Family & Youth Forum
E-Newsletter from Family & Youth    Lake Charles, LA

January
2  0  0  8

 What's Inside

Front Page

A Time to Celebrate

LANO Standards for Excellence

A Family Celebration

Redefining "Family"

The Leadership Center Family

Governor's Safe & Drug Free Grant

Mom...Is that You?

The Back Page

Mission
It is the belief of Family & Youth that all individuals possess the ability to solve their own challenges and live full healthy lives when support is available. It is the mission of Family & Youth to provide affordable and professional support through programs and services dedicated to advocacy, counseling, and education for the people of Southwest Louisiana. Our effort and commitment to building family values will guarantee a stable and stronger community. 

A Time to Celebrate
by Julio Galan, Executive Director

This October, I had the privilege of representing our professional staff and dedicated board members at the Alliance for Children & Families’ National Conference held in Anaheim, California. Family & Youth, a United Way agency, was the recipient of the 2007 Agency of the Year Award. The award was presented to us in front of over 450 family service executives from across the United Sates for outstanding work on behalf of children, families and communities.

Family & Youth was chosen to receive this award because of its demonstrated excellence in board participation and support; impact of advocacy efforts on local, state, or national levels; continued professional development; and innovative programs. Thomas J. Morris, President of United Way in SWLA accompanied me to the award luncheon.

“The Alliance and our members benefit from having Family & Youth in this network of nonprofit human service providers,” said Peter B. Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alliance. “They have proven to be innovative and cutting-edge in living their mission each day. They are an inspiration to their peers in the Alliance.”

This award is the result of the hard work and dedication of our staff and the visionary leadership of our board of directors. “Family & Youth truly deserves this recognition. They continue to respond to the needs of our community with innovative initiatives that benefit us all and give Southwest Louisiana positive recognition” said Morris.

Our commitment is to continue to serve our community by providing professional and affordable support to children and families through programs and services that are dedicated to advocacy, counseling and education. This award will serve as a reminder that we must continue to find new professional and innovative ways to support positive development of our children and families.

Celebrating Success

Julio Galan, Executive Director of Family & Youth; Tom Morris President of the United Way SWLA; and Willie King, Jr., President of Family & Youth Board of Directors celebrate success at a recent luncheon.

Jake Philmon, Kerry Andersen, and Leslie Harless enjoy themselves at the luncheon celebrating Family & Youth’s successful year. Kerry Andersen hosted the event at L’Auberge du Lac.

Alliance for Children & Families

The Alliance for Children & Families (www.alliance1.org) is a national membership association of nonprofit human service providers in the United States and Canada. Motivated by a vision of a healthy society and strong communities, the Alliance strengthens the capacities of North America’s nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations to serve and to advocate for children, families, and communities. The more than 370 members of the Alliance provide an array of community-based programs and services to all generations, serving close to 3.4 million people each year.