Historical Background

In 1992, Cheryl Honey was struggling to make ends meet as a mother with four children. When she asked for help from local agencies, she felt treated like she was broken and needed to be fixed. She wasn't broken, she had plenty of skills and assets. She gathered a group of neighbors together at a local elementary school and created a way for people to connect, share resources and care about one another. They gathered weekly and learned about topics and issues impacting their lives and community. The families helped each other out, organized social and recreational activities, volunteered at local agencies and spearheaded community improvement initiatives. Over time they felt like an extended family and referred to this phenomenon as a "village effect."  

In 1993, the group formed the Family Support Network, a non-profit organization, and began recruiting Good Neighbor volunteers and training Family Advocates who provided one on one peer support to those needing assistance. The capacity of the FSN grew as more volunteers pooled their resources using web-based technology, developed by Max Stalnaker, a VolunteerMatch volunteer. This technology gives people from all aspects of the community access to a myriad of resources to pursue their passions, meet their own needs and serve others.  

Ms. Honey has volunteered for over a decade and has moved from a Welfare Mother to Pioneer of Community Weaving. Community Weaving is a volunteer mobilization strategy that engages citizens to take responsibility for what they care about and spark village effects in communities.  The Seattle Times featured the Family Support Network on two front page stories. The first ran on March 2, 1996, entitled, "A substitution for welfare? Volunteer help a better way?" and the second, "Bothell volunteer grew her group into 800 pairs of helping hands," ran on February 8, 1997. Two years later, the Lifetime channel featured the Family Support Network on the New Attitudes program that brought national attention to this extraordinary community building effort.  

From its inception, the Family Support Network has been supported by volunteers and private contributions. Ms. Honey trains Community Weavers how to start-up Family Support Networks in churches, schools, organizations and businesses. Community Weavers (CW) are part of an International CW Network and are respected leaders and advocates in their communities. Community Weaving is featured in the Change Handbook, 2nd Edition. Ms. Honey continues to volunteer in her community and has devoted her life to helping others create their own Family Support Networks.  

The rest of the story
Cheryl Honey's Bio