Lunch guests listen as FSN Executive Director Susan Mack explains the many services provided by the organization. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon

FSN Board Member Jackie Marrast-Simpson explains how citizens can help FSN achieve its goals. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon

The board and staff of Family Strengths Network (FSN) welcomed around 30 guests for lunch and tea Tuesday at FSN’s facility on Diamond Drive.

Guests learned about the programs offered by FSN and heard from parents how FSN has benefited their families.

“We decided to teach people what we do, rather than have big fundraising events that don’t really have anything to do with our mission,” said Executive Director Susan Mack, one of three part-time staffers at FSN.

When Liz Lueninghoener moved to Los Alamos, she was afraid she would have nothing to do and would lack the support she had enjoyed from other parents with young children. Then she discovered FSN.

“All of my friendships started at FSN, then expanded from there,” she said. “Within a month and a half, I had more than I could do.”

FSN provided Lueninghoener’s kids with a safe place to play and meet other youngster, she said.

County Council Vice Chair Kristin Henderson agreed, saying “I would come almost every day when my kids were little. This was a huge way for me to be happy in this town.”

Henderson praised FSN’s “Parenting with Love and Logic” program.

“I learned so much about helping kids to make good choices,” she said.

Recently, FSN has collaborated with other local groups on suicide prevention programs, Mack said. FSN provides the “We Help Ourselves” program in the schools. This program teaches kids how to deal with bullying and other peer issues as well as showing them how to build self-esteem.

In addition to groups for parents and kids, like “Chit Chat,” for parents and their infants and toddlers, FSN has many classes for kids and their caregivers. FSN classes and resources also provide help with issues such as dealing with aging parents, step-parenting, wills and trusts, illness in a family and many others.

The Beth Ladino Library has more than 1,200 books for kids and adults on all aspects of family life available for check out. FSN also has a large toy Library with toys for many age-groups available for check out. This is a terrific resource for those who have children visiting them or for those with a small living space and no room to store toys.

FSN holds special events, such as family hikes and the popular Gingerbread House Building Day.

The popular program “Many Mothers” in which volunteers come to the home of a new parent for 40 hours to help them get on their feet. If the person is a first-time parent, volunteers can offer advice on caring for a newborn.

Program participation at FSN has increased 69 percent since 2006. FSN has so far provided 14,265 hours of service in 2014. While this growth shows the rising need for the services of FSN and the confidence the community has in the organization, it has created a funding gap as well as the need for more staff and volunteer hours to meet the needs.

“We’ve grown tremendously and our budget needs to grow,” Mack said.

FSN receives some funding from grants, Los Alamos County and the state of New Mexico, but competition for funds is growing keener. Contributions by businesses and organizations are an important piece of the funding pie as well. Currently, contributions by individuals account for less than 20-30 percent of FSNs funding. FSN hopes to change that. Through informational events like the recent luncheon, FSN hopes to educate the community about what it does.

“We’re hoping the community will value what we do and want to help out,” Mack said.

FSN board member Jackie Marrast-Simpson outlined a number of ways to help FSN:

• Become a member of FSN;
• Volunteer your time;
• Designate FSN to receive funds from purchases at Smith’s Marketplace by enrolling at SmithsCommunityRewards.com or from purchases at Amazon.com through its Smiles program;
• Tell others about FSN and its work; and
• Make a contribution to FSN.

“Be sure to let your friends and family know what goes on here at FSN,” board member Wendy Schmidt said.

For more information on FSN and its programs, visit https:////www.lafsn.org/.