News editor
Families and Communities Together Inc.’s Family Assistance Fund has provided $10,400 of assistance to more than 80 Marion County families this year, FACT Director Ashlee Gann said Thursday. That amount has grown every year since the fund’s inception, owing to the generosity of churches, families, and businesses, Gann said.
The Family Assistance Fund can provide up to $100 to a family needing help with a wide variety of concerns: utilities, rent, medical bills, insurance, and school supplies have been some of the areas the fund has helped in this year.
“We really don’t have restrictions on what we help with, as long as they have children 18 and younger in the home,” Gann said.
FACT receives requests for assistance from across the county, distributed in close proportion to population, with the most requests coming from Hillsboro, Marion, and Peabody. Some are from families in long-term financial distress, but others are from people in a one-time bind, Gann said.
Families in need of assistance can contact Gann at (620) 947-3184 to apply. Applications are reviewed by a task force, and most are approved. The task force doesn’t generally receive frivolous requests for assistance, Gann said. There is a limit of one use of assistance per 12 months, she said.
FACT also provided about $2,200 in holiday support, in Christmas gifts and food, to nine area families this year with donations from families, churches, businesses, and one Girl Scout group.
Organizers of Marion County Circles of Hope nominated the FACT Family Assistance Fund to receive a Christmas donation from Hoch Publishing Co., crediting the organization for not taking overhead or administrative costs from donations. The fund was one of three selections to receive the donation.