The Altona and Area Family Resource Centre (AAFRC) recently held their annual general meeting, to review their successes and challenges over the past year.
The non-profit organization supports and connects families through free programming for pre-school children to enhance learning and build healthy communities.
In her report, board chair Dana Bergman noted there have been good conversations about the long-term goals of the organization.
“More work needs to be done, but we’re off to a good start,” she said.
Last year saw two board members step down, and two new ones come aboard.
“There remains a need for additional board members to support the work of the centre in a few areas,” Bergman said. “Some key areas where support would be valuable include technology (website), public relations, programming, fundraising.”
Bergman noted that the work of the centre remains a hybrid model of in-person programming and take-home programming for families with each community of Altona, Rosenfeld, and Gretna providing one in-person program weekly between September and June. Engagement in Emerson is also growing.
“This also includes other in-person programs delivered throughout the year to coincide with special events, specific seasons, or to specifically support the transition of preschoolers to kindergarten.”
The AAFRC relies on its supporters, donors, and families from the community, along with those from the health care, education, and business communities to offer these programs.
While it was exciting to see the return to more in-person programming, following the setback of COVID, finance chair Courtney Hutchison said the increase in program offerings, such as take-home kits, also resulted in increased expenditures.
Last year the AAFRC delivered 34 total programs to 146 distinct families, with expenses amounting to $25,161 for facilitator wages and supplies.
To offset these costs, the organization turned to new funding opportunities, which included new community partners and Puzzle Palooza, a fundraising puzzle event.
However, these efforts still left the organization operating at a deficit for the second year in a row.
For the upcoming fiscal year, Hutchison said they plan to again host Puzzle Palooza with the intention of growing this fundraiser annually.
“We will continue to connect with community partners to keep our programs running successfully. We have secured some multi-year commitments for funding which puts the organization in a strong position going into the next fiscal year and we expect to be back to a surplus budget for 2023-2024.”
Coordinator Nina Edbom-Kehler noted the year started off with restrictions, but there were aspects that helped them realize what was most important to families.
“This was the first year we had a full complement of facilitators, one for each community plus one to run our bi-weekly take-home kits and one to run the physical activity programming in Altona in the evenings.
“By continuing with our monthly facilitator meetings, we felt stronger as a team and as a coordinator I found I was better connected to them and the programs, so I was better equipped to report to the board.”
A common observance among all facilitators, she said, was the change in the behavior of families since the pandemic.
“While we used to host programs where parents and children were separated for a portion of the program, this was not something that was asked for. Families preferred to all stay together. And some families were just not comfortable in a group setting and preferred to only utilize our take-home kits. Hence, we provided what we could to accommodate all that to support all families in our communities.”
She added, “We can see now, how important that social piece, that being together, really is. The take-home kits were fantastic, but the bottom line is about supporting families who are raising their young ones and to help them grow into those well-rounded human beings that are going to thrive in the world. So however they get that is great.”
