California Families in Focus

In 2021 California Families in Focus had an extraordinary year full of new experiences and education. The quantum leap of 2020 forced us to acknowledge that we needed to catch up with technology so our Tribe had to learn how to navigate multiple virtual platforms. After an uncertain 2020, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic encouraged us to find new ways to serve our still recovering and fragile community. The need in 2021 was still greater than the resources because so many in our community were impacted physically, financially, emotionally and mentally. In order to better serve our community, our brave Tribe of volunteers had to learn not only how to protect themselves and the people we serve but they had to learn new skills to provide our programs virtually and to be able to pivot from virtual to in-person at the drop of a dime. We recruited our youth and interns to help us understand and navigate systems such as zoom, teams, canva, venmo, paypal and get up to date on running the day to day business as well as update our antiquated computer programs and video systems. They were tasked to create flyers and announcements that were attractive to our audience keeping in mind the diverse group we work with. Our CEO and our Board Chair Leslie Smith kept us up to date and informed of all CDC mandates and our members followed the strict guidelines while still providing vital services to the most vulnerable members in our community, youth and families, immigrants, seniors, single mothers and our Trans community. Our CFF Tribe of volunteers had a choice to volunteer for in-person events or to work from home because we were not closing our doors to the most vulnerable and at risk youth and their families in such a chaotic and still uncertain time in their lives and ours. We applied for any funding we could and partnered with other nonprofits and businesses to be able to get the support and services needed by using our grassroots efforts to focus on the current and critical needs of the communities in the height of the pandemic, CFF excelled in providing the following programs, projects, events and services; 1. COVID care packages 2. COVID compliance education 3. COVID Food pantry donations 4. COVID Rent relief 5. COVID Utility relief support 6. COVID Tenant Rights Workshops 7. Art, Music, Poetry and Dance program 8. Youth Mentoring support 9. Mental wellness program 10. Spiritual wellness program 11. Senior support 12. Youth scholarships 13. Anti-Bullying and Suicide prevention 14. Trans Pride 1st Annual Festival 15. Christmas support with toys and self-esteem bags 16. Volunteer support to community partners In 2021 our CEO and Founder Angel Macias and our Executive Director provided Mentoring support to 40+ youth from Jordan High School (23 seeds of greatness/WRAP) which included scheduling speakers, providing workshops on diverse topics such as self esteem, mentoring, leadership, good study habits, grief, meditation, cultural diversity, volunteer opportunities, career choices and internship opportunities. CFF provided art supplies and food for the workshops, backpacks and school supplies, COVID supplies, Dental Kits, and lots of volunteer opportunities. The youth received certificates of appreciation and participation and a couple of pizza parties. The workshops were provided virtual and in-person whenever possible, once a month from 3pm-5pm at Jordan High School.