Warming Ways: A Home for Every Season — Event Recap
Last week, friends, volunteers, and supporters of Family Promise of Greater Denver came together for Warming Ways: A Home for Every Season—our annual fall gathering to ensure every family in our community has a safe place to call home, no matter the weather.
We hosted it at the beautiful Blackstone Country Club in Aurora, Colorado. Together, we raised more than $70,000 for families in Greater Denver. Thank you!
For nearly three decades, Warming Ways has been a night to celebrate what this community makes our work possible. Since 1997, Family Promise of Greater Denver has walked alongside families at risk of or experiencing homelessness by offering shelter, meals, and the support they need to find lasting stability. This year, two women who know that journey firsthand reminded everyone in the room why it matters.
From guest to leader: Jeri Apodaca’s story
Our Executive Director, Jeri Apodaca, opened the evening by sharing her own story. Her story began not behind a desk, but as a parent walking through our doors looking for help.
More than 20 years ago, Jeri was a single mom of five when her family experienced homelessness. Family Promise walked alongside them with shelter, stability, and hope—support that changed the course of generations.
Today, Jeri leads the very organization that once supported her family. Her journey is living proof of what Family Promise believes: with a safe place to land and people who care, families don’t just get back on their feet—they go on to lift up others.
Read Jeri's full story → From Guest to Leader: Jeri Apodaca's Story
A child’s view of home: Jazzmine Clifton
Jeri’s daughter, Jazzmine Clifton, brought the room to a hush as she shared what it was like to experience homelessness as a child — and what it meant when Family Promise of Greater Denver opened its doors to her family.
Jazzmine talked about what it’s like to be a kid when you don’t know where home will be. What stays with her most from that time is how welcome her family felt when they arrived. She remembers the friends she made and running the halls with the other kids at the host congregation. Even in a hard season, there was room to play. She also remembers the team that stayed beside her mom, Jeri, until the family was back on solid ground.
Today, Jazzmine serves on the board of Family Promise of Greater Denver, helping lead the organization that once helped her family. Her story is a good reminder that the kids we shelter today may be the ones leading this work tomorrow.
A room full of family
Warming Ways felt like a family reunion. Every member of our staff was there, along with all but one of our current board members and many former board members who helped build this organization. Betti Krapfl, founder of Family Promise of Greater Denver, joined us, along with representatives from the host and support congregations who open their doors to families week after week.
Our auctioneer, Libby Pollack, kept the room laughing and the paddles rising all night. And the food was a hit — a big thank-you to Blackstone Country Club for a meal that had everyone going back for seconds.
Why $70,000 matters
The $770,000 raised at Warming Ways goes straight to work helping families move from housing crisis to lasting stability. And the need has never been greater.
The need in Greater Denver
In 2026, a Denver-area renter needs to earn $40.17 an hour, about $83,500 a year, to afford a two-bedroom home. That’s far more than the typical Colorado renter household earns: $67,722 a year.
Nationwide, there are only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income households.
Only 1 in 4 households eligible for federal rental assistance actually receives it, because funding is limited.
Colorado public schools identified 22,896 students experiencing unstable housing in the 2023–24 school year.
The difference your support makes
35 households were served through shelter or temporary housing in the 2025 year-to-date snapshot.
87% of households served in shelter exited to permanent or other positive housing.
100% of our board members made a financial gift, standing alongside our community.
Family Promise meets families wherever they are in a housing crisis: prevention, diversion, shelter, stabilization, and housing. Every family receives trauma-informed, dignity-centered support, powered by congregations, volunteers, and community partners.
Where we’re headed
Over the next three to five years, we plan to grow our budget by 50% to $1.5 million, so we can serve more families. This sets the stage for:
• building a team of 12 full-time staff, each paid enough to afford housing in Denver.
• keeping at least six months of operating costs in reserve.
• adding 20 new community partners who reflect the families we serve.
Thank you
To everyone who joined us, gave, volunteered, or cheered from afar: thank you. Your generosity raised over $70,000 to keep families safe and housed through the colder months ahead and beyond.
A special thank-you to our sponsors —
— and to the volunteers and host congregations whose hospitality makes this work possible every single week.
Keep the warmth going
Jeri’s and Jazzmine’s stories didn’t end the night they were shared — and neither does our work. Here’s how you can help a family find a home for every season:
Give: Every gift provides shelter, meals, and a path to stable housing. https://www.coloradogives.org/donate/family-promise-denver
Volunteer: Cook a meal, host a family, or share your skills. https://www.fpgd.org/volunteer
Share: Pass these stories along so more neighbors know help is here.
Learn more at fpgd.org or reach us at hello@fpgd.org, (303) 675-0713. Thank you for believing, with us, that every family deserves a place to call home.
Sources: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2026 (Colorado); NLIHC, The Gap 2026; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Colorado Children's Campaign, citing Colorado Department of Education data. Program figures: Family Promise of Greater Denver.
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