Thanksgiving Day dinner that Partners for Families provided for homeless residents at the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center, State Hospital grounds.
Every workday Brian Akamine wakes up at 5:00am in the morning, has his morning coffee and devotional reading, checks his Facebook and emails before he begins his work day as both a part-time school bus driver for Upper Merion School District and role as Executive Director for Partners for Families www.partnersforfamilies.com in Norristown, PA.
He is someone dedicated to his community and serves sacrificially without need for recognition. His life has its challenges making ends meet, while working multiple jobs to support his family he tirelessly stays committed to helping those less fortunate in Norristown through Partners for Families, a non-profit ministry of the Norristown Ministerium whose goal is to Partner for Families to help unify the communitys many churches, human services, county and municipal agencies around the common mission of serving Norristown families.
Brian is a devoted husband of 15 years to Tracey Dale Akamine and a father of two daughters Hannah & Emiko and Norristown residents. As a licensed minister he was founding pastor of Hope Chapel in Norristown, served as a staff pastor at Fairview Village Church of the Nazarene, and was former Vice President of Greater Norristown Area Ministerium organizing community-wide outreach events connecting families to local agencies, raising donations for Katrina victims, providing long term recovery leadership for displaced fire victims and mobilizing volunteers to serve in community clean-ups, Thanksgiving day dinners for the homeless and organizing Christmas gift donations for low-income teen-age mothers and families.
Group photo taken in front of ACLAMO in Norristown as Chair of Weed & Seed Steering Committee, providing a community tour with members
Brian has continued to support his community by way of volunteering for many organizations and community programs. He and his wife Tracey delivered hot meals to homebound seniors for Meals on Wheels, served as former members of the Montgomery County Youth Aid Panel helping Norristown juvenile offenders, he also served as board president for the Hospitality Center, a Norristown Homeless Shelter providing leadership and guiding the organization toward fiscal health through tough economic times. He also served as Chairman of the Norristown Weed & Seed Steering Committee, a State sponsored community-driven Crime Prevention Community Development program. He currently serves on the board of the Center of Culture, Arts, Training & Education an emerging Latino non-profit organization and the Montgomery County Latino Collaborative.
He earned his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Ministry & Leadership from Vanguard University of Southern California. Some of his personal interest includes enjoying spending time with his family, surfing, reading, music, swimming, hiking and traveling.
Post-fire victim reunion luncheon to bring displaced families that Brian helped facilitate community connections to resource families affected by fire.
Partners for Families Background www.partnersforfamilies.com United Way Agency code #10539
PFF has a proven track-record as a respected faith-based organizational leader to effectively attract, connect and resource families to existing community resources through innovative collaboration & partnerships. As a catalyst, PFF has established a positive reputation as a bridge-building volunteer connector through its extensive network of community partners in both private and public sectors. In addition, PFF has developed deep trusting relationships with Latino leaders and community organizations that have organized to facilitate better communication between community resources and non-English speaking clients. Through these partnerships, PFF achieves what no organization can do on its own by providing a diverse network of supportive resources and targeted programming to reach children, youth and families through our community faith-based network and multi-purpose facilities strategically located on the Main St. corridor.
PFFs mission is two-fold: first, to be a catalyst to connect community and faith-based resources by bridge-building to help unify the communitys many churches, service agencies, County and Municipal services around the common mission of serving Norristown families. Second, to use its multi-purpose facilities to host community education workshops, life-skills programs, recreational activities, cultural & performing arts and leadership development training with the goal of transforming hearts, families and communities…one person at a time. Consider becoming a monthly financial partner or donate a one-time tax-deductible gift by going online at www.partnershipforfamilies.com
Check out our 2010 Year in Review at http://animoto.com/play/BHLLRFM8GQvXShofjO0ETA#
