Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley, a nonprofit dedicated to serving local homeless families, hosted their first Hold ‘Em for Family Promise poker night fundraiser at Fasthouse on Saturday.
“Want to play poker … and support a good organization? It’s a no-brainer, and we’re happy to be here,” Pete Stamison said. “(Family Promise) needs as much awareness as it can get.”
Stamison said he got involved in Family Promise because of his mother, who has been active with the organization for the last five years.
“Am I going to go out and find a charity I know nothing about, or should I step up and support something that has already done so much good for so many people?” he said, he had asked himself.
Along with the poker tournament, the event included dinner and drinks, as well as prizes up to $500 given for the final table.
“Everybody is playing poker these days, all these young people, so we thought let’s have this great tournament here (at Fasthouse) with good food,” Family Promise Executive Director Roché Vermaak said.
Vermaak said the organization hopes to create various fundraisers, all with the goal of appealing to different audiences, to benefit Family Promise and allow them to continue helping homeless and low-income families in the community.
“It’s just something different to expose Family Promise to a different set of people that wouldn’t normally think of donation to a homeless shelter,” said President Lance O’Keefe, who thought of the poker night.
All proceeds from the event will go directly toward Family Promise and supporting families in need, according to Vermaak.
Family Promise’s next event will be their “Back to School” shopping day where families can come and shop for clothing, toiletries, school supplies, etc.. The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at Valencia United Methodist Church, located at 25718 McBean Parkway.
To learn more about Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley, visit familypromisescv.org or call 661-251-2868.
