Friends,
I am pleased to share our Fall edition of On Dara’s Desk, an update about important news and topics behind the work of Family Focus for our friends like you who have invested the most in our mission. The last time I wrote in April, I made an urgent plea for action because some of Family Focus’ grants for youth development were ending and we had to close some youth program sites. The External Relations Team was hard at work raising awareness and advocating with elected officials and the public. Thank you to those of you who took action to support Senate Bill 2943 to restore critical funding for young people in our summer and after-school programs.
IT WORKED! The state budget that was passed in July by the General Assembly and the Senate includes $50 million in new funding! Together, we made a difference with strong advocacy and your actions. As the funds must be allocated through an RFP process, we hope to restore out-of-school programs for nearly 1,200 Family Focus students by January.
In other good news, Family Focus is on the path of expanding and enhancing our Fatherhood Initiative. This work with fathers, both individually and in small groups, is so important to their child’s development knowledge, skills and confidence as fathers. We know that father attachment is critical to their child’s growth and well-being. And the strong bond between father and child has social-emotional and economic benefits throughout their lifetime. This work also impacts the emotional well-being of the men in these programs regardless of the family dynamic.
Fatherhood services are so important that in July 2022, the David C. & Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation made an endowment gift to establish the “Ruttenberg Impact Fund for Fathers.” Brothers Biff and Buzz Ruttenberg were so inspired by their own father and wanted to help others become great fathers, too. This fund has been providing operating dollars to run fatherhood programming in Lawndale and Englewood.
Last month, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation made a grant of $400,000 “for expansion of the Fatherhood Initiative in South Lawndale, Englewood and other South and West side communities.” These funds will allow us to double the number of fathers we serve in these neighborhoods experiencing decades of disinvestment and to build a solid foundation for more growth. The Family Focus vision is to have robust services for fathers in all eleven community-based centers.
I love sharing good news about “wins” for our programs and people served, but honestly, none of that is possible without caring for our infrastructure. It may seem like a mundane topic but it literally has been a priority on my desk for over a year. Each of our twelve offices has building, furnishings, security and IT needs even though we only own 3 locations and lease the others. That is why a new position was created, Vice President of Facilities, Capital Planning and Sustainability, and Eric Woods joined us at the end of July in this position. He has already made a huge impact, assessing needs and conditions at every center, managing the first phase of exterior maintenance work at Evanston, and working with our realtor to find bigger and better office spaces in Cicero and South Holland.
Family Focus strives to be one of the best places to work in Chicagoland. Paying attention to infrastructure and environment is part of that, creating healthy, attractive, safe spaces for those we serve and our team members. In the coming months, you will begin to hear about our campaign to raise funds for capital needs across centers. You will hear about the impact those funds will have in supporting our Healing Care and Practices for those affected by violence and trauma, in having dedicated spaces for nursing moms, father activities, immigrants seeking services, youth enrichment programs – and so much more. Stay tuned for more on this important initiative!
My friend, thank you for caring about and supporting what Family Focus means to the people in each community we serve. Without you – “The Village” – we could not do this necessary, vital work with and for our neighbors.
Have a Peaceful Holiday Season,
Dara T. Munson
President & CEO