15 Inspiring Years

Strengthening Families . . . Building Communities
15 Inspiring Years
1997-2012
Hon. James E. Michalik, Ret.
Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Last year I was pleased to report that the Family Resource Center had both a productive and award winning year. It
makes me especially proud to be able to do so again this year, our 15th year of serving the needs of children and
families in New Hampshire’s beloved North Country.
While challenged by the ‘new normal’ that has affected our nation’s economy, the staff of the FRC continues to
respond to the community’s needs with a renewed vigor. We remain committed to focusing our services and
programming on working with individuals and families to aid them in learning and adopting skills that will fortify
them on their journey to healthy family functioning. Likewise, our tradition of collaboration continues unabated.
In this report you will learn from our Program Directors and Staff about developments in our core programs - Family
Support Services, Project Youth, and our Working Families and Financial Education Program.
Here are a few highlights from the 2011-2010 year:
 Expanded Family Support and In-Home Visiting Services to northern Grafton County and opening of Littleton
Satellite Office
 Increased enrollment in Project Youth Afterschool Program
 Prepared, in our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a record number of federal income tax
returns for North Country families
 Developed and expanded relationships with new funders and foundations
 Kicked off our ‘frc123.org’ Year of Service Public Service Announcements courtesy of WPKQ (103.7)/Cumulus
Media
We extend our sincere THANK YOU to all of our funders, donors, partners, volunteers for their trust and support as
we work to fulfill our mission of “Strengthening Families and Building Communities.”
Jim Michalik
Strengthening Families . . . Building Communities
15Inspiring Years
FRC’s programs focus on strengthening the health and vitality of families in New
Hampshire’s North Country by empowering them to overcome obstacles which interfere with
healthy family functioning, educational achievement and financial stability. FRC’s mission
statement: To build healthier families and stronger communities through positive
relationships, programs, and collaborations in the North Country reflects the agency’s
intensive focus on children, and families as well as investments in collaboration.
Afterschool Programs
In academic year 2011-2012, Project Youth Afterschool
Programs provided extended learning for approximately
200 Berlin/Gorham students in grades K-8. We also
operated a limited summer program which supports yearround learning as a promising way of extending learning
time and opportunities and organizing them to support
youth development. Project Youth helps close the gaps in
accessing services, provide developmentally appropriate
activities and challenges, and strengthen student-centered
learning.
PY 2011-2012 Fast Facts
Project Youth Afterschool programs have proven to be
98 teachers in the Berlin-Gorham Schools
effective supports for young people on a variety of fronts;
including fostering healthy lifestyles, preventing dropouts, boosting students’ academic achievement and selfesteem, and helping young people find and develop their
passions.
participated in a PY survey – from that
survey and other data collection tools we
learned:

attended program for 30 or more
days; the state average is 51%.
The Project Youth Afterschool Program is engaging and
active. We offer youth stability in sometimes unstable
environments. It also opens doors to developing strong
and meaningful relationships with adults and peers, and
uninterrupted learning support. The data collected by
SAUs #3 and #20, and 21st Century Community Learning
Center (CCLC) indicated students in the Project Youth
Afterschool Program matched or exceeded improvements
compared to State and national 21st CCLC programs in
both math and English, as well as homework completion
and class participation.
74% of our afterschool students

72% of elementary afterschool
students received teacher-reported
improvements in homework
completion and class participation.

66% of all afterschool students
received teacher-reported
improvements in homework
completion and class participation.
Financial Education
Programming in
this arena focuses on financial education and services to assist
families managing household budgets in difficult economic times. The goal is to
reach out across segments of the population (youth, women & single parents, seniors
and individuals with disabilities) and offer educational tools that will add to their
capacity to be financially stable. Education on predatory credit practices; credit
repair strategies; savings strategies; college affordability strategies, tax strategies,
etc. are covered topics. Services include credit counseling, a Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance (VITA) program, and wealth building counseling via matched savings
programs such as Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s).
2011-2012 Fast Facts

539 tax returns were prepared
for the 2011 tax year, totaling
$612,000 in refunds.



11 VITA volunteers donated
460 hours to the effort.
$2.8 million in income tax
refunds were generated by the
FRC’s VITA program for North
Country families since 2005.
20 women were provided
intensive financial education
programming to assist them in
gaining financial stability.
The FRC’s programs serve all age groups, from infants to seniors as well as
individuals with disabilities, veterans and at risk women.
 In the Fall of 2012 The NH National Guard and the State Department of Health and
Human Services presented the FRC with a Military Leadership Award in recognition of
our role in serving Guard members and their families through the Deployment Cycle
Support Program
 In April, 2012 the FRC was the recipient of one of only 19 national EIFLE Awards ™ for
excellence in financial literacy education for its job readiness program
 In February 2012 the FRC received the Cumulus (WPKQ 103.7) 2012 Year of Service
Award for northern New Hampshire
 In 2011 the FRC was proud to be named the New Hampshire Nonprofit of the Year by
BusinessNH Magazine (there are 8,400 nonprofits in NH)
Family Support Programming
The goal of these programs is simple: to provide
families struggling with dysfunction, financial
resource needs and/or troubled family dynamics
with support services for a safer, more stable and
healthier family dynamic. Working with the
family, FRC’s in-home visitors conduct an
assessment to document family members’ human
service and health care needs. These needs may
involve the lack of a primary care physician for
family members, the lack of health care
insurance, the presence of physical and/or mental
health care issues and the lack dental care. A
family’s needs may also involve the lack of
direct resources such as adequate shelter, food
and/or clothing, as well as the lack of
employment and transportation. Human service
issues, including but not limited to the presence
of domestic violence, the presence of substance
abuse, insufficient parental capacities, and/or the
presence of delinquent juvenile behaviors are
also assessed.
Evidence based curricula such as “Parents as
Teachers”, “Children in the Middle”, “Positive
Parenting Program” and ‘Growing Great Kids”
are offered to support the healthy development of
parent-to-parent
and
parent-to-child
relationships.
2011-2012 Fast Facts



136 families with young children
received Home Visiting Programs and
Parenting Education
29 court involved families received
Family Support Services and Parenting
Education
40 children and families of Military
Personnel received supportive services
and/or participated in engaging events
sponsored by “Operation Military Kids”
2011-2012 Developments
This year the FRC’s Family Support Program was
awarded new contracts by the State of New
Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human
Services for Coos as well as northern Grafton
County. These contracts involve in-home visiting
services for prenatal and newly born infants and
their families. Known as Healthy Families
America (HFA) this program is a national
program model designed to help expectant and
new parents get their children off to a healthy
start. This program is offered voluntarily.
The FRC was also selected by Harbor Homes,
Inc., a statewide agency that works to assist the
homeless, to collaborate under a new contract that
focuses on helping homeless Veterans of the
United States Armed Services secure stable
housing. The FRC will be providing services to
these Veterans and their families in Coos and
northern Grafton Counties.
Executive Director
Hon. James E. Michalik, Retired
Executive Director
466-5190 ext. 304
[email protected]
Board of Directors
Rev. Fran Gardner-Smith, President
Patti Stolte, Vice President
Kathy Baublis, Secretary
Andre Caron, Treasurer
Scott Gregory
Pam Laflamme
Eric LaPointe
Linda Pivin
Key Staff Contacts:
Office Manager:
Marie Demers – 466-5190 ext. 300
[email protected]
Accounting:
Ronald Fini – 466-5190 ext. 302
[email protected]
Director of Family Support Services:
Sue Watson – 466-5190 ext. 303
[email protected]
Director of Project Youth Programs
Tami Hartley – 466-5190 ext. 306
[email protected]
Administrator of Working Families
Programs
Miranda Bergmeier – 466-5190 ext. 323
[email protected]
Development Program Leader
David Graham – 466-5190 ext. 307
[email protected]
The FRC Board of Directors, Staff and the thousands of
individuals, children and families we serve are especially grateful
to the hundreds of supporters, donors and foundations that help
make our work possible, including:
NH Charitable Foundation
Neil and Louise Tillotson Foundation
New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services
New Hampshire Department of Education
New Hampshire School Administrative Unit #3
New Hampshire School Administrative Unit #20
Harbor Homes, Inc.
Linden Foundation
Madelaine von Weber Trust
Doris L. Benz Trust
Jane B. Cook Foundation
Women’s Fund of NH
Hesed Foundation
The Couch Family Foundation
Plum Creek Foundation
Marion Cohen Trust
Page Hill Foundation
Finlay Foundation
Gorham, Randolph, Shelburne Educational Foundation
Boston Red Sox Foundation
Randolph Foundation
UPS Foundation
Granite United Way
Citizens Bank
Northway Bank
Bank of New Hampshire
Towns of Gorham, Randolph & Shelburne, New Hampshire
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts
Easter Seals NH
Brookfield Power & Light
McIninch Foundation
Merchants Automotive
Berlin City Auto Group
AutoNorth
Randolph Church
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
L.L. Cote
Prudential Coulombe Real Estate
Re/Max Northern Edge Realty
The Family Resource Center
123 Main Street
Gorham, NH 03581