annual report 2014 12-3-14 - The Family Resource Center

17 years of local impact
Family Resource Center
Serving the Children and
Families of Northern
New Hampshire
2013-2014 Annual Report
A message from the
Executive Director
Friends,
Last year FRC’s programs, including afterschool programs, home
visiting programs, parenting and child development programs
among others touched the lives of hundreds and hundreds of
children and families in Northern New Hampshire. Our aim was
to create safe and healthy environments for children to develop,
grow up and thrive. With your help, we succeeded, and the
smiles on these pages are the best evidence.
A few noteworthy happenings from 2013-2014:
•
Despite a rough economy the FRC closed the year with a balanced budget and with frugality, we have
brought forward valuable assets to help us meet our obligations in the new fiscal year;
•
We partnered with Indian Stream Health Center in opening a new office in Colebrook – it gives us both
great opportunities to collaborate and serve children and families from that region of Upper Coos on both
health care needs and human service needs;
•
We also partnered with the Community Action Program of Belknap-Merrimack Counties Women
Infants and Children (WIC) program in opening a joint office at the former Cottage Hospital in Littleton –yet
another opportunity to serve children and families in Upper Grafton County in a collaborative manner;
•
Lastly, with the support of the Tillotson Foundation we began our review of the FRC’s strategic plan; a
plan we look forward to publishing and promoting into
the community in late 2014. As we reflect back on the
year we continue to recognize that our achievements
and collaborations, consistent with our mission,
occurred directly because of the generosity of our
supporters and we offer our sincere appreciation.
~Hon. James E. Michalik, Retired
A message from the
The Board Chair
Dear Neighbor,
It was my great privilege to serve as Interim
Chair of the FRC Board for 2013-2014. I
completed the term of our Chair, Andre Caron,
who served our Board with wisdom and
distinction during his tenure. In addition to
my Board work, I was given the opportunity
to volunteer as a homework helper at the
Hillside After School Program in Berlin. I was
greatly impressed with the staff, the students,
and the programming, which helps to ensure
that students receive the help they need and deserve to succeed in their classrooms.
At one of our spring events I met a parent whose family had received the benefits of both FRC home
visitation and after school programs. The parent informed me that his two older children who had not
received these FRC services did poorly in school and dropped out of school. The family’s two younger
children, who along with their dad participated in the FRC home visiting and afterschool services, showed
real enthusiasm for living and learning and actually both received high achievement awards from their
schools.
I think this tells a great story about the impact of The Family Resource Center in our communities.
I hope, after reading this Annual Report you will join me, the rest
of the Board and our generous donors in ensuring that parents
and children in the North Country have the opportunity to
better their lives with help from the gifted FRC staff.
~Katherine Baublis
Project Youth
In the academic year and summer programming in 2013-2014 ‘Project Youth’ provided
extended learning for 200 Berlin and Gorham students in grades K-8.
Afterschool programs have proven to be effective supports for young people on a variety of fronts;
including fostering healthy lifestyles, preventing drop-outs, boosting students’ academic
achievement and self-esteem, and helping young people find and develop their passions.
The FRC’s Project Youth Afterschool Program is designed to be engaging and active. Offering the
youth stability in sometimes unstable environments, opening doors to developing strong and
meaningful relationships with adults and peers, and uninterrupted learning support. Project Youth’s
mission is to provide students with diverse, educational, active, engaging and fun activities in a
safe and supportive environment where students can reach their full potential and develop
confidence without limitations.
During the 2013-14 academic year Project Youth staff successfully implemented a new teaching
approach known as ‘Scaffolding’ which moves students progressively toward stronger
understanding, skill acquisition, and learning.
You can read more about this teaching approach at http://edglossary.org/scaffolding/
“What a great program for students and families in our community! I know first-hand how stressful it can be, being a working parent,
trying to juggle the many responsibilities of everyday life and rushing around trying to get dinner on the table and then the dreaded
homework starts! We all know that is no fun. This program allows students to not only get their homework completed, but they also
get help with it, if need be. Evenings are now spent much more relaxed, focusing on quality family time!” Kelly Guilmette
What is Home Visiting and what do
Family Support Workers do?
What do Family Support Workers Evaluate?
Child Development- FRC’s home visitors use the Ages &
Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) which is a measuring tool
to ensure that every child we work with receives
developmental screening to ensure all children are
meeting their developmental milestones.
What are parents saying about
home visiting?
Maternal Depression and Domestic Violence Screenings FRC’s home visitors are trained to complete maternal
“Support and respect and not talking
depression screens on all moms to identify the social
down to me”
and emotional risks that new moms face. Home
“Having support when I needed it”
“Help with resources”
visitors then refer, support and follow through with
“Understanding our situation that we are in”
moms so they can get the help they need to be the
best parents they can be. Home visitors also assess
the presence of domestic violence and other
negative behaviors that affect the family’s safety and well being.
Infant Safety - All home visits involve a ‘Healthy Homes Assessment’ to assist new parents in evaluating
all aspects of their home to ensure safety for infants and children.
‘Little Kids, Big Questions’ is a series of podcasts for moms, dads and caregivers to understand how
academic and scientific research on early childhood development translates into everyday
parenting. Check it out at: http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/
Family Support Services
Early childhood home visiting has been shown to be
an effective service delivery model for at-risk young
children and their families. By developing trusting
relationships with parents, working with them in
their homes, the FRC’s Family Support Workers
promote healthy, strong families through positive
interventions, parenting education, and bringing
early child development concepts, facts and healthy
tips to young moms and dads.
Community Connections
Coats for
Community
Last year the FRC was able, due to a generous grant from Brookfield Power, to
purchase 26 new coats for children in the Androscoggin Valley.
Brookfield also supported the purchase and distribution of 76 holiday baskets
including a turkey and all of the fixings for our families in the community.
Operation
School
Supplies
Holiday
Baskets
The FRC conducted another campaign to deliver student backpacks filled with back to
school supplies for some of our children.
The FRC is a member of the leadership team of the Coalition. The coalition collaborates
with primary school educators, early care and education providers, family support
workers, mental health professionals, healthcare providers and families in Coos County
to create a coordinated system for screening and use of evidence based strategies that
will support positive growth and development for young children from birth through
age 5.
Coos County
Coalition
for Young
Children
and
Families
This past year the FRC was able to serve 60 North Country Veterans living in
Northern Grafton, Carroll and all of Coos County through three specific grant
opportunities:
Support Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) -Grant funds from Veterans Administration available to the
FRC are used to assist veterans facing the threat of homelessness to find and maintain stable and safe
housing. The FRC partners with Harbor Homes, Inc., of Nashua to bring this service to North Country
Veterans.
Deployment Cycle Support Program and Care Coordination Program – FRC Family Support programs also
extend to military families, whether in the pre, ongoing or post deployment phases of service, to help them
manage through the special strains affecting military families. We do this through home visiting, referral to
community based services, and by offering moral support to help families overcome obstacles to healthy
family dynamics. The FRC partners with the State’s Department of Health and Human Services and Easter
Seals, NH to provide these programs.
The FRC’s Gorham Middle School afterschool program, with 25 of its students participating, sponsored its
annual Veterans Day Appreciation Dinner where 81 Veterans and their guests attended.
Said one guest,
“To all of the FRC- Project Youth Students, Thank you all so much for the
outstanding work you put forth for the Veterans with the meal, various presentations and
overall hospitality . . . my wife and I enjoyed the evening!!”
The Family Resource Center’s mission statement reflects our focus on building and
strengthening the foundation of a healthy community:
“To build healthier families and stronger communities through positive relationships,
programs, and collaborations in the North Country.”
This past year the FRC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) assisted
240 taxpayers complete their Federal Income Tax Returns and obtained over
$273,000 in refunds for North Country families.
VITA
Since FRC began sponsoring an IRS sanctioned VITA site in 2005, 2,956 North Country
residents have received, at no cost to them, the benefit of help with their Federal
Income Tax Returns. Over $3.6 million dollars in refunds have come back to North Country families.
Community Connections
Honoring
Our Vets
2014
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
Certificates of deposit
Investments
Grants receivable
Prepaid expenses
$ 139,460
79,488
188,804
70,386
3,525
Financials
Total current assets
$
74,176
79,330
183,992
128,257
9,830
481,663
475,585
72,362
51,575
72,362
51,575
123,937
(62,508)
123,937
(54,888)
61,429
69,049
$ 543,092
$ 544,634
$
$
PROPERTY
Leasehold improvements
Furniture and equipment
Total
Less: accumulated depreciation
Property, net
Total assets
2013
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Agency deposits
Refundable advances
Total current liabilities
NET ASSETS
Unrestricted
Designated for long-term building maintenance
Undesignated
Permanently restricted - endowment
Total net assets
Total liabilities and net assets
7,272
8,604
22,177
70,122
3,034
6,382
22,175
98,326
108,175
129,917
9,210
215,842
209,865
8,496
204,367
201,854
434,917
414,717
$ 543,092
$ 544,634
All This was made possible by our generous funders.
The Board of Directors, Staff, and the thousands of individuals these progams
have impacted want to THANK YOU!
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~Women’s Fund of NH~Hesed Foundation
~The Couch Family Foundation~Plum Creek Foundation~Page Hill Foundation~Finlay Foundation~Gorham, Randolph, Shelburne
Educational Foundation~Boston Red Sox Foundation~Randolph Foundation~UPS Foundation~Granite United Way~Northway Bank
~Bank of New Hampshire~Towns of Gorham, Randolph & Shelburne, New Hampshire~New Hampshire State Council on the Arts
~Easter Seals NH~Brookfield US Foundation~Merchants Automotive~Berlin City Auto Group~Randolph Church~Passumpsic Bank
~U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service~Prudential Coulombe Real Estate~Robert Chapman, Sr. ~US Department
of Veteran’s Affairs~Marion Cohen Charitable Trust~The Byrne Foundation~NH Children’s Trust Inc.~Gilbert Verney Foundation
~Thomas & Elizabeth Kelsey~AutoNorth
Looking for a smart investment for your
charitable dollars? Start with the kids!
Every donation made to the
FRC is tax deductable.
*All photos in this report are of FRC program participants.
Key Contacts
FRC Locations:
Executive Director
Hon. James E. Michalik, Retired
603-466-5190 x 304
[email protected]
Director of Administration
Marie Demers
603-466-5190 x 300
[email protected]
Accounting & Billing
Chris Brockett
603-466-5190 ext 302
[email protected]
Family Support Programs/Help for Families
Sue Watson, Director
603-466-5190 x 303
[email protected]
Project Youth & Afterschool Programs
Judy Arsenault, Program Director
603-466-5190 x 306
[email protected]
Colebrook
Gorham
Lancaster
Littleton
Check out what’s
happening at the FRC by
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The Family
Resource Center
123 Main Street
Gorham, NH 03581
(603) 466-5190 - Telephone
(603) 466-9022 - Fax
www.frc123.org