Spotlight on Community Family Life Services Committee

The fall and winter months are easily the most exciting time of the year for Community Family Life Services (CFLS) participants and committee members. After kicking off the school year with a Back-to-School drive, we held a Thanksgiving food drive in November and rounded out December with the annual Adopt-a-Family and Christmas celebration.

Back Left to Right: JLW members Lucy Lynch, Jenny Dawson, and Nicole Sandoz help serve dinner at CFLS’s annual holiday celebration.

CFLS Committee member Amy Cheng helps a CFLS participant work on a puzzle at the holiday celebration.

Through these events, we were able to provide 40 Thanksgiving baskets, as well as holiday gifts and winter clothes for 50 CFLS participants. We also worked with Resolution Read to provide approximately 180 books to CFLS participants ranging in age from newborn to 18. All this support was made possible by members helping other members – from our committee members and JLW members at-large, to collaborating with other League committees.

CFLS Committee member Allison Everhardt helps a CFLS participant create a holiday frame for her family during the committee’s holiday celebration.

In addition to these supply and gift drives, CFLS Committee members organize bimonthly Connection Nights with CFLS families to foster literacy and life skills; each session reaches approximately 10 women and 12 children. This month, one of our Connection Nights was a holiday celebration with a family-themed activity, dinner, and sweet treats. We organized a festival photo booth to take family portraits and decorated picture frames.

A CFLS regular contemplates how to decorate his picture frame at the holiday celebration.

Across the League’s 11-year partnership with CFLS, JLW members have strived to provide the women and children with the support and resources they need to reenter society and prevent homelessness and recidivism.

All decked out for the holidays! The decorated picture frame is ready for a family photo.