He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God.    - Micah 6:8

We believe in personally investing in the neighborhoods
where we work through community ourtreach, partnerships
and collaborations. Our philosophy is that empowering
children and parents to be involved where they live helps
to build brighter futures!

FCSS Staff Member Helps in Africa

Yolanda Gill, MSW, Clinical Team Supervisor for FCSS, recently took part in a service trip
in Ghana, West Africa that was organized by VCU's School of Social Work along with
Peaceworks, Inc. The service trip consisted of 18 students and alumni.

From December 28 - January 12, 2008, the group was able to work with
street children in the capital of Accra and assisted in the building of a Child
Development Center that will serve as a school and an orphanage. While
there, short classes were conducted on sex education and much needed medical supplies were provided. The sponsored street children will reside at the center and receive an education and a safe haven from the dangers on the streets. Since few schools exist, this will offer new hope to these children.

Christmas Angel Program Helps Deserving Area Children

For the past two years, children and their families from Jack and Jill School in Richmond's West End, have been helping Family and Community Support Systems to sponsor children in the Richmond Metro area who would otherwise not have a very bright Christmas. This Shirley Combs wraps Christmas gifts donated for deserving children in the area. collaborative effort is a fun and rewarding experience for all who are involved. FCSS interviews families to ensure that they are not receiving other assistance for Christmas. At that point, Shirley Combs, FCSS Administrative Assistant, deciphers the children's requests and makes Christmas ornaments with two wishes for each child. These ornaments are placed on the Christmas Tree at Jack and Jill School. The parents of the children there pick an ornament, buy their gifts and return them to Jack and Jill. The collection usually requires multiple trips to pick up all of the gifts! What a blessing! For Christmas 2008, we were able to brighten the Christmas for 15 families, including 50 children. One hundred gifts were wrapped and distributed to these families. We welcome corporate sponsors for our Christmas Angel program. If your company is interested, contact us in early November. In 2007, Dominion Packaging helped to sponsor many of our families with a corporate donation. We have also received donated hams for our families from area churches. There are many ways to help. Contact us to see how YOU can help! Many thanks go to our friends at Jack and Jill School!