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About Aurora Community Connection

 

Aurora Community Connection (ACC) family resource center was founded in November 2007, with funding from the JFM Foundation and support from the Family Resource Center Association (FRCA). This funding was extended to honor the memory of FRCA’s founding director, Bill Michaels, and the JFM Foundation’s co-founder and longtime president, Frederic Mayer, who were both committed to reestablishing a family resource center in north Aurora after a previous site closed its doors.

The JFM Foundation and FRCA hired Dr. Robin Waterman to take the lead in creating the new center. In addition, Leadership Aurora, a leadership development program operated by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, chose ACC as their class project in 2007-2008. From that effort, 36 professionals from Aurora worked with Dr. Waterman to identify in-kind facility space, develop marketing materials, create a board of directors, develop organizational infrastructure and obtain additional funding. FRCA also provided pass-through funding from the Colorado Health Foundation to support health advocacy work.

ACC promotes family self-sufficiency by mobilizing residents from the local community to contribute their time and skills to help other families. In its short time as a nonprofit organization, ACC has built trust with local residents and developed a strong framework for community outreach.

As a result, groups such as Aurora Public Schools, Aurora Mental Health, Share Our Strengths and the Anschutz Wellness Center turn to ACC to connect their resources with families in Aurora. For this reason, many of ACC’s programs are collaborative efforts that incorporate existing community resources, with ACC responsible for outreach and participant recruitment, and community agencies funding program staff, evaluation and materials.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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