Santa Claus passing out wrapped toys to children at the Center for Family Success holiday event on December 20, 2018.
Thanks to a combination of grants, community partnerships, contributions and in-kind donations, the Center celebrated and supported families at a higher level than in previous years that included family holiday events and donations of food, toys and gifts.
PORTLAND, Ore. (PRWEB) February 04, 2019
Today The Pathfinder Network’s Center for Family Success released its client assistance report for the final of quarter of 2018. The report revealed a period of exceptional service to families impacted by incarceration and child welfare involvement in Multnomah County. Thanks to a combination of grants, community partnerships, contributions and in-kind donations, the Center celebrated and supported families at a higher level than in previous years that included family holiday events and donations of food, toys and gifts.
“More than ever, Center families are experiencing food insecurity, homelessness and financial distress,” said Meredith Olson-Goldsby, MSW, director of community programs at The Pathfinder Network. “The final quarter of the year is a time when the team dedicates their all to lift our families up in what is often a season of great need and challenge.”
The Center for Family Success offers a unique array of no-cost, trauma-responsive programs and services for systems-impacted individuals and families, including family engagement activities and events. In October, the Center hosted a trick-or-treat event for families with children of all ages, followed by Halloween craft making and refreshments. Dozens of costume-adorned kids went door to door collecting candy throughout the spookily decorated Center. Before Thanksgiving, with support from the Union Gospel Mission, the Center provided food boxes for 40 families with all the fixings, including a cash voucher for a turkey roast.
On December 20, 2019, the Center hosted a festive winter holiday gathering, their most successful event of the year, with over 30 families in attendance. Families shared a meal together, decorated stockings and ornaments, made gingerbread houses, had photos taken with Santa and left with bags of wrapped toys for the children to take home. Later that week, the Center hosted 45 families for coffee and cookies while they picked up food boxes with all of the ingredients for a delicious holiday meal and bags of wrapped toys.
“We always feel so welcome at the Center,” shared one client who attended the winter holiday event. “It means a lot how much staff really cares.”
The Pathfinder Network and its Center for Family Success could not meet all of the needs of the vulnerable systems-impacted families they serve without generous support from caring community members. Over the long holiday season, The Pathfinder Network’s Center served 85 families, including 155 justice system-impacted children, from infants to teens, who received toys generously donated by the KGW Toy Drive and the Fox12 Toy Drive. Staff at The Portland Clinic Foundation collected and donated cozy new blankets, warm socks, baby items and more. In addition, with tickets donated by HDi Equality for All Foundation and The Jubitz Foundation many families had the unique chance to attend Winter Hawks and Trailblazer basketball games.
For more information, please visit https://www.thepathfindernetwork.org.
The Pathfinder Network is a 501 (c) (3) social service agency founded in 1993 with a mission to provide justice system-impacted individuals and families the tools and support they need to be safe and thrive in their communities. The Pathfinder Network provides cognitive-behavioral programs, parenting programs, education and support services for pro-social living to adults in the Oregon prison system and to children and families in the community. The Center for Family Success is the service delivery hub for The Pathfinder Network in east Multnomah County, providing parenting classes, early childhood home visiting, advocacy, youth mentoring, trauma coping skills groups, adult peer mentoring, reentry support and family engagement activities.