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Family Resource Center Celebrates 25 Years of Strengthening Families
since founding in 1999, Eau Claire center has helped thousands of parents and children
If anything can be conclusively said about parenting in the past 25 years, it’s that it hasn’t gotten any easier.
Everything from rising housing costs to the unending stream of perfect families showcased on social media has put continual stress on parents and their children. Consider the conclusions of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory published in August, which found that 48% of American parents said “most days their stress is completely overwhelming.” That’s nearly twice the rate of nonparents. The same study found that parents – and particularly single parents – experience loneliness at higher levels than nonparents.
Now consider the role of the Family Resource Center, a nonprofit agency founded in November 1999 – 25 years ago this month – to provide support to Eau Claire area families with young children. It’s a job that’s arguably more important than it was a quarter-century ago. Built around the motto “Because Children Don’t Come With Instructions,” the FRC offers most of its services free, with no need for income qualifications or referrals.
“A lot of what we do makes it easier to parent well,” explained Dr. Jennifer Eddy, executive director of the center, which is inside Eau Claire’s Oakwood Mall. That includes programs such as playgroups, Parent Cafes, a lending library, home visits, the Positive Parenting Program, parenting education classes, and more.
“Honestly, I don’t know where we’d be without the FRC,” a parent wrote in a testimonial. “My son had a traumatic birth and I was very anxious about his development. At the FRC I met other parents with kids similar ages to my son and made many new friends. I was able to talk about my experiences and fears. The Parent Educators helped walk me through my concerns, evaluated my son’s abilities, and gave me great direction.”
“We provide lots of information on childhood development,” Eddy said, noting that helping build babies’ brains has been central to the center’s mission from the beginning.
Eddy sees the center’s top goal as connecting people with parents of similarly-aged children. While the playgroups it offers are for children from birth through age 5, the relationships formed – among the children and their parents – frequently turn into lifelong bonds, she said.
The key for the Family Resource Center is not simply to tell parents what they should be doing – such as playing, singing, talking, and reading with their children – but to provide an inviting place to do all those things.
And speaking of invitations, the FRC invites the community to celebrate its 25th anniversary at an open house from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, Nov. 9. The free celebration will be held at the center and the adjacent corridor of the mall, and will feature games, music, balloons, a scavenger hunt, a bouncy house, treats, face painting, and more. Pre-registration is appreciated but not required. (Learn more online at www.frcec.org/event-info/nov9.)
The celebration will also include a raffle with a twist: The winner of each of seven raffle baskets will be announced after a testimonial about the FRC is read aloud. And the writers of the seven testimonials that are chosen will each be given $250! (Learn how you can submit a testimonial online at www.frcec.org/testimonials/share.)
Previous testimonials, like this one from a parent, show the impact of the center’s work: “The Family Resource Center is a safe place to play with my family and talk. I also love the support and resources it offers to both parents, especially dads because I've seen the difference it's made in my fiance’s life.”
“Honestly, I don’t know where we’d be without the FRC,” wrote another parent. “My son had a traumatic birth and I was very anxious about his development. At the FRC I met other parents with kids similar ages to my son and made many new friends. I was able to talk about my experiences and fears. The Parent Educators helped walk me through my concerns, evaluated my son’s abilities, and gave me great direction.”
The Family Resource Center opened its doors on Graham Avenue in downtown Eau Claire in 1999 and later moved to Heights Drive near the former Sacred Heart Hospital. It relocated to its current home in Oakwood Mall in 2011. Over time, it has continued to grow: Last year, Eddy said, the center had nearly 6,300 on- and off-site visits, an increase of more than 50% from a decade earlier.
While the Family Resource Center has evolved over the years – for example, workshops are available over Zoom, and the center makes extensive use of social media – the bedrock, strengths-based approach hasn’t changed: helping parents build up their skills and setting them and their little ones up for success.
The Family Resource Center is located inside Oakwood Mall, 4800 Golf Road, Eau Claire. Hours are 9am to 1pm Monday-Saturday. Learn more by emailing info@frcec.org or visiting frcec.org. The center also operates a Parent Helpline at (715-) 833-1735.
