Family Advancement Ministries

...helping families move ahead

November 2012

FAM News
Meet the New Director
As some of you may know, our longtime director, Sister Elizabeth Greim, has stepped down from her position to begin a new ministry for the homeless here in Macon. We would like to wish her the very best, and we pray that God blesses her new work. As we say farewell to someone who has served our ministry faithfully for so many years, we would also like to greet our newest director, Sister Roberta Treppa. Sister Roberta hails from Detroit, Michigan, and has spent most of her life up north. The youngest of three in a Catholic family, she began to care for others at a young age through parish and community events, as well as being a caregiver for her parents. She earned her Associates Degree in Science and worked at Sams club as well as her local parish. She recently returned to school and earned her B.A. from DePaul University. She met the Daughters of Charity in 2004, and found a true fit with their mission as she had been serving those in need for most of her life through the church and community organizations like Habitat for Humanity. After my parents passed, Sister explains, I realized that what I was doing outside of work was defining my life more than my actual job. I met the Daughters through a parishioner of my church. I had been thinking about religious life, and it all sort of fell into place.

The Staff of Family Advancement Ministries

Sr. Roberta Treppa D.C. Director Tom Eden: Operations Manager Chris McKowen: Office Manager Rena Waller: Education Coordinator Keshia Nelson: Pre-Natal Program Coordinator Luz Maria Hill: Hispanic Ministries Coordinator Maribel Gomez: Child Care/Sewing Instructor

Hello to Chris!
As we bid farewell to Alicja, we say hello to Chris McKowen as FAMs new office manager. Although we were sad to see Alicja leave FAM, we are excited to welcome Chris to FAM. She started her new job in August and had to jump right in as she put together the uniform program in August and September. Chris has lived in Macon for the past five years with her husband John and three

children, John, Abbie and Emily. Her family has moved a great deal over the years, from Michigan, Ohio, and even three years in Poland. They moved to Macon when her husband began working at Bluebird Bus Company. They are members of St. Peter Claver Church. Her two oldest children have graduated from Mount de Sales Academy and her youngest is a sophomore now. Chris became involved in the St. Peter Claver Food Pantry two years ago. During her work there she met Sr. Elizabeth. When the new job became open at FAM, Sister recommended Chris for the job. She is very excited about the work that goes on at FAM. She loves the volunteers and is amazed at their hard work and dedication to the mission of FAM. With two of her children off to school, Chris is very happy to find work outside of her home, and it is work that is helping others through difficult situations. We wish Chris all the best and hope her work here continues for a long time. Please welcome Chris at the High Place office.

Our website is under construction. To watch progress, check out www.faministries.org Our new baby registries are posted on the home page check it out!

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Honors Night

On May 9, FAM recognized John McGoldricks two decades of service to the people in our community at our fourth annual honors night. John has used his professional and personal talents to help the continuing development of ministries that have served women in a crisis pregnancy and low -income families with young children who are facing financial, emotional and spiritual crisis. Over 120 of Johns family and friends gathered for a night of congratulations, gratitude and fun.

Farewell to Alicja
After spending the past ten years as part of the FAM family and the past six as our office manager, Alicja Griffin is leaving Family Advancement Ministries to spend more time with her children. We are sad to see her go, but we are grateful for the incredible service she has provided for the ministry, and we would like to bid her a very fond farewell. Alicja came here ten years ago as a Junior League volunteer. She fell in love with the ministry and the people who worked here, and was a regular volunteer for four years. When the previous office manager left, Alicja dropped a hint that she was interested in the position, and she has done excellently since she took the job, six years ago. When asked what she was most proud of at her tenure at FAM, Alicja answered that the Gift of Love Program was her favorite project, and she is immensely proud of how it has grown.

Now we give family dinners and presents to hundreds of kids at Christmastime. It astounds me how generous people can be to people they've never met. There is no feeling in the world quite like the one I get when I see the parents come to pick up the gifts for their children and their faces light up. Alicja has served many roles during her time as office manager, becoming whatever the ministry has needed her to be: a bookkeeper, planner, coordinator, volunteer, a designer. She has done all these things and more. Ive really enjoyed working here, she says with a smile. I think my favorite part has been meeting all these people from different walks of life. Theyve had so many stories. I think thats what Ill miss the most- the volunteers, the staff, the people. We will miss you too, Alicja. Enjoy your time with your kids, and God bless

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FAMs Pre-Natal Program:

FAM offers support and assistance to expectant mothers as they transition into motherhood. Pre-natal support services include:

Pre-Natal Peer Counseling Pre-Natal Assessments Baby Items -as determined

Resource Referrals Breastfeeding classes Post Partum Home Visits Parenting Education classes

Maternity clothes (once during 1st or 2nd trimester) Crib & Car seat safety instruction

during Pre-natal assessment

Home Visits are a service, we provide to our clients in the Pre-Natal Program. The purpose of the home visit is to offer support to new moms and make sure mother and baby are doing well as they transition into motherhood and begin to face new challenges, feelings of isolation, or tiredness. At or around three weeks after delivery, our Pre-natal Program Coordinator, Keshia Nelson, schedules a home visit. During the visit, crib, car seat and sleep safety are discussed. With permission from the mom, a picture of the baby is also taken and placed on the wall of newborns at FAM. Take a look at some of our precious babies:

ment, she explains. The skill has served Gomez well financially, but she insists that even if the students are not interested in sewing as a means of employment, it is still a practical thing to be able to do. As long as people wear clothes, people will need to be able to sew. If they can do Maribel Gomez, in charge of child care at it themselves, it will save them money. FAM, has recently started teaching sewing classes through FAMs Life Skills program. A change of pace from the various classes the program has offered in the past, which have included classes on personal finance, parenting, civics, English, and nutrition, these classes offer clients a chance to learn something creative and fun.

New Sewing Classes Teach Clients Practical Life Skills:

She has been encouraged by the interest students have shown and by the consistent attendance. By the second or third class they all get very excited about their projects. The final project is the main portion of the curriculum once the students have learned the basics, and Maribel likes to make it a different project every time so that returning students can learn how to make something else. Students have made everything from bags to aprons, pot-holders, small blankets, and Christmas stockings. Since many of the students do not have sewing machines of their own, FAM has allowed students who have already taken the course to come back to use one of the machines here. Many students do this regularly, offering FAM the unique opportunity to be a part of their community and to help keep their children clothed.

Gomez, who does alterations for another job, thinks that the skills learned in class are just as useful as the ones learned in the other classes. It gives these people a good skill for employ-

FAMILY ADVANCEMENT MINISTRIES

...helping families move ahead

Return Service Requested

570 High Place & 538 Orange St Macon, GA 31201

Phone: 478-745-7165/746-9803 Fax: 478-745-6880 /745-0847 Website: www.faministries.org Email: faministries.maconga@gmail.com

Mission Statement Family Advancement Ministries is a Catholic diocesan social service, in partnership with the broader community, that nurtures a deep reverence for life by providing a caring response to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of families through empowerment.

There are many ways to assist us to assist others:

1. Donate
Diapers Childrens books New infant toys Maternity clothing Childrens clothes (size: newborn to 10) Childrens shoes OR
Check out our new Online baby registries at

2. Volunteer :

3. Join
THE FAM Club

Answer phones Interview clients Process client files Sort clothes research/write Grants Seasonal projects

Check your parish bulletin or call us for more details

Www.walmart.com Www.target.com Our name is fam donations