FamiliesFirst

Families 1st / Faith Fellowship Ministries

Founded in 1989 under the name of Smiling Faces, Families 1st/ Faith Fellowship Ministries is a non-profit social service agency located in downtown Richmond . The agency was founded by Carolann Pacer-Ramsey after what she describes as inspiration from a divine vision. The agency states that its mission is to provide community services that support families and children through a variety of services, including mentoring, consultative outreach, and financial literacy. These services are provided through faith-based activities.

One program offered is the Grandparent 2 Grandparent program, which helps grandparents raising grandchildren. This free program consists of a support group that meets once each month. During the meeting there is dinner, networking, educational sessions for the adults, and activities provided for the children and youth.

Another program is the Soaring Eagles Family Mentoring Project. This project was developed in order to help families with children with mental health issues to enhance the child’s abilities while supporting the family’s stability and values. In this free service families are assigned a mentor who works with them to help develop a plan that will create stability for the child their various life settings.

Other programs include Youth 4 Tomorrow, Parenting 4 Tomorrow and Heart 2 Hand. All of these programs offer use volunteers. Youth 4 Tomorrow operates as a mentoring program for people between sixteen and twenty-five years of age who are in need of guidance. Parenting 4 Tomorrow provides parenting education, coaching, and family reconciliation. Heart 2 Hand is a program that matches volunteers to families; volunteers perform tasks that range from interior and exterior painting to repairing and restoring homes.

In addition to the various services they offer the ministry also offers a variety of classes. These classes cover a variety of topics, including a religious perspective on behavior management, parenting on a small budget, and developing parenting skills. Some classes are fee based, and others are free of charge.

Families 1st/Faith Fellowship Ministries
8 East Broad Street , First Floor
Richmond , VA 23219
(804)-649-0773

Sources:
Families 1 st founder
Families 1 st website
Families 1 st brochure

Profile prepared by Aubin Richards
December, 2007

 

 

 

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