County ups annual support for Family Resource Center

McCOOK, Neb. -- Commissioners accepted a challenge of sorts, and upped Red Willow County’s contribution to the Family Resource Center by $500 for the year, the same dollar increase pledged by Hitchcock County.

Delivering an annual report to the county board Monday, director Kathy Haas said Hayes and Dundy counties had increased their contribution by $100 each. Red Willow County will now provide $6,500 for the FRC, Hitchcock $3,500 and Hayes $1,000.

Donations and grants given by individuals, businesses, churches and organizations total $19,157 from Red Willow County in fiscal year 2020-21, she said, and the FRC receives $26,982 in in-kind donations, including free rent of its building from the City of McCook.

“The generosity of the people of Southwest Nebraska is staggering,” Has said.

The clothing exchange is one of the more popular services the FRC provides, she said, and Walmart very generously donates unsold seasonal clothing, which is then stored and distributed at the appropriate time. Last year, the FRC served more than 80 families from 11 communities in two clothing giveaways.

Known for serving a large number of families on a minimal budget, from July 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, the FRC provided parenting support to 36 families, served 22 through its assistive technology resource library, 500 through the children’s clothing exchange program, provided 200 contacts with referrals for services or other resources, helped provide nearly 150 families with Christmas gifts and new clothing through the Christmas Tree of Love, 40 families with free food, baby food and formula, support for 42 foster families, toiletries and cleaning supplies for 70 families, child abuse prevention resources for more than 500 families, free books for more than 80 families, and 19 families with assistance to deal with financial hardships created by their medical situations.

The FRC accomplishes all that with 20 hours of paid work by the executive director, 27 hours from the program assistance and 8 hours of work from the clothing exchange, with a total budget of expenditures of $48,549 for the current fiscal year.

This year, the FRC income included $1,323 from a fundraiser, $12,515 in donations, $8,742 from the Big Give, $21,900 from counties, $2,000 from grants and used $5,296 set aside from the previous year’s Big Give.