Family Promise of Beaufort County Shines the Spotlight on Joyce Emmett

As a volunteer driven organization, we are shining the spotlight each month on one of our dedicated volunteers who are the heart of Family Promise. They work tirelessly and greatly deserve our thanks and recognition!

In May, we shine the Volunteer Spotlight on Joyce Emmett, one of three Family Promise support coordinators for All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head.  Joyce and her husband, Rich, moved to the Island in 2013. Since then, she has been involved with All Saints and Family Promise.

Joyce says working with the Family Promise guests is extremely rewarding.  “My professional background has provided me the skills to assess quality community services.  Having volunteered for almost six years with Family Promise, I can attest to the outstanding job this organization does to help homeless families by providing shelter, counseling, job-seeking skills and goal-setting strategies to enable families to live independently.”   

Joyce co-coordinates with Dana Guazzo and Brenda Hand and together these three ladies organize the volunteers who assist at Christ Lutheran Church which is the Host Congregation and also on Hilton Head. They decide who will be dinner hosts and overnight hosts and who will oversee set up and take down.  “We also take turns being greeters. It’s a great team!” Joyce says.

“What I enjoy most about my involvement is meeting the families that come to our congregation. I have learned so much from the parents and their children about setting goals and pursuing them despite being without a permanent home,” Joyce says. “Their hard work is encouraging and I am often amazed at their accomplishments.”

In addition to her Family Promise work at the congregation, Joyce has served on the vestry and just completed a year as senior warden.  As the Rector at All Saints recently retired, Joyce also serves on the Search Committee. She is involved in numerous community outreach efforts and is a member of the League of Women Voters, serving on the Education and Voter Registration Committees. She is a member of the Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island where she participates in a book club, cooking classes and a variety of other activities.  

Originally from Connecticut, where she grew up and spent much of her life, Joyce is a retired educator. She began her career as a high school special education teacher, served as a building administrator and eventually became a central office administrator. Her responsibilities included overseeing special education programs for children from preschool through high school, as well as alternative programs for children who needed something different from the traditional school.

Joyce and Rich, who live in Port Royal Plantation, have two grown children. Their son, Gregory, and his wife, Regina, live outside of Philadelphia with their two children, Clare and Jack. Their daughter, Lauren, and her husband, Andrew, currently live in Brooklyn, but will soon move to northern New Jersey. Joyce enjoys heading north often to visit with family and friends.

Joyce gives graciously of her time and talents. It is because of dedicated people like her that Family Promise continues to meet the needs of homeless children and their families.  Many, many thanks!