Family Support
“Would anyone like to volunteer to say the blessing?” Each LAF Family
Support Meeting starts with a parent/guardian blessing the food and
continues with lots of fun and fellowship over a hearty meal. Don’t have
transportation to LAF? We’ll come pick you up! Worried about the meeting
interfering with dinner time? We’ll feed you! Don’t have anyone to take care
of the children during the meeting? Our staff will not only care for them,
but plan fun activities to keep them engaged! Family Support Meetings are a
vital part of each student’s success at LAF and we go to great lengths to
take away any barriers that may interfere with a family attending these
wonderful monthly events.
In an effort to address the varied needs of our families, support
meetings have covered a wide range of topics this year including media
literacy; Black History; gang identification and prevention; and budgeting and credit counseling, just to
name a few. We have seen a great deal of growth not just among individuals,
but with the group as a whole as parents/guardians have actively
participated in each meeting by sharing, questioning, and challenging each
other.
We are extremely happy to report that attendance at family support
meetings has been strong this year. So much so that, at Celebranza, a number
of families were presented with $100 Food Lion gift certificates as a thank
you for their concerted efforts to attend each meeting (thanks to the N&O!).
As
the family support component of LAF continues to grow, we look forward to
finding new and creative ways to support all of our beautiful families.
Whether it be mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, or grandparents raising LAF
children, we are extremely proud of all of our families and all of the
unique contributions that they bring to LAF. Without them, we could not do
what we do and they deserve a giant ‘thank you’!!!
Family Support
by Dana Williams
LAF has given me many opportunities as a
child and definitely as a staff person. Although I have changed roles from
Academic Coordinator to Director of Youth and Family Support, my goals are
still the same: to help problem solve, be a support in crisis situations,
and help set goals for the future. With all of these goals, I hope to build
lifelong relationships and trust with the families I work with.
|
