Corporate News

Family Promise® and Clayton® donate new home to a family who was formerly homeless

Partnership to provide Gainesville family with housing support as they give back to community

December 17, 2019

Gainesville, Fla. – December 17, 2019 – Family Promise® and Clayton® hosted a ribbon cutting event to donate a new off-site built home to a local family who experienced homelessness.


Rachael Ryan and Matthew Zovak, along with their six-year-old daughter Audree, worked their way out of homelessness with the help of Family Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families thrive through job training, career building and housing retention. Rachael and Matthew worked with the organization to find jobs, improve their lives and start giving back to their Gainesville community. Today, Rachael works as a housing advocate for single people experiencing homelessness. Matthew works as a car mechanic and donates his time to help repair cars at the Gainesville Family Promise shelter.


“It is truly an honor to join Family Promise in donating this new home to Rachael, Matthew and Audree,” said Susan Brown, director of philanthropy for Clayton. “We believe in the Family Promise mission of helping people improve their lives. This family is such an inspiring example of what we are capable of achieving when we work together.”


The home donation is part of a larger partnership between Family Promise and Clayton called A Future Begins at Home, which works toward helping end and prevent family homelessness. Family Promise and Clayton believe that helping this family – and others like them – brings us one step closer to becoming a nation in which every family has a home, a livelihood and the chance to build a better future.


“We are so excited that this deserving family is stepping into a new home they can call their own,” said Jayne Moraski for Family Promise of Gainesville, Fla. “With Clayton, we are creating long-term housing solutions that will help families achieve their dreams.”


The type of off-site built home, constructed by Clayton Homes® of East Palatka, that the Ryan-Zovak family received offers a solution for many people and families looking for a beautiful, attainable home. Today’s affordable housing crisis continues to steepen across the U.S., making the dream of homeownership out of reach for many. As the cost of traditional housing continues to grow, off-site built homes (also known as manufactured homes) offer a solution as a more affordable, quality housing option.


The Merritt’s new home features furniture donated by Ashley Furniture®, Belk® and organic mattresses provided by Avocado Mattress®. Other partners who helped put the finishing touches on the home include Shift Church, Uniquities Consignment Shop, Gainesville Alachua County Association of Realtors and Queen of Peace.


"The future is bright when like-minded companies are willing to do great things together,” said Laken Wilmot, Store Manager for Belk. “By aligning our companies’ talents and passions, we’ve had the opportunity to create a beautiful, inviting home for the Merritt family.”


"We're proud to partner with mission driven organizations like Family Promise,” said Bri Dekker, Sustainability Manager at Avocado Mattress. “By working hand in hand, we're able to support a noble cause, keep our gently used products in the hands of well-deserving individuals and create new acceptable norms within the industry.”


"Giving back is part of our company's commitment,” said Steve King of Ashley HomeStore®. “Our team is honored to be part of creating a forever home with Ashley HomeStore’s furniture donation for Aubree and her parents.”


About Clayton
Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness® through homeownership. As a diverse builder committed to quality and durability, Clayton offers traditional site-built homes and off-site built housing – including modular homes, manufactured homes, CrossMod® homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments. All Clayton Built® homes are proudly designed and constructed in America. In 2022, Clayton built 62,620 homes across the country. Clayton is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.
*CrossMod is a registered trademark of the Manufactured Housing Institute. *


About Family Promise
Family Promise envisions a nation in which every family has a home, a livelihood, and the chance to build a better future. What began as a local initiative in Summit, NJ, has become a national movement that involves 200,000 volunteers and served more than 111,000 family members in 2019. Family Promise will change the future for 1 million children by 2030. For more information visit FamilyPromise.org.