Good to Know: Celebrating Family Focus
By Desiree Parker Sunday, October 03, 2010
Being a parent is not an easy job. Having an organization that offers playgroups and classes where parents of young kids can get education, advice, and peer support is a huge help, and that’s exactly why Family Focus has been such a success in the area for 26 years.
About one year ago, this (now) nonprofit lost its “parent,” the Colonial Services Board, after the CSB was faced with dire budget cuts and needed to shed significant programs to keep running. One of those programs was Family Focus.In those early months when Family Focus was first set adrift to fend for itself, parents who relied on the organization’s services and believed in its goals rallied to find funding to keep the playgroups and parenting classes going. Staff worked for no pay, and parents and staff alike were working hard to find enough funds to keep the program alive.
In February, though, the clouds lifted. Five months after the CSB cut its funding, Family Focus found a new home with the Virginia Cooperative Extension and became Virginia Cooperative Extension Family Focus.
The VCE is an educational outreach program of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. Extension agents and other specialists work together as a network of educators to “bring research-based solution to the problems facing Virginians today,” according to their website.
Though the VCE doesn’t fund Family Focus, it does offer money for reimbursable grants and it offers the knowledge and support of its staff. The VCE’s vision for Family Focus is to become a model program for parenting classes in the state.
I caught up with Family Focus Managers Bee Darrow and Sheree Press to see how things are going on the one-year anniversary of their big change.
“It’s been overwhelming,” says Darrow, but she and Press are working hard to apply for grants and staff and volunteers are coordinating other fundraising, and the hard work is starting to pay off.
They have this year’s costs covered, the ladies say, and about half the funding set up for next year and some for the year afterwards. Their goal to keep things running with full programming will be to get about $175,000 each year.
One renewable grant Family Focus picked up recently is a VDSS Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Program grant for more than $59,000. They also received funding from the Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition, and for their Dads Make a Difference program they received funding from Child Development Resources.
“We’ve survived the year thanks to churches volunteering space, families continuing to attend, volunteers, and learning to write grants,” Darrow says. “The money we get dictates the services we provide, and there’s still a lot being done by volunteers, but we do what we can with what we have.”
The ladies are optimistic about the future, though, and they’re gearing up for a celebration and fundraiser in a few weeks that they’re excited about.
On October 15, Family Focus will be hosting “An Evening Under the Parachutes,” at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Yorktown. There will be a silent auction (and maybe a live auction), non-alcoholic “mocktails” and munchies, live jazz and dancing.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” says Darrow. “We’re still here! It’s our 27th year without interruption.”
Now they can continue to focus on their mission: to support and strengthen families and promote the well being of children through community-based, culturally sensitive prevention services.
For more information on Family Focus, check out their website or their Facebook page.
onations Large and Small Save Family Focus
By Amber Lester Wednesday, April 07, 2010
The Family Focus managers had set up a Web site where they could post information about how to save the program after its funding was cut in September by its fiscal agent, the Colonial Community Services Board. They were working for no pay, scrambling to raise money and the e-mail seemed too good to be true.
Its sender indicated an anonymous donor would like to learn more about Family Focus’ financial situation. Darrow thought the e-mail was a scam, like correspondence sent from dethroned princes from Nigeria. “We were afraid we’d get mixed up in a cockamamie scheme,” she says.
But she called the number, and the person who answered was a philanthropic advisor, who helps those with money find worthy recipients. The advisor, who asked to remain anonymous, made it clear an anonymous donor was familiar with the organization’s work, but had questions about whether the employees were being paid, how much money was needed and more.
Darrow and Press were stunned. “By the end of the hour conversation, we did not worry if this was a scam,” Darrow says. “It was very safe-feeling.”
At the time, money was coming in from donors in the community, but no account existed for deposits. The Virginia Cooperative Extension was negotiating with Family Focus to become its new fiscal agent (read more here), but that process wasn’t complete. The donor decided to send a check for $15,000 to start the payroll again. Darrow and Press were paid last week, for the first time since December.
Darrow and Press continue to communicate with the philanthropic advisor, who has indicated the donor plans to continue his or her support to Family Focus. They know nothing about who the donor might be, but they know the donor has a “great interest in helping women and children.” Both women admit they often imagine the donor’s identity, but may never know.
To learn how to donate to Family Focus or learn more about the organization’s work, click here.
But the anonymous donor isn’t the only reason Family Focus continues to provide its services. Both Darrow and Press say they’re grateful for every single cent contributed by a host of donors throughout the community, each with a story of his or her own.
There was the check for $1,873 from the collection plate at St. Olaf’s Church. There was the donation from a Grafton woman who attended parenting classes 25 years ago, at the beginning of Family Focus, who still counts other mothers she met as friends. One past participant donated $1,000; his workplace agreed to match 25 percent of his donation.
Several children asked for donations to Family Focus instead of birthday gifts. John Levy, a former Family Focus employee who was laid off, donated $1,000. And there were the people who tried to give cash to Darrow, who had to tell them she had nowhere to put it.
In December, toward the end of Family Focus’ time with the CSB, a man and woman dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus came to visit the parenting classes. Just before he left, Santa Claus handed Darrow a check for $300 and said to her, “Believe.”
She says she does.
No Ending, But a Happy New Beginning for Family Focus
By Amber Lester Monday, February 22, 2010
Five months after the Colonial Services Board cut Family Focus, the program has found a new home with the Virginia Cooperative Extension.Family Focus is now Virginia Cooperative Extension Family Focus. The organization will provide similar services, but will be re-evaluated to find what works and what doesn’t, according to managers Bee Darrow and Sheree Press. Family Focus currently offers playgroups for parents with infants, toddlers and preschoolers; a preschool program with parents; and a father-focused playgroup called “Dads Make a Difference.”
Darrow, Press and their staff members have been working with no pay since Dec. 31, when the Colonial Services Board officially severed its ties with the 26-year-old program. In September, the CSB decided to preemptively cut programs, including Family Focus, after former Gov. Tim Kaine asked state agencies to reduce their budgets up to 15 percent. The program was initially set to close for good that month, but an outpouring of support from families and community members convinced the CSB to delay the closing date until Dec. 31, 2009.
Without that extra time, Darrow and Press say the program wouldn’t exist today. They credit Doris Heath, the extension agent for James City County, as the program’s lifesaver. The Virginia Cooperative Extension is an educational outreach program of Virginia’s land-grant universities: Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. While most people associate the Cooperative Extension with agricultural education, its mission statement includes educating the public about family and community development.
Heath says she used to advertise her family education classes, but could never get a decent turnout and when she saw the success of Family Focus, she stopped offering her program. She had worked with Press on projects in the past and when she learned of the program’s closing, she saw an opportunity. She suggested the Extension “adopt” Family Focus. Her program supervisor, Dr. Karen Gehrt, agreed it complemented the Extension’s mission. She also received approval from her local supervisor, Assistant James City County Administrator Doug Powell.
Family Focus will fall under the Cooperative Extension’s umbrella, but will not receive its funding from the state agency. Family Focus will still have to raise funds through grants and donations to cover its expenses. The Extension serves almost as a guarantor for Family Focus. When Family Focus applies for grants, it will be able to apply for reimbursement grants because the Extension office can front the money. When the grant money comes through, the Extension will be reimbursed for its contribution. That made all the difference, according to Darrow.
“When we learned our funding was cut, we had three options: Close the program, which wasn’t an option; try to become our own 501(c)3; or try to pursue adoption by another organization,” she says. “We didn’t know if that could really be done.”
While Family Focus always did not-for-profit work, it was never its own nonprofit organization because it was part of the CSB. It takes one year to become a tax-exempt nonprofit, classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3. The organization would also have to establish a board of directors and retain a lawyer, which takes money. When the organization was cut in December, Family Focus had around $5,000 in the bank and no time to lose. That’s why becoming part of a larger organization was the best option, Darrow says.
“One of the things we’ve had success with is finding large grants,” she says. “If we did not have the Extension office, we could not apply for reimbursement grants.”
They met with four other existing agencies before Heath came along. One said “no” right away; another wanted to help one of Family Focus’ two locations, but not the other. Now, with Heath on board, the managers are examining Family Focus – what it has been and what it could be.
Heath says it might not be possible to retain all of Family Focus’ 14 employees, but she’s currently working on filing the paperwork to get Press and Darrow on the Extension’s payroll using money they received from a donor.
The two churches that provide their locations – York River Baptist Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church – allowed them to stay without paying rent for six months and one year, respectively. The CSB also let them keep some of their equipment. Now they have to find the money to pay salaries, program expenses and rent, which is around $12,000 a month for both locations combined.
“I have faith we’re going to find the money,” Heath says. She would also like to create an advisory committee of community members to help with fundraising and program development.
After five months of scrambling to meet with donors and write grants while offering five programs, Darrow and Press are relishing their happy ending. “It’s just a miracle,” Darrow says. “We believe the program will land on its feet because of the Extension office.”
Heath downplays her role as savior of the program. “I told them [her supervisors] this is not about trying to save staff,” she says. “I believe in the program, I believe in education and I believe education changes lives.”
She applauds Press and Darrow for never giving up on finding a new home. “Even though it’s been a lot of work, sometimes you need that opportunity to take yourself out of your comfort zone,” she says.
Family Focus is still seeking donations. Click here to learn more.
Family Focus Hanging On, Hopeful
By Desiree Parker Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Back in preschool classrooms and playgroups this week after a holiday break, a handful of teachers and leaders are working without pay to keep the programs running while awaiting word on a potential new community partner.
After being told this fall by the embattled Colonial Community Services Board it would lose funding come December 31, Family Focus continued its popular preschool and playgroup programs amid a scramble to get other sources of funding. Family Focus employees and supporters turned to the community for help, but by the end of 2009 had raised just $10,000 of the $175,000 they needed to run programs.
Locals worried this would mean the end of a program that has served thousands of families on the Peninsula since 1983. On Monday, Program Manager Sheree Press told WYDaily that the organization would not close, but is currently negotiating with another organization, which will likely act as fiscal agent as soon as the details are ironed out.
“The community has been so good to us,” Press says. “People have really been working to help raise money” to keep Family Focus.
Both the Williamsburg and Grafton Family Focus programs managed to secure free rent from the churches that house them; York River Baptist Church in Toano will offer its location rent-free until June, and St. Mark Lutheran Church in Yorktown will offer its location rent-free for a year, according to Press. “We’re so grateful,” she says.
Thanks to fundraising, a reprieve in rent and the possibility of a new fiscal agent, the organization will continue to offer both its preschool and playgroup programs, with fewer staff, starting this week.
While Press says the group can’t afford to bring all 12 staff members back, five will be returning. Right now, she says, folks are working on a volunteer basis until the future of the program is certain. Some of the funding from sources outside the CSB has been withdrawn recently, but much of it will continue. Between grants and the support of a new fiscal agent, the program looks like it will have a bright future, Press thinks.
The CSB has allowed Family Focus to keep its computers, and will allow the group to keep phone service and email until everything is switched over, according to Press, but otherwise the ties are now severed. The organization’s new Web site is up and running already.
“Right now, we’re looking to the future and hoping for the best,” says Press.
The Grafton preschool program is full, but the Williamsburg program has openings for local children. The preschool hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Playgroups are Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Grafton preschool is on Fridays, and their playgroups are Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Press says the preschool program is great as a stepping stone for kids who aren’t ready for full-time preschool. Parents can stay in the building, and the curriculum is based on the same program that WJCC schools use, she says.
“The program is so affordable,” she says, “and the teachers are wonderful. They’ve taught together for years, and they give lots of tender, loving care to the kids.”
Look here to get more information about Family Focus preschool and playgroup programs.
Family Focus program to shut down Dec. 31
by Kristina Rohall, 13News
Posted on December 16, 2009 at 4:53 PM
WILLIAMSBURG -- For most of his life, 3-year-old Jake Duffy has been going to Family Focus play groups in Williamsburg. But his last one may be in a couple of weeks. The two Peninsula centers are scheduled to shut down December 31st because of budget cuts.
"I think for some families it's going to be a huge loss," said Jake's mom, Emily. "This is so much more than a play group."
Family Focus provides numerous services to families in Wiliamsburg and York County, including affordable play groups, parenting classes and free counseling for at-risk and teen moms.
This year, it lost its funding because of state budget cuts.
"I was saddened because this program has been around for 26 years," said Williamsburg Family Focus Manager Sheree Press. "I used the program when I first moved to WIlliamsburg."
For four months, Family Focus staff, businesses and families have been trying to raise $175,000 to keep the program operating for another year.
After months of fundraising, they have less than $10,000.
"Fundraising is going slowly," explained Press. "If you see a coin jar, just drop some change in it. Every penny counts and that's what we need."
Jake Duffy is doing his part. His family and friends are making donations to Family Focus instead of buying him Christmas gifts this year.
"This is a great life lesson for him," said Emily Duffy. "We can do for others, and things are bigger, and the world doesn't revolve around our family."
The two churches where Family Focus operates have agreed to let them stay rent-free for at least the next 6 months. The managers are also willing to work as volunteers for a few months. But the organization still needs donations to help pay for the programs.
News
Family focuses on saving program
By Amanda Kerr
Jake’s mother, Emily Duffy, has been taking Jake to the playgroup offered by Family Focus. She enjoyed the program so much she decided to ask extended family for donations to Family Focus instead of gifts for Jake.
“I prepared for years to have a baby,” Emily Duffy said. “I read every book I could and still I found it was overwhelming.”
She explained that the playgroup provided a chance for Jake to play with other children and for her to interact with other mothers, as well as get advice from Family Focus staff.
“It provided neat opportunities that I might not know at two [Jake] was ready for,” she said. “I just thought, ‘this is so great for parents to learn simple things like a clapping song or a clean-up song that helps kids from melting down.’ It’s such a help.”
So far a handful of family members have contributed to Jake’s effort to raise money for the program.
The goal, however, is daunting. It’s estimated that it cost $175,000 to keep Family Focus running as is for one year.
Directors for the Colonial Services Board, a public mental health agency, voted in September to cut funding for Family Focus as well as other programs and personnel. The vote came in response to funding cuts from the state. Funding for Family Focus ends Dec. 31.
Since then, Parent Advisory Committees at the Family Focus locations in James City and York have rallied to raise awareness and funding to keep Family Focus running.
Flynn Cunningham, a member of the York committee, said the program’s annual fall festival last month was turned into a fundraiser with a ticket fee and raffle.
Cunningham said an effort called “Coins for Kids,” in which glass jars are placed at businesses to collect change for Family Focus, has also been implemented. So far, 40 businesses have signed on to participate. The goal is to get 100 businesses on board.
Cunningham said the committees are also soliciting donations and pledges through letters and mailings. She said her children’s pediatrician, Dr. Denna Obrokta, got her bunco group to pledge $120 a month for the next year.
Despite all of the efforts, giving remains slow.
“We need a lot more donations,” Cunningham said.
For Cunningham, who has been attending Family Focus with her three children for 10 years, saving the program is personal.
She explained that staff at Family Focus first noticed her daughter had a head tilt that ultimately required physical therapy to correct.
“If I hadn’t been coming here, I’m sure I would have eventually taken her to the pediatrician, but they recognized it at 4 months instead of 8 months,” she said. “It’s worth saving for the community.”
Sheree Press, program manager for the Williamsburg location, said that so far a little under $10,000 in donations and grants have been raised. That’s barely 5% of the annual cost to run the program.
Press said that Family Focus anticipates remaining open through January, but with limited services until more funding comes in. Playgroups and preschool are expected to open the first week of January. Slots for new children are available.
Press said Family Focus may also have to raise fees to stay afloat. Currently, it charges $20 a month to participate in any services.
York River Baptist Church, which hosts the James City location, has agreed to continue to house the program rent-free for six months starting in January. Press said Family Focus is in negotiations to reach a similar agreement with St. Mark Lutheran Church, where the York program is housed.
Press is remaining positive that Family Focus will come out on top.
“We will be open,” she said. “We will survive.”
More — For more information on Family Focus or to donate, go to www.familyfocusva.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bee Darrow, Manager, Family Focus Grafton
757-898-2945
Sheree Press, Manager, Family Focus
757-566-9777
SURVIVAL OF FAMILY FOCUS REQUIRES COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Grafton, VA – October 23, 2009 – Family Focus, a non-profit prevention and family resource program is seeking community support. Created in 1983, and endorsed by the VA Department of Social Services Family Violence Prevention Program, Family Focus has been a program of the Colonial Services Board (CSB) for over 25 years. Thousands of
To ensure that these critical prevention programs and services can continue, Family Focus needs financial support. Staff and volunteers are actively seeking donations, grants, philanthropy and new financial partners throughout the community. The overall goal is $175,000 annually ensuring that Family Focus can continue serving families across the
Interested community members and businesses can help in several ways. Tax deductible donations and pledges can be arranged using the attached sustainability campaign form. Donations of goods and services are requested for a raffle being held during the Family Focus Fall Festival. $1 Raffle tickets are available now. This annual event for children and their families is open to the public and will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2009, from 10am – 12 pm, at St. Mark Lutheran Church,
Family Focus Gets Reprieve Until Dec. 31
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Posted: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 No one challenged whether the program “worked.” No one suggested it could be done more cheaply. But Family Focus, a program that began in 1983 with a family violence prevention program grant, is at its core a program that nips problems before a crisis has a chance to take root. That, said Colonial Community Services Board Executive Director David Coe, is the problem. Family Focus is not the only program the Colonial CSB has cut. The Office of Consumer and Family Affairs, founded about a year ago, was eliminated. That office helps those who use the CSB's recovery services learn how to advocate for themselves, among other things. Several consumers - users of the program - spoke to its effectiveness and urged the board not to cut it. One woman, in her mid-50s, told the board that after a neglected childhood and years of mental illness she was finally "moving into the joy phase of life, and CSB is a big part of that." The director of that program will move into a position at the CSB in the hopes the recovery aspect of treatment will become integral to the CSB's overall mission, Executive Director David Coe said. Two other programs - Supported Employment, which affects seven consumers, and Sheltered Employment - were shifted. Supported Employment will be funded directly by the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Sheltered Employment is the program under which the Colonial Workshop operates. The workshop allows participants to be paid for productivity, which sometimes translates to less than minimum wages. The CSB executive board agreed several months ago to transition these workers into what is called Enclave Employment. Workers are directly employed in this program, supervised by an employee dedicated ot the enclave, and make at least minimum wage. Tuesday's action accelerates a plan that had already been approved, Coe said. “We all believe in prevention. Nobody funds it,” he told the CSB board during a nearly four-hour hearing on plans to cut four programs to meet expected state funding shortfalls. Cutting the programs, including Family Focus, would achieve a net $430,000 savings in a $13 million budget. A steady stream of Family Focus participants, both new to the program and those whose children had grown up and out of it, shared with the board experiences of how the groups had made them better parents and created support networks that sustained them still. Preschool-age children chattered during testimony and giggled when their parents, many of them mothers, walked back from the microphone. They were professionals with early education and mental health treatment backgrounds, military families whose moves and deployments created stress, those who had rebounded from a crisis, and even one dad whose parenting skills were developed by Family Focus’ Linkages program for those behind bars, then nurtured after his release with a weekly playgroup for dads and their children. Some asked the board to reconsider cutting the program, but most asked for a reprieve from the planned Oct. 1 end date. In the end, the board unanimously did just that and agreed to fund the program through Dec. 31. They encouraged the Family Focus Parents Advisory Council, staff and all other interested parties to use the time to find other ways to raise the $170,000 the CSB kicks in to run the program. An additional $75,000 comes to the program through grants and user fees or donations. Board member Victoria Diggs of Poquoson said she felt like a firefighter trying to decide whether to put out the roaring blaze or the embers ready to ignite. The decisions, she said, "have been imposed on us by the state. Where are we going to put the water?" Coe warned the board that delaying the program shutdown by three months would likely result in an eliminated position later in the year, since every month meant about $12,000 in added expenses. That wasn’t the worst news, however. Coe spoke of state-mandated mental health programs, many in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, that have remained while the funding goes away. He described state funding cuts to state psychiatric hospitals, like Eastern State, which then push the financial responsibility for a patient’s care on to localities. “What we have in front of us tonight is very likely not the end but just the beginning,” he said. “We’re experiencing cuts in services that already begin to fray the edges of the safety net.” That safety net, many speakers told the board, is held together by programs like Family Focus proven to prevent problems and intervene early when an issue arises. Brenda Snead, the former Family Focus coordinator who now works for the Department of Social Services, reminded the board of what the treatment community knows well: “Prevention is far less expensive and more effective than treatment.” Without prevention efforts like Family Focus, she said, “the need will continue to grow and we will never keep up.” Parents like Lynn Cunningham of Seaford told the board of their experiences arriving in Virginia from other states, far from the support of grandparents who would “stand there and say, ‘This is what you do’.” Ten years and three children later, Family Focus groups and staff “were my savior,” Cunningham said. “People will still have children. Without Family Focus, where will these people go?” Jennifer Wong, who served as president of the Family Focus parents advisory council for three years, and parent Lori Jacobson hope those people will still be able to call on Family Focus.
WYDaily.com
http://www.wydaily.com/local-news/3367-family-focus-fights-to-save-program-by-dec-31-.html
Nov 17, 2009
http://www.wydaily.com/local-news/2646-family-focus-gets-reprieve-until-dec-31.html
Sept 2, 2009
http://www.wydaily.com/local-news/2641-csb-to-discuss-cutting-family-focus-today.html
Sept 1, 2009
http://www.wydaily.com/local-news/2612-expected-budget-cuts-jeopardize-family-focus.html
Aug 26, 2009
