 |
Family Resource Centers Receive Award for Helping Families and Children
Reno, NV (June 13, 2011) - For the efforts to provide essential services to thousands of the community's children and families, the Washoe County School District's five Family Resource Center (FRC) sites are being honored by Truckee Meadows Tomorrow with a Silver Star award for the second quarter of 2011.
The Silver Star awards honor those individuals and organizations that have measurably improved the Truckee Meadows by positively impacting one of the quality of life indicators evaluated by Truckee Meadows Tomorrow. The District's FRC won the award in the category of community responsiveness to its most vulnerable populations.
"The staff members of the FRC are honored to accept this award. We serve as a link to services in the community for families who are struggling. As families face foreclosure of their homes or losing their jobs, the FRC staff connects them to the resources and services in the community that will help them," said Joanne Everts, Ph.D., WCSD director of child and family services. "We also want to thank the many community agencies and organizations we collaborate with to assist families. They are vital partners in these efforts."
The FRC connects families with children and other individuals who are in need to different social services that provide for their basic necessities, including food, housing, clothing, access to medical, dental and mental health care, and cash assistance through the state TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program and the federal SNAP (food stamps) program. The center partners with other community organizations such as the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Children in Transition and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to provide such services. The FRC also provides resources and referrals to local programs that provide food, utility assistance, parenting education and adult literacy or education classes.
In the past 12 months, the FRC has provided assistance to 8,000 individuals in 2,200 families. So far in 2011, the center is helping an average of 220 families each month gain access to the basic needs for which they seek.
"The Family Resource Center staff is a hardworking group of individuals who are dedicated to helping the people of Washoe County. The need for the services that are provided at the centers has grown tremendously since the beginning of the economic crisis in Nevada and many more families are turning to us for assistance. We hope that we can continue to receive funding for the FRC as it provides vital services for our community," said Alanna Fitzgerald, the director of the Central/South Reno site at Wooster High School.
The recipients of the Silver Star awards will be honored at Truckee Meadow Tomorrow's second quarter community forum on Wednesday, June 29 at KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting (1670 N. Virginia St. on the UNR campus) from 5:15-7 p.m.
"Acknowledging new Silver Stars each quarter for the important work that they are doing to improve the community is an honor and a privilege for TMT," said Truckee Meadows Tomorrow President Amber Martin-Jahn.
The public is invited to attend the forum (free to Truckee Meadows Tomorrow members and $10 for non-members), which includes networking and a media roundtable discussing legislative impacts on quality of life and innovation needed to transform the community.
###
About Washoe County School District: The Washoe County School District includes the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, Empire and Wadsworth, Nevada. The District provides each of its 63,000 students with a superior education in a safe and challenging environment and is committed to graduate every child career and college ready. For more information visit: www.washoecountyschools.org. Follow us on Twitter at WCSDTweet.
Washoe County School District
425 East Ninth Street
Reno, NV 89512
