Strengthen Families
Families provide communities with the power, potency, and promise for a stronger future.
And we’re providing families opportunities to grow stronger through our network of Hope4Communities, local partnerships, and other support systems, so families can strengthen themselves - and transform their communities.
Why Strengthen Families?
Today’s families face challenges at every level: higher costs, emptier dinner tables, greater joblessness, smaller social networks, wider educational gaps, deeper isolation. And that’s all by Monday evening.
As families grow weary and weakened, their communities follow. The Miami Valley has seen this happen in each of its communities. Parents and caretakers - many of them single parents and relatives - carry the burden of multiple commitments to help youth in their homes make it day to day. They’re worn thin. And their divided attention and limited time lead to youth feeling overlooked or left alone for long periods of time.
That’s why MVLF’s first initiative to serve the Miami Valley was to mentor youth. And as mentors began to meet with mentees, it became more clear how great the need was for caring for youth’s parents as well.
Communities won’t flourish until its families are strengthened. That’s why we believe in strengthening families.
How Do We Strengthen Families?
Nothing replaces the family, which means family members should be equipped and empowered to feel confident and competent to fulfill their roles in their families. Programs and initiatives can provide helpful services, but they should never become the replacement for a father or mother in the home.
First, our Hope4 Community network and partner organizations can help connect under-resourced families to the right people and to the right resources. We value the church. The faith community in a city has tremendous resources to bring. We seek to connect these resources with those of other sectors to renew our communities. Churches possess a wealth of ideas, talent, and influence to deploy on behalf of our city.
Second, MVLF offers training and coaching opportunities to churches, nonprofits, and agencies providing care and assistance to struggling, hurting families. We want to come alongside them to build their capacity as they come alongside families. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel in communities where initiatives are already active. We want to elevate and bolster churches’ and nonprofits’ present initiatives in caring for families.
Interested in learning more about our Charity to Change training program or serving as a group coach? Please fill out the contact form below.
A Message From Our Leader
"The development and engagement of Serving Leaders has become increasingly necessary as we serve the Miami Valley. Serving Leaders are being used to mentor youth and parents in their personal and professional development. Serving Leaders are being used to train and coach leaders at partner organizations on how to transition from charity to change. We value mentoring and coaching because they build positive and concrete change in individuals, accelerating the transfer of experience and knowledge from the coach or mentor to the individual. It has been a wonderful approach to serving our local youth and families. And it has ensured that at MVLF - and through our partner organizations - we are helping to create positive change in the Miami Valley."
Jay Schindler, MVLF President