CFNC Expands Services to Additional 36 Low-Income Families

Several weeks ago Louise entered our Birchmere center with a big smile on her face. She was excited because she had just heard that CFNC was re-opening two classrooms in the Charles Houston Recreation Center that had been closed for several years due to building renovations. The second she heard the news, she ran over to enroll her daughter because she knew from past experience that her daughter would receive the kind of high quality preschool experience that is typically only available for families who can afford to pay for it.

As she filled out enrollment forms, she told us about her son, a former student at CFNC, who is flourishing in school and loves the arts, which she said began in our preschool classroom eight years ago. Speaking of her son’s experience, Louise said, “His teachers were always telling me that I had to come into class to see his latest work.” As a young, single mother, she recalled how much it meant to her to be able to leave her only child at a safe and caring preschool while she went to work. Without CFNC, she had no other affordable option for her son. Today, eight years later, “he plans to be so many things: an artist, an architect, and an animator. I really attribute this to the center, because he spent so much time there at such an early age.”

CFNC expanded its free preschool programming to residents of Alexandria’s Charles Houston neighborhood in 1987. In 2006, these programs were suspended due to a planned major renovation of the Charles Houston Recreation Center. After three years, the renovations are complete! On September 8th, CFNC will re-open two classrooms at the center that will provide 36 low-income families with free preschool and family support services, increasing the total number of families served by CFNC from 157 in FY2009 to 193 in FY2010.

“Getting my daughter a place at CFNC is really a huge blessing for me because I’ve just started a new job,” Louise said. “Sending her to daycare would have been a huge out-of-pocket expense, and she still would not have had the benefit of qualified teachers with the ability to teach her through play.”

Charles Houston remains one of Alexandria’s neediest neighborhoods. 19% of Charles Houston residents live below 100% of poverty (compared to 7% city-wide); 35% live below 185% of poverty (compared to 20% city-wide); 20% of adults of have less than a high school diploma (compared to 13% city-wide); and 30% are African American (compared to 20% city-wide).

CFNC’s expansion is made possible by an increase in state funding through the Virginia Preschool Initiative and individual giving through our 25th Anniversary Benefit, as well as by the continued generous support of the City of Alexandria, the Freddie Mac Foundation, BAE Systems, Land & Armaments, the Cafritz Foundation, Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, and numerous other foundations and corporations. We would also like to extend a special note of thanks to Josh Dickinson, Larry Green, Jr., Andriy Harmatiy, Nicole McManus, Allen Sager, and Brendon Weiss - graduate students at the University of Maryland, for organizing a wonderful happy hour fundraiser last spring to benefit our two new Charles Houston classrooms.

Despite CFNC’s expansion this year, we are still not able to serve all of the children who need our programs. With a full enrollment of 193 children, CFNC still has over 90 children on our wait list.

Thanks for a Thankless Task

Every year we send out a holiday card to all of our supporters wishing them a joyous season from our staff and board members and the families who have benefited from their generosity throughout the year. Sending out over 2,000 hand addressed holiday cards is no small task. This year we were fortunate to have employees from Reed Technology, students from the Art Institute, and one member of Westminster Presbyterian Church volunteer their time to help us hand address, stamp and stuff the holiday cards. For anyone who ever participated in a large mailing, this kind of work has its own way of leaving you feeling a little drained at the end of the day. It is often a thankless act of generosity that goes unnoticed - but not this year. We are so thankful for the hours each of these groups gave to help us send out our holiday cards. Their hard work enabled program staff members to focus more of their time where it is needed most: at work with the 150+ children and families benefiting from our services.

Reason for Thanksgiving

Recent media coverage in the Washington Post and USA Today have highlighted that this has been a particularly difficult year for CFNC. Despite the hardships that we, like many other non-profits, are facing this year, it is good to pause and recognize the numerous reasons we have for thanksgiving. I would like to share with you three recent acts of good will and generosity for which we at CFNC give thanks this holiday season.

A Call From New York

On the same day the first article highlighting the impact of the economic crisis on our organization appeared in the USA Today, Barbara received a phone call from a man in New York City. He had read the article in the USA Today and wanted to help us continue our programs that benefit young children living in poverty. He told Barbara, after what felt like a very long game of phone tag, that he would like to donate $20,000 to our programs to help out in this difficult time! Many things are remarkable about this gift, and the one that strikes me most is the distance between where this man was calling from, and where the children lived who he was reaching out to help.

Coming to the Rescue...with Turkeys

Each year, CFNC receives turkey dinners from McLean Bible Church and Westminster Presbyterian to distribute to our families the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, this year, due to the difficult economic times, there were not enough turkeys for all of the families we serve. John Herrity at Alexandria Chevrolet found out about this need and brought it to the attention of the owner Steve Niswander. They decided to buy the 60 turkeys we needed to make sure every family this Thanksgiving received one! When asked why they decided to buy the turkeys, Mr. Herrity replied, "We are very big on supporting children in this city, and we have been for the last 3 years, aggressively. Things are tight for everybody but when it comes to something like this, it is hard to say no."

Every Little Bit Helps

This last story is a reminder that the size of the gift is not what matters most--it is the spirit in which it is given. Following our most recent media coverage in The Washington Post, we received a letter in the mail from a woman who read the story, and was moved out of compassion for the children we serve to give what she could. In the letter she wrote, "I hope the enclosed small amount can be used toward your shortfall. I have a daughter who teaches 2nd grade in a Title 1 school in North Carolina and through her, know the importance of a good start for at-risk children. I hope other read the article and make a donation--every little bit helps!"

And every bit--every donation, every in-kind donatin, every hour a person volunteers--every act of love and generosity helps us provide high-quality, free preschool and family support services to children and their families living in poverty. So to all of you who have supported our programs this year and in years past, thank you! The children we serve depend upon your generosity, and for nearly 25 years now generous people have ensured that young, at-risk children have the support they need to succeed in school and life.

Old Presbyterian Meeting House Donates Clothes

Each year, Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria donates clothes and coats for our children and families. This month they donated more than 20 bags of clothes for our families! Pictured to the left is one of our preschool students who benefited from the donation. She is sporting her new coat which could not have come at better time as it turned much cooler this week and this young girl needed a jacket to play on the playground. Special thanks goes to Lisa McGonigle who coordinated the event for the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. You can learn more about OPMH here.

Boeing Employees Give Back

This past Saturday, Boeing employees braved the rain and wind in order to help us paint our family resource room and build a shed on the playground at our Birchmere center. Undeterred by the weather conditions, they labored for five hours to improve the facilities of our Birchmere center which this year serves 54 families living in poverty. When asked what brought them out on a cool, wet day to paint and build, each of the volunteers, in their own way, cited the same reason: a desire "to give back."

The shed Boeing employees helped construct will be used to store playground equipment and outdoor toys, such as tricycles, easels, and hulahoops. The family resource room will serve as a place where parents can gain information about community resources and access the internet to search for jobs, etc.

Boeing has been a true champion for early childhood education in this region, and has been one of our major supporters over the past decade. This year, they have awarded CFNC two grants: one to purchase fundraising software that will increase the capacity of our development team, and another to fund our early childhood education programming. You can learn more about Boeing's philanthropic activities here.

Special thanks goes to Oris Davis, Joe Fore, and Dale Rainville.

Shop for Groceries and Help Children in Poverty

SAFEWAY

The “Safeway 10% Back to Schools” promotion shopping period starts on August 6th and ends on September 9th. Your participation can mean hundreds of dollars for our group. Last year, the top group in the nation earned over $20,000 in just 6 weeks!

Sign up today!
1)Have your Safeway card available.
2)Visit Escrip website by clicking on the title above
3)Click on “1-Sign Up”
4)Choose “Child and Family Network” or Group ID 500004246
5)Present your Club Card every time you shop and our group earns!

It’s Easy to Renew! If you participated last year, don’t forget to renew to continue earning Safeway contributions.

1)Have your Safeway card available
2)Visit Escrip website by clicking on the title above
3)Click on “YES RENEW”

HARRIS TEETER

Help get our new school year off to a good start by enrolling in the Harris Teeter and the Together in Education program. Starting Aug. 1, 2008 it is time to RELINK your VIC card or link it to CFNC for the first time! Re-linking is easy with one of the following methods:
(1) Call Customer Service at 1-800-423-6111
(2) The register at checkout
(3) Visit harristeeter.com, click on Together in Education Select The Child and Family Network Centers (#6467) to earn money for our programs serving children and their families living in poverty. Thanks!

Our New Website

Some of you hopefully noticed that we recently overhauled our website. The new website was made possible by Pixels and Ink's generous in-kind donation of their time, talents and resources through their Gift of Design. We are thankful that we live and labor in a community with businesses like Pixels and Ink that are committed to giving their time and talents in service to those most in need. I am confident you will all agree that their design team did an excellent job and hope you will join with me in congratulating and thanking them for their hard work!

A couple of notes on the website: I would like to point your attention to the home page: when you refresh the page or return to it, you will see that the photos, quotes, and key supporters change. Also, you will notice that several sections remain under construction and for the next couple of weeks we will be working to finalize each section of the website. I encourage you to reply to this post if you notice any problems with the site's functionality, typos in website text, important information that is missing, etc. We will also be accepting praise for a job well done! I hope you will take the time to explore the website. On a final note, more names will be added to the supporters and partners sub pages in the upcoming days. I do not want anyone to feel that we have forgotten them or fail to appreciate their generous support. These next couple of weeks will be used to iron all of that out.

Posted By: Ryan Smith, Grantwriter