By Diana Whittle
Throughout the year, local families have been able to rely on an abundant offering of good will from the staff at Tempe’s Family Resource Center. In dire situations, an emergency helping hand could even be counted on.
In both cases, however, helping hands were extended as long as the call for help didn’t arise unexpectedly on a weekend.
Now, according to the center’s coordinator, hours are being expanded to include one Saturday a month in response to families who say it was difficult to obtain the essentials distributed at the center because the center was open the same hours that working families were on their jobs.
Located on the campus of Kyrene de los Niños Elementary School, the center is a longtime undertaking of the not for profit Kyrene Foundation, the district’s fundraising and community support arm.
“At the Kyrene Family Resource Center, we are always listening to our families, and take their comments and suggestions to heart,” said Program Coordinator Sylvia Lopez.
“We were being told how difficult it is for some families to come in during the week, as they were transitioning into the workforce and still needed our assistance. We are always willing to help our families obtain the resources that they need and being open on a Saturday is a resource that we were told is needed.”
It may just be one extra day a month, but Lopez says the positive response to being open on a Saturday has been overwhelmingly positive.
In order to staff the center on a weekend, Lopez relies on volunteers such as Tera McDonald, a kindergarten teacher at Kyrene de las Manitas school. “Tera organizes all of the volunteers and sacrifices her Saturday to be here for our families. She knows the needs of our families and is phenomenal in bringing together volunteers that range from students and teachers to community members,” explained Lopez.
The resource center is always accepting donations, as the families receive the donated resources as no cost.
Lopez says that there is a long list of items that the center can use.
“These would include new or gently used school-appropriate clothing and shoes for children up to 8th grade; new unopened packages of socks and underwear; small household and hygiene items including shampoo and hair conditioner, soap, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
At this moment the Kyrene Family Resource Center is getting ready for the holidays and is collecting food donations such as canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, french-fried onions, canned yams or sweet potatoes, bags of marshmallows, stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, corn bread or biscuit mixes, cranberry sauce and non-perishable dessert and cake mixes.
Donations can be dropped off at the resource center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays or Thursdays.
The Kyrene Family Resource Center, a joint effort between the Kyrene School District and the foundation, offers needy families access to resources to meet their basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, medical or legal support, resource referrals, scholarships and after-school programs.
The resource center is open to any family with a student enrolled in the Kyrene district.
The program’s mission is “removing barriers to learning,” as well as providing the resources that support that mission.
Lopez says that any family that could use assistance is welcome at the Kyrene Family Resource Center. “There are no income requirements nor appointments needed during our open hours.”
The center is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Thursdays until 6).
Saturdays scheduled for opening during the remainder of this year are Oct. 15 and Nov. 12. Niños school, where the family resource center is located is at 1330 E. Dava Drive, Tempe.
