Skip to content
Donate Now



 

 

Adopt-A-Family Celebrates 40 Years

 

In 1983, three Palm Beach County women heard a radio story about a family of four who had become homeless after exhausting their savings on medical bills. Determined to help the family get back on their feet, the women recruited members of the community to “adopt” the family and support them until they regained stability.

In the forty years that have elapsed since that first family was served, Adopt-A-Family has had the honor of working with nearly 60,000 local families in need of a stable place to call home.

At Adopt-A-Family’s 2023 Annual Meeting in September, CEO Matt Constantine chronicled our four decades of operation by sharing the sharing a timeline of agency highlights and accomplishments in 5-year blocks.

 

1983:

  • Lucy Runyon, Jayne Ellison, and Kay Mansolil heard about a family who became homeless and was forced to take shelter under the Royal Palm Bridge.
  • The three women rallied the community to assist the family, finding them an affordable home, helping secure employment, and ultimately, helping them reclaim their dignity.
  • With a desire to help more families facing similar challenges, Adopt-A-Family was born.

1983 – 1988

  • Adopt-A-Family (AAF) incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity in 1984.
  • The agency “adopted” families by matching donors with households in crisis.
  • AAF’s first major fundraiser was held, our first annual Tree Lighting Celebration
  • The agency moved into our first corporate office at A.G. Holley Hospital in Lantana.
  • By the end of 1988, we had served 351 families.

 

1989 – 1994:

  • The agency headquarters was moved to Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach.
  • Project SAFE and Project Grow began.
  • AAF hosted our first Santa Shoppe and golf tournament, traditions that continue to this day.
  • The agency was featured on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, highlighting the story of a family who fell on hard times, and AAF was helping them get back on their feet.
  • By the end of 1994, Adopt-A-Family had served 2,508 families.

 

1995 – 2000:

  • Two apartment complexes in Lake Worth were acquired which increased the agency’s impact:
    • Lucerne Gardens Apartments, a 32-unit complex that is now known as Project SAFE.
    • A 24-unit complex that still operates today as Service Enriched Housing.
  • Adopt-A-Family’s campus setting was born.
  • By the end of 2000, Adopt-A-Family had served 10,090 families.

 

2001 – 2006:

  • In 2003, the agency headquarters was built in Lake Worth, home to Project Grow and the agency’s case workers and administrative staff.
  • A second office in Lake Park was the homebase of our homeless prevention program.
  • After serving as Adopt-A-Family’s fearless and dedicated CEO for over two decades, Terry Bozarth retired, and Wendy Tippett was named the agency’s second CEO.
  • By the end of 2006, Adopt-A-Family had served 21,996 families.

 

2007 – 2012:

  • Adopt-A- Family was asked to serve as the lead family entity in the newly opened HRC.
  • We completed construction on our 9-unit Wiley Reynolds Gardens Apartments, introducing three-bedroom units to AAF for the first time.
  • As part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program consortium, the agency acquired 41 units of housing in Lake Worth, selling 17 and maintaining 24 for affordable rentals.
  • By the end of 2012, Adopt-A-Family had served 39,296 families.

 

2013 – 2018:

  • The Project Grow playground was reimagined with turf, a playground, and a basketball court.
  • Property adjacent to our campus, the future site of Julian Place, was purchased.
  • After over 20 years of service and visionary leadership, Wendy Tippett left the agency and went on to take a leadership role within Palm Beach County. Matt Constantine was named CEO.
  • By the end of 2018, Adopt-A-Family had served 51,722 families.

 

2019 – Today:

  • Julian Place townhomes received its certificate of occupancy and 14 families moved in.
  • AAF received a $5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund, allowing us to find creative ways to serve more families experiencing homelessness.
  • New positions were created to provide much needed support services to our families – our Job Coach, Youth Success Coach, and Volunteer and Community Impact Coordinator were hired.
  • From 1983 to today, Adopt-A-Family has served 58,751 families.

 

Today, the agency serves over 1,200 families each year through a range of programs and services that include 112 units of housing, a 19-unit emergency shelter, dynamic afterschool programming for elementary school students and teenagers, and diversion and rapid re-housing interventions for families experiencing homelessness. Additionally, we offer a robust Homeless Prevention Program, a financial assistance program that carries on the model designed by our three founders.  All agency programs are accompanied by case management and access to support services which include mental health therapy, job coaching, and financial literacy training.

To mark the 40-year milestone at Adopt-A-Family, we hired Apex Productions to document the agency’s beginnings and growth, and to acknowledge the early pioneers who placed Adopt-A-Family on a path to impacting thousands of families throughout Palm Beach County.

The video features the agency’s three incredible Executive Directors, Terry Bozarth, Wendy Tippett, and Matt Constantine, each one leading the agency to new heights during their tenure. It also features two of the agency’s most dedicated volunteers and former board members, Chris Oberlink and Alice Tarone.

 

In this season of gratitude, we extend our sincere thanks to every member of our community of supporters who has walked beside us during the last forty years. We are immeasurably grateful for your dedication, trust, generosity, commitment, and community spirit. The agency’s growth and impact are only because of the incredible partners who believe in our mission.

To the families we serve, thank you. It has been an honor to be a part of your journey.