Family Service of Glencoe launches fall campaign

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Updated: January 13, 2012 10:59AM

The Board of Family Service of Glencoe recently launched its fall fund raising campaign, with letters going to the community it serves asking for donations to support the local nonprofit at the heart of Glencoe.

FSG, which has served the village since 1914, has seen an all-time high demand for its services. In 2011, Family Service of Glencoe served over 3,000 individuals in Glencoe through its counseling (at no cost to the unemployed), on-call 24 hour crisis intervention, domestic violence prevention programs, youth and family counseling, family-enriching programming through its affiliate, Glencoe Parent Connection, and more.

Family Service of Glencoe relies on donations from individuals along with corporate and foundation support to ensure all those who need its services can receive them. In these current economic times, individual donations play a critical role in meeting the needs of FSG’s client base.

“The state of the economy continues to impact many individuals and families who live and work in our community, and in turn, Family Service of Glencoe,” said Co-President of the board Kim Cornell. “FSG offers a sliding scale fee structure to its clients to ensure all who need our services can afford them, along with free counseling to the unemployed. It might surprise those who live here to learn that this past year, 80 percent of our clients paid a reduced rate for counseling services, of which 30 percent paid no fee at all. We hope that Glencoe will consider supporting FSG with a donation, no matter the size, to ensure we can continue to meet the growing needs of those who live and work here.”

FSG also plays an important role in facilitating community dialogue on important issues, proactively identifying areas of need among different segments of the population and developing programs which support them in collaboration with local schools, faith leaders and other community organizations.

For example, this fall, FSG, via its affiliate Glencoe Parent Connection, created unique opportunities for parents to come together, talk about the challenges of parenting in these complex times, and strengthen their own families through programs like:

* “Anxiety In Young Children” on Oct. 26

* “Coffee and Conversation with Al” on Nov. 2

This is also a time of transition for the 98-year-old nonprofit. FSG’s Executive Director, Nancy Sutherland, will retire in December and a search for a new director in its final stages. Comments Victoria Lovely, Co-President of FSG’s board, “We are grateful for the leadership and service Nancy has provided, which helped to grow the agency into the vital, community-strengthening resource it is today.”

Letters seeking support have been mailed to all Glencoe households. Donations can be sent in the provided envelopes, or can be made online at http://familyserviceofglencoe.org/donate.html.

Continued Victoria Lovely, “We thank the community in advance for helping FSG to make a difference in our community now and in the years to come.”