firsthand experience in homelessness.
This year, the Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $96.2 million in grants to 32 organizations across the country. The 2021 Day 1 Families Fund grant recipients are: ACLAMO; Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches; Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.; All Chicago Making Homelessness History; AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement); Building Changes and Africatown International; Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa; Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; Covenant House Alaska; Destination: Home; Doorways; Family Life Center; Family Service League; Friends of the Family; Homeless Action Network of Detroit; Homeward; LifeMoves; Lubbock Open Door; Mesilla Valley Community of Hope; Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services; Mississippi United to End Homelessness; Newcap, Inc.; Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA); Portland Homeless Family Solutions; Project Community Connections, Inc.; Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP); Sacramento Steps Forward; SHELTER, Inc.; Texas Homeless Network; The Link; Tri-County Community Action Agency, Inc.; and Union Station Homeless Services.
The Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing non-profits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, non-profit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has issued 130 grants totaling more than $398 million to organizations around the country working to combat homelessness and help families gain housing support and stability. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.
About Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches
Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches’ mission is to support families with children in their efforts to achieve stability and self-sufficiency by providing access to all-encompassing services. The organization is dedicated to providing programs, services, and solutions to families experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. To achieve its mission, the agency provides an emergency shelter, 112 housing units, rental assistance, case management, afterschool care for elementary school students, mental health services, and job coaching. To learn more about the work that Adopt-A-Family does in Palm Beach County, please visit www.adoptafamilypbc.org or contact (561) 253-1361.