Not every donor is in a position to offer especially large donations, and that’s fine—it’s the multitudes of kind-hearted individuals who give what they can that form the backbone of all that JAMM does.

But if you have the means, perhaps you want to go further than a simple contribution to our donation funds. For those generous souls who want to do more, we’ve set up the Sponsor a Family program, through which you can become a Gold-, Silver-, or Bronze-Level Sponsor. Or maybe you’re contributing in a group, as part of a church or other organization—this program is also perfect for a church group, neighborhood association, or other small group looking to pool its efforts.

At its base, the Sponsor a Family program offers many of the same services already provided by our Single Parent Support Programs. The difference lies both in the structure of how these services are funded, and in the additional personal connection the donor gets to enjoy with the family they sponsor.

– JAMM Rental/Mortgage Assistance Scholarship Program

– JAMM Childcare Assistance Scholarship Program

– JAMM “Back to Basics” Program

The “Back to Basics” Program, as the name suggests, offers assistance dealing with the most basic expenses. Recipients receive gift cards every month to help pay for daily necessities, in particular food and gas. The “Back to Basics” Program provides the lowest monetary value in monthly support, lasts six months compared to twelve like the other two programs, and is the only one that provides recipients gift cards rather than disbursing funds directly to families for them to make payments themselves. This is the program for the single parent that only needs the bare minimum of assistance—just a bit of help keeping food on the table and gas in the tank.

The Rental/Mortgage Assistance Scholarship Program and Childcare Assistance Scholarship Program, by contrast, are more involved. They pay out more money, last a year instead of six months, and are targeted toward helping parents afford housing and childcare.

To understand the structure of the Sponsor a Family program’s model for distributing aid, it’s best to start with the financial support that JAMM provides families through our Single Parent Support Programs (hyperlink).

The Scholarship Programs we offer for housing and childcare assistance are split into three levels.  Families either receive $200 per month for 1 year ($2,400 total), $300 per month for 1 year ($3,600 total) or $400 per month for 1 year ($4,800 total). The amounts given to the recipients are based on JAMM’s assessment of the individual family’s needs. All families supported by JAMM are in hard circumstances, but the families in more need would get the higher amounts.

So, the Sponsor a Family program is also divided into three levels of support, and these three tier levels tie directly into the scholarship amounts given above.  A Gold-Level Sponsor contributing $4,800 will be covering the cost for a family to receive the highest scholarship amount available ($400 per month for a year). A Silver-Level Sponsor and Bronze-Level Sponsor then correspond to the totals for a family receiving $300 and $200 per month, respectively.

In effect, a Family Sponsor subsidizes the entire cost of a family’s enrollment in one of the support programs, rather than chipping in with a smaller fraction of the cost by contributing to the donation pool that generally funds these programs.

As a Family Sponsor, you will be provided information about the family you’re helping support, such as family size, ages of the children, and vocation of the single parent being supported by the program. But of course, JAMM will limit the type of information provided in order to respect the privacy of the families being supported.

As an example, we might send you a letter that includes information like this:

“With your generous donation, JAMM Family Support, Inc. was able to support a single mother of three children from Fox Lake, IL who works 45 hours a week as a server in the restaurant industry.  The mother has two boys (ages 9 & 7) and one girl (age 5).  The oldest boy likes to play baseball and soccer, and his favorite animal is a lion. The younger boy…”

Updates like this will give you a glimpse into the life of the family you’re helping support, and help you see the tangible good that’s being done with your donation. Real families, getting real help.