Family Services of Blair County

Welcome to 2004! I am pleased that we now have a revised and complete state budget!! As I prepare this article, we are still awaiting specific information about the Human Service Development Fund allocation for Blair County, which will determine the amount of funding we will have to continue providing Counseling and Men Helping Men services. Yes, I said continue! The board of directors for this agency has worked very hard to raise additional dollars and approved the temporary use of reserve funds to maintain these services during the state budget crisis. Our employees and volunteers have also worked very hard to control costs and to implement new sources of revenue. All of this is occurring at a time when the demand for these and all of our services continues to grow. As has been the case for the last 75 years, this agency and everyone in the community who supports it will not be deterred in our determination to help make Blair County a healthier place to live!

I am sad to note the departure of Denise Owens and her family as her husband accepts a much deserved promotion and job transfer. You can read about Denise's work as a CVSS volunteer in this issue.

It is important that we understand the important services our employees provide each day. Dorothy Winfield, from our office that assists with the filing of Protection From Abuse Orders, shares a description of a typical day in that office.

The move of one of our Community Residential Facilities (CRF) took place in December. Shannon Snyder, the supervisor for this home has written an article to thank everyone involved.

And then we have our marketing and special events efforts. You will note that many exciting things will be happening in the coming months. Most noteworthy are our first ever Women's Night Out and the return of the very popular Taste of Home Cooking School. We look forward to the continued support of our corporate sponsors and the residents of Central Pennsylvania for these and all of our upcoming special events.

Judy Blair, our Administrative Director, has just returned from her second mission trip to Haiti. We are anxious to hear about her trip and the continuation of the friendships she established with some of the residents in a small rural village on her first visit.

As always, we look forward to a very busy winter. Employees are working on college degrees, college interns are coming to join us to assist in several of our programs and to obtain that "hands-on" learning that only an organization like this can provide. We have started the process to update our 3-year strategic plan and we can't forget that it is almost time to begin the development of our 04-05 budget!