Welcome From The CEO/President
Dear Colleagues:
Fathers & Families Coalition is so thankful for all the support we have received starting as a grassroots group and developed into an internationally recognized agency that cares about children, mothers, and fathers. In 2009, the entire nation has been challenged by our economy, provision of services to our most vulnerable, and how do we continue into 2010 and beyond that we all have the resources to care of ourselves, families, neighbors, community and nation. I started this year with a theme, “Promise and Provision” that was provided to me that if we keep focused on our purpose that no matter what struggle we would be in a position of favor. Well, this year has been a great challenge to Fathers & Families Coalition and me personally, but nothing good comes without a struggle. I can share with all my colleagues we have had more than just good news as we ended to 2009!
We are so grateful to be able provide over the past fifteen years support for colleagues and receive support to improve our organization. Throughout the changes on public policy, funding, and other external impacts FFC has continued to enhance our abilities to meet the needs of organizations to strengthen healthy families, promote responsible fatherhood and construct opportunities for a national networking.
We hope you can continue to support our efforts as we do need not only the financial support but collegial assistance. In the same breathe, we need to come together and examine how we can support all levels of our elected officials to ensure that we provide all the resources our children, families, and all individuals need. Recently, a FFCA Affiliate Director asked me, “What can I do for your?” He shared he would start with prayer and to me that is the greatest gift he can provide as all off us regardless of faith need to be covered by others to ensure we are doing the right thing and making a difference.
I am blessed to have a very supportive national board of directors who understand that challenges we are faced with to continue our purpose of providing the highest quality of professional development nationally on the issues of fatherhood. Moreover, at the end of 2008, we established affiliates as conduits in developing local and state coalitions that support issues related to the promotion of healthy/responsible fathering. Our goal was to have five affiliates by the end of 2009 and we have exceeded this goal by the infusion of tremendous leaders and talented colleagues. Fathers & Families Coalition affiliate agencies that include:
1. Mr. Kevin Poleyumtewa – Arizona
2. Mr. Victor Berrelez – Arizona
3. Mr. William Ramsey – Arizona
4. Ms. Toyce Netwon – Arkansas
5. Ms. Charlene Lewis-Meeks – Los Angeles
6. Rev. Ray Capper – San Francisco
7. Rev. John Hughes – San Diego
8. Ms. Cynthia Harris – North Carolina
9. Mr. Frank Bedolla-Utah
10. Ms. Robin Wright-King – Detroit
11. Dr. Ramon Nieves-Chicago
12. Ms. Dana Ross-Philadelphia-Camden-Delaware Valley
13. Mr. Larry Savala-Houston
14. Mr. Chuck Tomaselli - Up State New York
15. Mr. Gregory Johnson - Tampa Bay, Florida
These colleagues have made a determination that joining Fathers & Families Coalition is the right thing to do in support of their mission(s) that promote healthy relationships and the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children. As a professional membership organization, the Fathers & Families Coalition, Inc. relies on individuals like you to help share the importance of a healthy male involvement in the lives of children and families. In 2008, we expanded to over 150 organizations with a membership and a total of slightly over 450 members.
We value our affiliates and members with opportunities to utilize our program assessment, capacity building assistance, Get Fatherhood Institute Training (Get F.I.T.) and our internationally attended National Fatherhood & Families Conference that had its genesis from a lack of effective fatherhood programs. We understood then, and we know now that through quality skill building our abilities to better serve children, mothers and fathers have to come from a unique forum.
We have provided direct services for organizational infrastructure building, training, program evaluation and support from Alaska to Puerto Rico with our diverse professionals to augment promising practices in the field with experts from Alaska to Florida, San Diego to Boston and in between.
You can make a difference in the lives within in your own family, organization, and community. Perhaps you can also make a difference in the lives of the over 30,000,000 children in our country who tonight will not have their father in their homes, and the over one-third of the children who are projected not to see their father during the next twelve months.
