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From The Founder

Some issues are hard to ignore, especially when they keep moving into your heart and home. For my husband, Steve and me, the issue we can’t ignore is children and young adults without stable, trustworthy family. In 2007, when we first entered the foster care/adoption world, we were a small family with one biological daughter. Our reasons for adopting were simple: we wanted to add to our family and our daughter, Kristan, wanted a sister. We had no idea how much our lives were about to change.

Today, we have eight young women who call us mom and dad. They are each unique individuals with beauty, purpose and potential. But they didn’t always believe that about themselves. Six of our daughters have entered our lives between the ages of 11 and 18; each have faced more rejection, abuse and neglect in their lives than any person should. Their stories are heartbreaking.

Through our family’s journey, we’ve discovered a burning passion in our hearts for youth and young adults who have no one to belong to. We’ve experienced first-hand the power of belonging. The simple things like calling home for a recipe, having someone to call when you’ve gotten a speeding ticket, knowing that there’s someone in this world who knows what your favorite meal is and will cook it for you…. every child deserves those things.

The issue of youth and young adults without anyone in their life to lead them, love them, guide them and believe in them is real. We know, it’s moved into our home seven times over and we’re eternally grateful.

Connections Homes is about belonging. Our sons and our daughters deserve to belong to someone – forever.

We can’t tell you how much we appreciate each of you that have said “Yes!” to joining us in this journey. Together, we’re going to change lives forever. We wouldn’t want to do it alongside anyone else.

God Bless You!

Pam Parish
Connections Homes
Founder & CEO

Pam Parish

Founder & CEO

Our Family

Board of Directors

Joe Thomas, Jr.

Board Chair

President & Managing Member
Five Star Realty Partners, LLC

Robyn Smith

Vice-Chair

Executive Vice President of Human Resources
Jackson Healthcare

Julia Amendola

Treasurer

CPA & Firm Manager
Worth & Associates

Linda Burns

Secretary

Lifestyle Consultant

Casey Deyton

Director

Senior Director
Philanthropic Financial Services, Chick-fil-a Corporate

Pam Parish

Director

Founder & CEO
Connections Homes

Henry Jackson

Director

Senior Vice President
Buckner Children & Family Services

Paige Barry

Director

VP, Customer Solutions
DefenseStorm

National Advisory Council

Lynn Johnson

Former Assistant Secretary
U.S. Administration of Children & Families

Joshua Christian Oswald

Child Welfare Advocate & Foster Care Alumni

Bob Caldwell, Jr.

President
Grace Management Group

Tony Mitchell

Chief Operating Officer
Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO)

Tom Rawlings

Principal
Child Welfare & Justice Transformation

Nathan Gooden

CFO
Amazon’s Echo/Alexa Division

Dan Reed

Partner
Praxis Capital

Chrissy Strohmeyer

Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Sourced

Our Team

Founder & CEO

Pam Parish

Pam Parish is the founder and chief executive officer of Connections Homes an organization birthed out of her personal story as a mom to eight daughters (all currently between the ages of 22 - 26)—one birth daughter and seven adopted daughters from various circumstances (foster care, aging out of foster care, adoption disruption, trafficking, and homelessness). She has more than 10 years of experience in foster care, trauma-informed care, and crisis parenting. She is also the author of three devotional-style books used worldwide as a standard for helping families prepare for foster care and adoption (Ready or Not, released in 2012), to “stay in the game” when they are tired and worn out (Battle-Weary Parents, released in 2015), and to understand the importance of the gift they can be in a child’s life who has no one (The Gift, released in 2018). Pam is a wife to her high school sweetheart, Steve. They are the parents and grandparents of eight young adult daughters, three sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. They live on a small 12-acre farm just outside of Atlanta where all of their free time is spent with animals, in gardens, and around the firepit.
Executive Director of CH Texas

Janna Gardner

Janna R. Gardner, RN, COHN-R serves as the Executive Director for Connections Homes Dallas an organization that empowers youth without a family to thrive in life and impact the world from the security of a healthy connection. Janna comes from a healthcare background where she founded and grew a nonprofit healthcare ministry to an annual revenue of over 10m in fourteen years. She has been a youth advocate for decades and has lobbied at the state and national level for youth health care access. Additionally, she has supported youth by directly providing access to much needed healthcare, food sustainability, and mental health services. Janna is a registered nurse and has served on various boards throughout her career which have included Louis Herrington, Baylor School of Nursing, Suntide Home Owners Association, Vickery Brain Trust, and organizations within her children's schools. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including sharing the D Magazine CEO of the Year Award with Texas Health Resources based on community collaboration, Altrusa Woman of the Year, and Nonprofit of the Year.

Our Values

Connections Homes was founded on Jesus’ words from John 14:18, “I will not leave you alone (comfortless, orphaned), I will come to you.” As an organization, we believe that no one, especially a young person whose life circumstances are no fault of their own, should be alone in life. Our values as an organization move us continually forward in finding loving, lifelong family like relationships for youth who are alone due to broken family systems.

Our values reflect our heart.

We honor God and others by demonstrating lve and compassion in all we say, do and procative as individuals and as an organization.

We empower one another to be the best version of ourselves possible in this world by sharing our experiences and tristing one another with respponsibility and ownership that leads to success.

We practice accountibility by taking ownership & respondibility for our commitments and following through with our actions.

We value relationship with other and acknowledge the omportance of maintaining good relationship through communication, togetherness and mutal respect.

We model transparency in our lives by being upfront and open about our actions, intentions and expectations.

Statement of Faith

1

About the Scriptures:

We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error. We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons (the Trinity): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; Ephesians 4:4-6) (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
2

About Jesus:

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That He became flesh to reveal God’s love to humanity and to become the Savior of the world. We believe in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His death and resurrection, and that He will someday return in power and glory to claim His bride the Church for eternity. (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4; John 1:29; Acts 1:11; Acts 2:22-24; Romans 8:34, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4; Hebrews 4:15)
3

About Humanity:

We believe that all people were created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, people are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts. (Genesis 1:27; Ezekiel 37:27; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23)
4

About Salvation:

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, God freely offers salvation to those who place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin. (Luke 24:46-47; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7)
5

About Loving People:

We believe that God created all human beings in His image, that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end. That every person should be treated with love, compassion, kindness, respect, and dignity following Christ’s example (Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10)
6

About Caring for Orphans:

We believe God has called the Church to care for at-risk and lonely children and youth who are today’s orphans. That He places youth in Mentoring Families so they can experience the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 10:14; Psalm 68:6; James 1:27)
7

About the Holy Spirit:

We believe that the Spirit of God leads people to faith in Jesus Christ. That once an individual becomes a Christian, that the Holy Spirit imparts new life to them and empowers them to live godly lives. (John 3:5- 8;Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Galatians 5:16-18; Ephesians 6:12)
8

About the Christian Life:

We believe all Christians should live for Christ and not for themselves. By obedience to the Word of God and daily surrender to the Holy Spirit, every believer should mature and be conformed to the image of Christ. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:29; Philippians 1:21)
9

About Sexuality, Marriage, and Family:

We believe God’s plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of monogamous marriage between one man and one woman. That the family unit is foundational to God’s plan for humanity, and that God has ordained marriage as its centerpiece. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9.)