Even when no one else has Christmas and the holidays on their minds, some of the members of the Board of Directors of Woonsocket's Adopt-a-Family are thinking about it.
On April 8, while local thermometers flirted with 80 degrees, Adopt-a-Family Program Coordinator Sandy Soares and Vice President Julie Wunderich met with Deb Grasso, Family Advocate, and Elena Marchand, Volunteer Coordinator, at Family Resources Community Action.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the 2010 program year. Family Resouces is the local agency that Adopt-a-Family partners with to reach the needy families that we provide holiday help for annually. FRCA intake workers initially meet with the Woonsocket families to complete the applications necessary to be considered for our program.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the application process and ways to improve and streamline the process. During the two-hour meeting some of the topics discussed included beginning intake earlier than usual, editing the application form to provide better details about the needs of the families and verifying information about the families.
Everyone at the meeting agreed that more frequent meetings between AAF and FRCA would be helpful. At the wrap-up of the meeting Deb showed Sandy and Julie the conference rooms used by the intake workers to meet with and take the applications from the needy families.
Although the tables and the room were empty, looking around, Sandy said "I can picture what this room must look like when the 1200 families are meeting with FRCA volunteers. During our part of processing the applications sometimes we feel overwhelmed. At that point we are just dealing with piles of green forms. FRCA has to physically meet with each and every family. It gives Julie and I a whole new appreciation for this part of the program. We couldn't do what we do without Family Resources. It's been a long relationship between the two entities and one we hope continues for a very long time."
