Family Connections Honors “25 Hearts of the Community”
Media Advisory / Request for Onsite Coverage: Thursday, May 10 – 6pm
Media Contact: DP&A, Inc. / Erin Saberi (916) 952-5080 / erin@davidperry.com
WHAT: Family Connections Honors “25 Hearts of the Community”
Nonprofit serving immigrant families in SF’s Portola / Excelsior Neighborhood Celebrates 25 Years of Service
WHEN: Thursday, May 10: 6pm – 9pm
WHERE: Sons of Italy Hall / 5051 Mission Street, San Francisco
WEB: www.portolafc.org
What a difference a quarter century makes. 25 years ago, Maryann Fleming had an idea with a lot of heart: develop strong, healthy families to build thriving communities in San Francisco’s underserved Portola and Excelsior neighborhoods. 25 years later, Fleming’s idea, Family Connections (www.portolafc.org), is one of the Bay Area’s most respected nonprofits, having served more than 40,000 people and set to open an expanded facilty late this year. On Thursday, May 10th, 6pm – 8pm, that heritage is celebrated and “25 Hearts of the Community” will be honored for their contributions in a Gala Celebration at the Sons of Italy Hall (5051 Mission Street) – right acoss the street from Family Connections under-construction and expanded facility. Rose Aguilar of KALW Radio will emcee the festivities. Tickets for the Gala, a fundraiser for Family Connections, are $100 and may be purchased online by clicking on the at “Get Tickets Now” button at http://portolafc.org/support/celebrating-25-years/ Family Connections serves primarily low-income, immigrant working families and individuals in community centers located in San Francisco’s Portola and Excelsior neighborhoods. Their array of more than 30 interconnected, participant-driven programs is designed to provide a comprehensive continuum of care from early childhood education to grandparent support groups and from family literacy to intensive case management. The goal is to support and empower parents and caregivers to develop healthy families that will, in turn, create a thriving community in which to raise children. Using the Principles of Family Support as the underlying philosophy and framework, Portola Family Connections was launched in 1993 to deliver the initial community requested services. In 2004, after an invitation from a local advocacy group and survey of families in the district, they expanded into the Excelsior neighborhood.
The 25 “Hearts of the Community” honorees are Margaret Brodkin * Mollie Ward Brown * Willie L. Brown, Jr * Warren Browner * Dr. Eddie Chan * Flora Colao * The Cowell Foundation * Bevan Dufty * Barbara Fenech * Nicole Termini Germain * Mary Gregory * September Jarrett * Greg Keech * Laurel Kloomok * Jenny Lam * Stephanie Lee * Kingman Leung * Betty Liao * Mimi Ly * Gina Mendicino * Naomi Powers * Lorena Sanchez * Joaquin Torres * Suzy Vogler * Neva Walker