Dear Family House Community,
As this is my last year working at Family House, I took a
moment to reflect on the time I’ve spent here. My history with Family House
began when a dear friend, who was a Weekend Manager at the time, told me about
Family House when we were having classes together at San Francisco State
University in 2006. She told me Family House was a very special organization I
would like to be a part of. As she was moving to Paris, she suggested for me to
apply for her part-time positon. Since I already had a hospitality background,
I decided to give it a try. It was Paul Goold and Kent Smith who gave the tour
and interview. I was amazed at the broad population of people Family House
helped and the distances they traveled. Family House was welcoming, warm, and
clean. The families knew Paul and Kent intimately like they were part of the
family themselves. When they offered me the position I didn’t think twice to
say, “YES.”
I began working as a Weekend Manager - giving orientations
to families, working with the social workers at UCSF, managing room turnover, as
well as being on-call for the families one weekend a month. The more I people I
met, the more I wanted to be at Family House. It was such a special place where
families were able to get the help they needed, no matter what it might be. In
the process, I had the pleasure of meeting CEO Alexandra Morgan, when she
stopped by on the weekends. As you could imagine, she and I got along right off
the bat! She would tell me, “Greg! We need to keep you somehow.” Soon after, in
2008, Debbie Bosetti called to offer me the job of Volunteer Coordinator. I
couldn’t believe I was given the chance to be a Family House full-time.
Since then, I have had the pleasure of being the conduit
between the communities who want to help and our families who need it the most.
I have been able to create programming that nurtures a supportive and welcoming
environment for all the families who stay with us.
Thank you to all our corporate partners, community leaders,
local students, and past families who have done everything possible to ensure that
families at Family House feel supported and cared for.
After 9 years of being a part of this wonderful organization,
I have made the decision to move on and establish roots for my future family in
Costa Rica. Being of Costa Rican decent, I’ve spent most of my life traveling
to Costa Rica to visit my family who still live there. I have always dreamt
of living there and seeing them on a regular basis. My wife and I decided to
move there for a while to live, work, and buy a home that we can come back to with our future
family one day.
In the 13 years I have spent in San Francisco, I’ve created a
community I am truly grateful for. In that time, the most meaningful community
I have been a part of is the one a Family House. Thank you for all the love and
encouragement you have given me throughout the years. I am honored to have been
a part of an organization that strives for nothing but the best for all the
families it serves.
I am pleased to announce that Karen Banks will be taking my
place as Director of Volunteer Programs. Throughout the time I have worked with her in our Volunteer Program, Karen has shown an abundance of compassion and hard
work. I am confident that Family
House’s Volunteer Program will continue to grow and succeed under Karen’s
leadership.
With love and admiration for the community that has helped
us throughout the years, thank you.
Greg Mora
To learn about volunteering at Family House, visit http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html
