Kalena bravely chose to leave an abusive relationship. She fled from Chicago to Minneapolis carrying only a single suitcase and her three-year-old daughter, Vanessa. When Kalena arrived in Minnesota, she knew no one and had no idea where to go. Miraculously, Kalena was connected to Together for Good.

When Together for Good began in Iowa in 2022, Kurt and Heather Moyer were among the first to volunteer as a host family. Over the past three years, Kurt and Heather have hosted 94 times, which amounts to 144 days!

Dalma arrived in Waco, Texas, with her 8-year-old son, Marcus, seeking asylum after having fled difficulties in Venezuela. She did not know a single person in the city, could not speak English, and had nowhere to even spend the night. To make matters more difficult, Marcus has Down Syndrome and is very high-needs. “When I arrived in this city, my situation was not easy."

When Kayla* called Together for Good, the father of her kids had just passed away and she was overwhelmed by single-parenting her three children while finishing her degree.

Too young to be a parent advocate? When Cayleen, one of Together for Good’s case managers, saw Jamie’s* application to be a TFG parent advocate come through, she wasn’t quite sure how a college student would be able to serve effectively.

When, Hannah* was abruptly told she had to leave the shelter she and her six-month-old son were staying at, she called Together for Good. With the dropping temperatures, Hannah didn’t want her son, Michael*, to spend the night outside, but she didn’t have any family or friends that she could stay with.

When Norah was kicked out of her home by her boyfriend with her four young children, she was desperate. She had no one to turn to but knew that she didn't want her children to sleep on the streets, so she called Child Protective Services (CPS).

Lisa was living in transitional housing with her three daughters when she first heard about Together for Good in Waco. Lisa reached out to our staff, hoping to receive respite care for her two youngest daughters, Anna and Olivia. Lisa was working 4 am to 9 am shifts at a shipping company six days a week to save money to sign a lease on an apartment, providing more stable housing for her family. While Lisa worked, Alexis – her teenage daughter – cared for the four and six-year

Rachelle had just been told by her OB-GYN that she would need to have a C-section this week for the health of her baby. When Rachelle shared that she had no where for her four and six-year-old sons to stay during the C-section and recovery, the hospital staff gave her TFG’s number. Jen was the TFG case manager who received the call from Rachelle. Jen quickly sent out an emergency text to our host families for a week-long hosting and received a response from a host mom named

When Shawna called Together for Good in Iowa for help, she was overwhelmed by the stress of single-parenting several children without adequate resources. Shawna had heard that TFG offered respite hostings for kids and was hoping to receive hosting services. Her children were teenagers, so we were unable to provide respite care for Shawna. However, the TFG case manager conducting the intake still wanted to extend support to Shawna and asked if she would be open to a parent adv

Molly* is a participant mom who connected with Together for Good two years ago. At that time, Molly had a baby boy, Sean*, whom she was desperate to keep. Molly had already lost older children to child protective services (CPS) due to her struggle with substances. Sean was a second chance.

When Cathy came to us, she had been given custody of her grandchildren and was overwhelmed by the demands of caring for so many kids.

When Leah was hospitalized with a severe respiratory infection in early April, the hospital called Together for Good (TFG) for care for her 4-month-old son, Michael. Leah had moved from out of state and had no family to care for her son.

On Zaira’s second day of working for Together for Good, we received a referral from a mom, Elena, who recently moved from Colombia. Elena only spoke Spanish, had no social support in Waco, and was about to deliver a baby. She had learned about TFG from another participant mom who recommended Elena use our support as she welcomed her new baby and became established in Waco.

Families quickly came around, Allison; it was their support that allowed her to keep her job.

With Xander needing a special host family who was able to keep up with his energy, it began taking a little longer than expected to find the right fit. In the meantime, Londyn was matched with a parent advocate, Debbie.

With dropping temperatures at each of our sites – even in Texas– this past month, our volunteers have been so faithful in quickly meeting our participants' urgent needs for warm clothing.