Pg . 4
The Clackamas Print
Feature
Wednesday, February 3,1993
Family Resource Center helps pav
by Heidi Branstator
Feature Editor
The Family Resource Cen
ter (FRC) may have a new loca
tion and a brand new building,
but one thing has stayed the same;
those involved are still helping
pave “avenues to the future” for
anyone in need of a little guid
ance, said Anne Pardington, in
structor and counselor for the
center.
In the past, the center was
located across the street from
Clairmont Hall with classes held
in a room Pardington described
as a “woodshed.” The FRC is
now located across the road from
the new library. The facilities
include child care classrooms,
conference rooms, offices, large
classrooms and even a small li
brary.
The FRC combines social
support with educational needs
to help people make positive
changes in their lives. Classes
focus on basic skills education,
college credit classes, pre-em-
ployment training, career coun
seling, child care and support
services.
“It’s not just the classes by
any means,”-Pardington said. A
graduation is held for those who
complete their classes, and when
they are through, students “have
a strong support system for going
on,” she said. Some choose to go
on to college while others begin
new jobs or careers.
There are students ranging
in age from 17 to 84 involved in
the FRC, with the average age
being 40.
The program has been grow
ing for 10 years. “I never thought
it would last this long ... we’ve
had over 2,000 students now,’’
Pardington said. She hears “tre
mendous feedback” from “people
who feel that their lives have been
changed.” Pardington said gradu
ates often refer people to them,
and now they even have some
daughters of mothers who once
went through the program.
“We want to do more out-
reaching to the community when
wecan,’’Pardington said. Work
shops geared toward the Hispanic
community is one way they will
do this.
Financial aid is available
based on need and fundraisers
will be held to help create schol
arships.
Life and Career
Options Program
gram with a lack of both. The
students are taught the whole job
search process including appli
cations, resumes, interviewing and
presenting their best self.
The instructors take two or
three days to go over and teach
each necessary process. “We
help them step by step by step,”
Pardington said.
There are day and night
classes and each holds 30 stu
dents. There is also a class held
at the Harmony Center which is
geared toward people from a
welfare situation. Though the
classes contain mostly women,
Pardington said that there is al
ways at least one man in each
class. “Guys need it as much as
women do,” she said.
Community
Child Carez
The Life and Career Options
Program (formerly the Displaced
Homemaker/Single Parent Pro
gram) focuses on providing pre
employment training, life skills
and life planning for individuals
in transition.
“Well over half of Our stu
dents are coming out of a divorce
situation,” Pardington said. Oth
ers, or their spouses, have retired,
been laid off or are hoping to
make changes in their lives, but
don’t know where to begin.
“We make available evéry
option and support possible for
them to succeed,” she said.
“The people that get the jobs
photo by Heidi Branstator
The Family Resource Center is now located across the road
from the new library. The facilities include child care
classrooms, conference rooms, offices, large classrooms
and even a small library.
are the ones that present them
selves the best,” she said.
The classes are a lot of work.
Instruction focuses on building
self-esteem and confidence, which
Pardington says is the biggest
factor for a lot of the students.
Many of them go into the pro
Half of the FRC is used for
Community Child Care. There
are a number of classrooms, each
for a different age group, where
almost 100 children, ages 6 weeks
to 6 years, are cared for each day.
A volunteer program allows
graduates of the center to work
in the day care. With this pro
gram, they gain experience and
have a reference available when
they begin applying for jobs.
When the ground breaking
was held, each person attending
One child plays while in day
in Community Child Care.
Young Parèiït
Opportunity Program 1
placed their hand print on a square
of fabric with their name and the
year. Banners were put together
using these squares aind they now
hang from the ceiling, lining the
hallways of the FRC.
. Day care hours are 7 a.m. to
6 p.m. .Monday through Friday.
Pre-registration is required.
The Young Parent Opportu
nity Program (YPOP) provides
an opportunity for young parents
to continue their education while
improving their parenting and life
skills. The program also pro
vides basic skills education and
pre-employment training. Trans
portation and child care are avail-
'You can do it' attitude, skills testing i
by Melissa Freels '
Cp-Editor-in-Chief ' -
tional Honor Society at Clacka-
So she decided, to come to . mas, Jan, 26. fa addition,Welk
“You can doit!’'is a phrase Clackamas. ’•<< •.. " x
spends somepf h er sparefono as
that evetyone needs to hear once
th a t she was. a . volunteer at the Family Be»;
in a white. It was this encour • ^Terrified” abfod-coming back to source Center/:
„
/
“Idon’tfoinkfo^iwóttid've
aging phrase from the Life and
school “I thought I was too old,
Career Options Program (LCOP) . I¿idolthinkF&be aide tottotft- continued, at least in the direp-
lidded,
ait Clackamas that fed. Patricia petefotellectually, Ididn’tkmow
Welk and Belinda Cole on a if I would be ablie fofidfiii aiifoe: for the support of the Life and 1
" bbjigations of a stodent and a
road to success.
Career Options Program,” she
LCOP is aprogram for dis • mdfoer.--.and.Iwas still.woridhgz commented .'
placed homemakers andsingle It was a difficult decision ” foe.
Welk emphasizes the sup»
parents, who would like to re
explahfod,
port provided byLCQP, which ?
.. Now, Wclk belicves that her she'feels is(as important ^ the
enter the job market, It is of
decision wasa ^oddfoi^^^M skills taught by LCOP, Shccspe-;
fered at the college’s Family
Resource Center. Oforthepast t^Mfemugh LCOP’sskiUand
orally yaluesdreseif-esteemthat
ten years, LCOP has helped: personality-5^el|:. was able LCQP helped herbuild.
/
2,000students formulate career
to find a career and educational
::ahd ¿ducfaiifa^gcals.
choice,
even
-foaugh
itfocemed
•• focusshe:Would be:
PatrtefoWelk
: ' good af and would alfo enjoy.
likeitwa^puipfreacfoitwasjust^
‘ : . Weik,. 42, graduated from
When W^H:$foduatd|s^B^ somefoing thalj(realiywanted
LCOP in faU of 1990
wbetf
foe program classes (were isiili
LCQP, shewaspwarded a $200
scholarship, which she calls her
being taught in abarn near foe
first “kudo ”
college’s.entrance, on Beaver- .. %iWelk’ M cunentiyworkfag
creck Road. ,
on an Oregon Transfer Degree in
“I had just gone hack info..
ihewotkforceandrealizedihat ( th is^foring and hopes to 'move pn
if was not foe way thal l wanted ;to Lewis and Clark College or.
fospendfoerestofmyworking: ■■?Marylh.urstColtege. Shcisalsoa:
yearn,**said Welk, whois mar
peer helper and ¿ student assis-
ried and has four teenage sons. (tantinthe Counseling-Centerat
“1 juslcouldn’t stay out there in
CCC.
ammimbm^
’ . .- Wefo:wa$ inducted into Phi.::
ductionworkfor. foexestpfniy -/iheta Kappa; which.isthfeNa.-
.and liked to do. All I heard from
'
.wAll' my. Iife:: Ij-hayd foeen
ei?jp;foyed at the mimmum yfoge.
liked tofoa^foet when I gfodii-
foed (fajfo wb?Lnfoe said^d
Despite whatever experience 1
hfoyhavehadinthejob^Ialways
gotthelowestposition, ”^oleex-
mas,
#
the mentor program. For some
woioiten»-'Welk e^ia^efo foe
plained.; Shnwas often ^jfoniised
nteiifor program(would beheip-
wage increases and promotions
: msecttriti.es. about cfoiiihg back
by her empfayws,/but nothing
gyer. came from tlfofopfomifos.
Cbie-fpund herself; “just dfoft-
to
]
v z ' ,
JSettin^'^'flbmfoitor pngp;
¿gram fo.:Weik*s^eerheipeo:'ndL;
vidual project for the term. She
hopes to have it fa progress by
■thejfad ofWinter Terfo/..:
ing'v:f?:.
»
I
“(decided it was tithe.to stop
fokfag .whatever job was'ayail-
abiei and go someplace where I
iÄ
.dquidl^tve.the skills testing and
find oat what I was really |bod
Belinda Cefe
-'
,\x 7
' ' Cole, 47»(graduated from’ for/^she s&id. ’ • •.
LCOP lastterm. :$he:Umarried
font ■ LCQP: at■
anti has two' daughters.; .. &&
youngest daughter, who wAi. be:
started.
taking LCOP
this term,
/ '
;' -
-
j
Clackamas had a good skills-test-1
fog program, so that Is where she I
'
'
I
1
When Cole m ade that deci-
them (LynneMhlonCyandAnne
Pardington, theLG3Pfafouctot$)
was (You ctm do fo* They’re fo
suppwttveandso positive,
"It's a little hmd to fail when:
you have those kind of hopes set
up in front of you ” she sa¡d,: :
Currently, Weákissettingup
a mentor program that will focus
ímWÓP. Sh¿ hopestoprnáteh'
iXOPgraduateswifo.LCÓPstU-.
dents who are plabnfag to ooh-
tinne theiir editcation at.Clacfca-.
PatricfoWelkaridBel inda Cole.
T
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