Families Forward Community Connections - Fall 2018
Support Local Families This Holiday Season
Join us in supporting children with our Adopt-a-Family Program. With your help, we can make the holidays brighter for deserving families in Orange County!
Adopt-a-Family Program
Sign up to receive a child's wishlist and help make their holiday dreams come true! The following are ways you can help us serve over 800 local families:
Adopt-a-Family - Sign up to fulfill children's hopes by donating items on their wishlist.
Host a gift drive - Register your organization for a toy drive and donate most-needed items. Teen gifts are especially needed. Click here to sign up for delivery and pick-up of donation barrels.
Donate gift cards - Click here to help parents purchase special items for their children during the holidays.
Don't have time to shop? - Donate onlineand designate your gift in support of the Adopt-a-Family Program.
For questions about Adopt-a-Family, please contact Lauren Ullom at
This month we celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Week to honor the AMAZING volunteers that support every area of Families Forward. From the front desk to the food pantry, from our Prevention and Diversion volunteers, to our data volunteers and everyone in between, THANK YOU!
There are about 2,000 volunteers that dedicate over 21,000 hours a year to help the families we encounter every day.
THANK YOU for your time and dedication to Families Forward. To learn more about joining the fun and becoming one of our amazing volunteers click here!
Record Number of Families Served
Families Forward completed our fiscal year on September 30 and we are excited to share the impact you and our community have made on local families in need.
Our dedicated staff and volunteers served more people than ever for an unprecedented
11,700 clients this fiscal year.
We are proud to see Families Forward growing to serve more vulnerable parents and children as we strive to reach our ultimate goal of ending family homelessness in Orange County by 2020.
Please
click here to learn more about how your ongoing support has helped transform the lives of homeless and nearly homeless families.
Single Mom Working Towards Dreams
Nancy recently divorced which forced her back into finding work again. As a single mom to a 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, she was overwhelmed and had trouble managing everything, including the household bills. In a few short months, she was evicted and wasn't sure how to care for her family.
Once connected to Families Forward, she met with a Housing Resource Specialist and discovered that finding an apartment was not going to be easy. After searching and applying to numerous places, she was approved for a 2-bedroom apartment and knew that maintaining rent for this apartment would be a challenge.
She had been a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) but had not worked in the field for years. She felt insecure in her skills, so she connected with our Career Coach to discuss how to get back into the medical field. Nancy started to work as a private nurse which was a great start to earning enough to stay housed.
Nancy's ultimate goal was to start her own business. Families Forward made it possible by helping her obtain her esthetician license. When Nancy graduated from Families Forward Housing Program, she was very optimistic about her future. She has a stable home for her and her two children and had a solid start with her own business as an esthetician.
Consider Tax-saving Donations Before December 31st
Donate Stock
Did you know, if you donate appreciated assets like stocks or mutual funds directly to a nonprofit like Families Forward, you can reduce or eliminate capital gains tax on the transfer?
Click here to learn more about appreciated assets.
Donate part of your RMD
If you have a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your retirement account, you can direct a portion as a charitable gift and lower your ordinary income tax on the withdrawal. Click here to learn more about how to lower your out-of-pocket costs.
Your financial support for Families Forward before December 31st will help a struggling family find housing and could lower your taxes at the same time.
Give the Gift of Home
Homelessness can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, regardless of age or income. H
elp Families Forward move 230 families sleeping on the streets or in their cars back into a home of their own again next year.
