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The opportunity of a lifetime
to participate in the
defining moments of the most basic unit of society...
The Family
The family is in transition. Changes in values and family
functions are so massive and permanent that major
news stories cover the shifts and ask "why?"
The outcomes and consequences for the next
three generations, at least,
will depend upon what we do now as professionals in collaboration
with individuals, foundations, businesses, and non-profit
organizations to:
Empower Individuals * Strengthen Families * Enable Communities
How Long Have You Been Looking For This Opportunity?
If you want to be remembered forever and feel the deep,
intensely satisfying inner peace that comes from knowing
that your life and your contributions have made a lasting
difference in the lives of countless others, we at the American
Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) invite
you to begin here.
The years ahead will be the most significant and defining
moments for the family . . . the fundamental unit of society
. . . the basic component from which everything else evolves.
What more worthwhile pursuit could there be than to promote
the healthy functioning of families . . . made up of individuals
who will ensure a sound society for us all?
The purpose of this publication is to engage you in putting
your hands and your good name on AAFCS programs . . . initiatives
that affect your family and others like you, as well as those
who have not been as fortunate as you. Toward this purpose,
we intend to:
- Present information about one of the most
unique and amazing professions that modern society has
ever experienced;
- Introduce AAFCS as the premier national
association that represents and advances the profession
called family and consumer sciences;
- Summarize issues and concerns that have
propelled the profession while bonding AAFCS members together
with other professionals and with families in working on
everyday problems and solutions;
- Show that AAFCS is the best organized
and most valuable channel for working directly with thousands
of specialists who collaborate on research and projects
to solve problems and address challenges faced by the families
served by AAFCS members;
- Begin a dialogue with you about AAFCS
and its partners and where there are immediate and vital
roles for you, your company, organization, or foundation
to claim as a legacy to leave the world a better place.
Perspective: Unique and Amazing Profession
The headlines, television programs, web
sites, trade publications, and talk shows remind all of
us, daily, of the influence and impact that family and
consumer sciences has on each of us, on our families, and
communities.
In fact, the profession has a 100-year history
of being so far ahead that, at times, it seemed out of place
or radical. It may take 10, 20, 30, or more years for many
among us to "discover" and even adopt a concept
first developed and delivered to the world by family and
consumer sciences professionals.
Child care, the quality of diet linked to the health and
productivity of workers, ethical considerations of technological
advances, increasing life-spans linked to a redefinition
of the family's intergenerational functions and roles these
all have come from the visions, research, writing, and practices
of family and consumer sciences professionals.
By the time a concept in the discipline is transformed
into new knowledge or a commercially-successful enterprise,
the trail back to its origins in the family and consumer
sciences has nearly vanished. Indeed, the value of the idea
and the work to apply it to every facet of family life increases
with each additional specialist and professional that integrates
knowledge and resources into the original concept.
Project Head Start, curriculum used to train Peace Corps
volunteers, standards used to accredit and license child
care personnel and facilities, and standard sizes for clothing
who can recall the family and consumer sciences pacesetters
who conceived these?
Energy conservation in housing design, career education,
and programs to support families as women took their place
in the work force who can name the family and consumer sciences
professionals who originated and worked on these far reaching
efforts?
Project Taking Charge (PTC) is among the most effective adolescent
pregnancy prevention programs in the nation with demonstrated,
positive results. It is a values-based, abstinence-focused
course for seventh and eighth grade students and includes
a parental involvement component. It integrates vocational
exploration, interpersonal and family relationships, decision-making
and goal-setting, and family life education. It uses a holistic
approach to adolescent pregnancy prevention.
The PTC project was developed and implemented by AAFCS members.
Field tested in 19 sites throughout the country, the PTC
curriculum has proven to be successful in changing adolescents'
knowledge of and attitudes about human sexuality.
Original support for the award-winning project came from
the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. The Project has an eight-year
proven track record and has effectively reached adolescents
at a relatively high risk for pregnancy before the majority
become sexually active.
As with PTC, AAFCS invites other collaborative partnerships
with donors on an immediate and massive scale. Possibilities
seem endless; therefore, focusing on a few centerpiece projects
involving states, specialties in family and consumer sciences,
and a variety of work settings guarantee the best investment.
Success will depend on the response to this invitation by
those aware of the profession's amazing legacy and by those
who are just discovering the excitement and potential of
the profession today.
Families and the Future
To partner with AAFCS members and their
clients and customers is to be a pioneer. The big picture
view of the family and numerous forces that are reshaping
family functions come into sharper focus when one becomes
involved in AAFCS projects.
AAFCS defines the family unit as two or more
persons who share resources, share responsibility for decisions,
share values and goals, and have commitment to one another
over time.
The family is that climate that one "comes home to" and
it is this network of sharing and commitment that most accurately
describes the family unit, regardless of blood, legal ties,
adoption, or marriage.
The forces of change are clear and interrelated technological,
economic, social, and public policy changes. What is uncertain
is how much or how quickly these changes will affect family
functions such as nurturing and socialization of children
and accountability for elders.
Other functions such as companionship, providing care for
the elderly and sick, plus support for unemployed family
members, will also be affected by the forces of change.
The future and long-term implications of these force's
of change are at the core of the AAFCS centerpiece projects
presented in this publication.
Consider the implications of trends such as increased
life spans; new patterns of work; family members living further
apart; the continuing rise in multiple-income households;
career changes or job relocations with nearly equal incomes
at risk; or fewer volunteers to conduct community activities.
Think about the economic redefinition that comes with each
major shift in how we work and function as families, such
as that experienced in the shift from an agrarian society
to an industrial based society, then to an information technology
oriented society.
Nontraditional families, blended families resulting from
divorced parents who remarry, and changes in family life
cycles due to an aging society have long-term implications,
too.
AAFCS is not the only organization doing something to affect
positive changes in families. It is the only organization,
however, that represents the entire community of family and
consumer sciences, which is the only profession that brings
a holistic, integrated, preventive course of action to bear
on technological, economic, social, and public policy changes
at the same time.
Therefore, AAFCS and its centerpiece programs need your
support and involvement to continue to be directly involved
in defining the future of the family. The challenges, the
opportunities to participate, and the potential outcomes
are all enormous.
At the same time, none of this is abstract. These are
the best opportunities any of us will ever have to make a
measurable difference in the very core of our society . .
. the family. This is your opportunity to build and participate
in the model programs that involve partnerships at the national,
state, and local levels.
AAFCS: The Best Vehicle For Working Together
Founded in 1909 as the American Home Economics
Association, the American Association of Family and Consumer
Sciences (AAFCS) is one of the oldest professional societies
in the United States.
Its reputation, credibility, and power to make a difference
in the quality of life and future of families and individuals
stems from two characteristics that have never changed and
have withstood the test of time.
These are a clear, compelling mission and the courage
to get in front of the issues and remain on the cutting edge
of social, economic, technological, and political changes.
Also, the programs it starts or chooses to support through
coalitions and co-sponsored efforts tend to become big news
makers.
The mission of the American Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences is to effect the optimal well-being of
families and individuals by empowering AAFCS members to act
on continuing and emerging concerns, focusing their expertise
on critical issues, and assuming leadership among organizations
with mutual purposes.
AAFCS has earned a reputation for organizational strength
and the capacity to create innovative programs and organize
integrated teams.
The organization provides both access and mechanisms
to navigate an outstanding network of professionals and resources.
The conceptual and program framework that supports projects
or issues related to family functions has withstood the test
of time from the beginning of home economics in the late
1800s through the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the
century, to what has now evolved as family and consumer sciences.
This guarantees AAFCS efficiency and leveraging for every
hour and dollar committed to any number of programs or nationwide
initiatives.
Access Our Synergistic, Integrative Network & Resources
Participation in AAFCS programs means access to people and resources,
combined powerfully and efficiently in one organization,
specifically:
The professional expertise of more than 15,000
AAFCS members who are family and consumer sciences professionals
employed by:
1. Colleges and universities as administrators, teachers,
and researchers;
2. Elementary, secondary, and adult education systems as
teachers and administrators;
3. Federal, state, and local governments as policy analysts,
researchers, program designers, and administrators;
4. Human services organizations as counselors, social workers,
child care facility directors, community outreach program
administrators, dietitians, and therapists;
5. Privately and publicly owned companies as consultants,
education directors, industry spokespersons, public relations
specialists, entrepreneurs, and officers;
6. Home and community organizations as professionals working
part-time or as volunteers; and
7. Research institutes in academic and business settings.
The technical expertise of members who
specialize in textiles and clothing; nutrition, health,
and wellness; child and family studies; hospitality and
tourism management; family economics and resource management;
merchandising; education and technology; art and design;
family relations and human development; housing and environment;
communication; and, issues across cultures worldwide.
A national headquarters, located in
Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from
the nation's capital, and the staff of 20 individuals who
provide services to member and nonmember customers and
facilitate the growth of programs.
An annual budget of more than $2.6 million
which comes from membership dues and program-related sources,
such as the Annual Meeting, workshop fees, publications,
accreditation and certification fees, program initiative
support grants, and extramural funding in the form of gifts
and contributions.
The 54 affiliated state associations, including
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Pacific
and American Overseas, that have governance and operational
units modeled after the national Association.
A dynamic relationship among members, headquarters
staff, and the public is kept in balance by clearly defined
goals and priorities through a constant flow of communication.
Headquarters operations are guided by policy-making units,
including a Board of Directors, Council for Accreditation,
and Council for Certification, plus national committees,
units, panels, and commissions.
Priority Programs For Individuals and Families
AAFCS programs and public affairs activities
have transformed many aspects of the lives and work of millions
of individuals and families. To strive for improvements in
family functions while also examining the implications of
the profound changes now shaping the nation's business and
consumer relationships, the Association is pursuing work
in the following priority areas.
The Early Childhood Initiative (ECI)
AAFCS was a key collaborator in this enormously successful
national program, led by the New York-based Families and
Work Institute.
ECI eventually involved hundreds of non-profit organizations
and corporations in a shared vision to bring about change
through a powerful mix of public education and community
mobilization activities.
Launched in the spring of 1997, I Am Your Child is a national
public awareness campaign spearheaded by actors Rob Reiner
and Michele Singer Reiner, and many experts from the early
childhood fields.
This is one of many elements of ECI, and AAFCS members are
involved extensively through Head Start, child care sites,
hospitals, libraries, schools, and grassroots activities
in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
AAFCS initiatives emphasize empowering a cadre of trainers
to translate technical neuroscience findings on early brain
development and its implications throughout all practice
areas and specializations of family and consumer sciences.
This means the landmark findings on brain research in
children from 0 to 3 years of age, now possible because of
advances in technology and information, can become meaningful
and useful to the people that AAFCS members reach on a daily
basis the public, parents and other early childhood caregivers,
educators, and policy makers.
Project Home Safe
Originally funded by Whirlpool Foundation, Project Home
Safe is now a classic resource on the issues of child care
for children ages 5 to 13.
When family functions shifted as both parents went to work
or as single parents had to find new or different sources
for taking care of children before and after school hours,
the child care industry for school-age children grew rapidly.
Whirlpool discovered this phenomenon early on when children,
at home alone, would call its consumer hotlines for assistance
and help with everything from how to wash clothes to how
to operate a microwave oven.
AAFCS was the first choice for professional assistance and
collaboration on developing community-based options for school-age
care because of its historical ability to work with multiple
issues within the context of family functions. AAFCS members
have a broad understanding of the ways that children 5 to
13 have needs that are entirely different from those of pre-school
children.
The first-ever standards for school-age child care were developed
by AAFCS members as part of Project Home Safe. The Office
of Education and the National Association for Education of
Young Children adopted these standards for child care program
accreditation throughout the U.S.
Accreditation & Certification
AAFCS grants accreditation status to college and university
family and consumer sciences programs that meet or exceed
standards for baccalaureate degree programs.
Quality assurance for the profession stems from college programs,
where educators prepare professionals, assimilate knowledge,
and work on the emerging issues facing families and individuals.
The profession depends on college settings to conduct research
and development, innovate new solutions, and translate knowledge
to consumers as quickly as possible.
It is in the accreditation process where AAFCS defines
standards of quality for university programs.
AAFCS also certifies individuals in the field.
The Association conducts a comprehensive volunteer certification
program for all family and consumer sciences professionals,
which assures employers that those who are certified have
attained a verifiable level of competence and continue to
enhance that knowledge base.
National Showcase (Annual Meeting) Programming
Public education and information dissemination that presents
holistic, multidisciplinary points of view have been an AAFCS
hallmark. Programs, open to the public, on topics such as
stress and the family, newborn health and nutrition, links
between diet and cancer, changing role assignments in families,
intergenerational issues in families, and many other issues
are presented.
Annual Meeting program creation and participation provides
a nationwide opportunity to work on public programs and issues
in communities where an organization or business wishes to
have a positive influence. Collaboration and innovation through
sponsorship of special events or exhibits during the Annual
Meeting provide more opportunities to learn and advance shared
objectives.
Hallmark events, such as the Commemorative Lecture, the Pacesetter
Dinner, the Recognition Luncheon all provide a way to make
a long-term commitment while allowing for the changes in
program emphasis and family issues from year to year.
Public Policy
The annals of AAFCS are filled with accounts of Congressional
testimony, appointments to Presidential study committees,
as well as systematic, sustained activity in the legislative
process.
In recent years, the Association has served as one voice
for strong families in areas of population education, rights
of women, standards for day care, vocational education, food
safety initiatives, affordable child care, children's healthcare,
as well as the availability of dependable elder care.
Leadership in public policy has grown in areas that will
determine the support and information required by an aging
population. This cuts across policies in health, housing,
volunteerism, lifelong learning, leisure pursuits, transportation,
and caregiving.
Family and consumer sciences professionals are concerned
with public policy at the international, federal, state,
and community levels.
In all of the areas of specialization, graduates who understand
public policy formation and have the skills needed to help
shape public policy will prove a major asset to their employers.
Public policy venues provide multiple opportunities for individuals
and businesses to achieve, in collaboration with the Association,
what would be difficult, if not costly, to accomplish on
their own.
Together, these national programs advance AAFCS's historic
commitment to create healthy environments for families through
members, who each reach about 150 constituents weekly on
a customer-relationship basis, and up to 30,000 or more customer
influence contacts for members who work in the consumer product
areas. That translates into regular, consistent contact with
more than 3 million people every week, by members of the
AAFCS.
Add to this the constituents and mission of partners of
AAFCS and the outcomes can be absolutely profound.
Family and consumer sciences professionals are the ones
families trust, invite into their lives, look to for reliable
information, and depend on to provide hope, when other options
are hazy or not yet learned.
Priority Use of Gifts
AAFCS seeks support for the following initiatives.
Each is consistent with the mission, priorities, and uniqueness
of
the Profession and the Association.
The Early Childhood Initiative Includes full
funding for Phases Two and Three, plus any further work that
takes the program to its potential for the next three years.
The program builds on the enormously successful and popular
national awareness and education campaigns that made early
childhood development a top priority for our nation.
Outreach is extensive and includes corporate leaders and
policy makers, in addition to an expanded network of trained
family and consumer sciences professionals.
Recruitment of Students Recruitment and retention of students
into the specializations with predicted discrepancies between
supply and demand will be a priority of AAFCS 1999-2001.
This is your chance to influence the next generation of professionals
and to assure that bright, committed students stay in school,
enroll in college, consider graduate school, and take their
places as competent, caring professionals.
Funds will be used for aggressive recruitment, especially
of minority students, and for financial assistance to students
while in school. Scholarships, fellowships, paid internships,
assistantships for students to gain teaching and community-based
professional experience, low-interest loans all of these
require an endowment to assure the longevity of the effort.
Leadership Development Support opportunities for family and
consumer sciences professionals to chair problem-solving
initiatives, work at the community level, speak in public,
write for public edification, develop positions on critical
social and economic issues, and engage in the development
and advocacy of public policies which strengthen families
and communities.
Other Funding Opportunities You may want to consider underwriting
a publication or commissioning an author on an issue that
excites you.
Consider sponsoring a general session at the Annual Meeting
or at the Leadership Conference.
Fellowships for graduate students, scholarships for undergraduate
students: all of these are best supported with private gifts
and contributions.
You might want to consider supporting the Association's international
programs, including building capacity in Third World family
and consumer sciences programs.
Supporting the infrastructure and delivery of distance education, "just
in time" learning, available to students everywhere,
is a challenge that will interest some donors.
Customized Projects, Co-Created With The Sponsor The profession
is so broad and opportunities are so many that imagination
and creative giving have plenty of room for expression in
AAFCS's Development programs.
Members of the Development Committee and staff have extensive
experience working with foundations, individual philanthropic
programs, corporate and community-based development offices,
and government agencies.
Perhaps a custom-tailored conference to focus on issues or
projects of mutual interest or concern will help you to realize
your goals.
Whatever your passion, there is likely a partnership opportunity
available, using the talents, networks, and other resources
that matter to you. YOU can make a difference with your gifts.
Ways of Giving For Lasting Impact
AAFCS is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt association
with objectives closely identified with public and educational
concerns. AAFCS is seeking gifts, partnership contracts,
and multiple-year philanthropic arrangements for programs
that will enhance the public well-being.
Traditionally, many donors assume that the preferred
gift is one made outright. Although AAFCS welcomes
and encourages outright gifts (we remain mindful of everyday
needs), there are other ways to support our programs and
leave a lasting legacy through planned giving.
Planned gifts are simply donations that require planning
to complete. Gifts may be made in your lifetime or under
your will. Some gifts allow you to receive a lifetime annual
income as well as a tax deduction in the year the gift is
made.
There are many types of gifts and ways of giving possible
these days. The Development Committee and AAFCS staff will
work directly with you or your representatives to find the
appropriate vehicle and level of giving.
Reasons for giving are as unique and as important as the
person who determines that AAFCS is the best vehicle for
advancing causes that make a difference in thousands of lives.
One doesn't have to set out to change the world; still, it
is possible to "find your voice" and shape change
in significant ways through family and consumer sciences
national leadership and grassroots networks.
Restricted and unrestricted gifts, as either deferred
or current, are ways that individuals and corporations participate
in AAFCS programs. The Association welcomes gifts of cash,
offering the donor the standard charitable deduction, and gifts
of appreciated property, such as stocks and real estate.
Pledges payable over several years and gifts-in-kind (e.g.,
materials, services, and executives on loan) provide sustained
ways to support causes that the donor believes in and wishes
to exercise privately or in highly-visible ways.
Benefits to the Donor
No gift to the AAFCS Development effort
is too large or too small. All inquiries and dialogue to
explore mutual visions, missions, and passions for family,
the future of children, and intergenerational issues are
encouraged.
Consider a gift to AAFCS as a way to:
- Perpetuate your life's work;
- Leave a legacy for others to emulate;
- Secure permanent name recognition for
your contributions to society; and
- Assure that the values you cherish will
live on.
As you review your financial picture, plan for
retirement, and evaluate your overall estate plans, please
consider making AAFCS a permanent part of these plans.
To honor the leadership and dedication of the Association's
most generous supporters, there are three giving societies.
These societies recognize cumulative giving by individuals:
- The Ellen H. Richards Society for lifetime
contribution or pledge of $100,000 or more.
- The Lake Placid Society for lifetime contribution
or pledge of $50,000 or more.
- The 21st Century Society for lifetime
contribution or pledge of $15,000 or more.
To recognize significant annual support of
the Association, there are three major gift fellows categories
known as members of the Order of the Betty Lamp:
- Gold Lamp Fellow for annual contributions
of $1,000 or more.
- Silver Lamp Fellow for annual contributions
of $500 or more.
- Bronze Lamp Fellow for annual contributions
of $100 or more.
Challenge For Future Excellence . . . Will
You Join Us?
From its beginnings more than 100 years
ago, family and consumer sciences has been a fast-growth
profession that will continue its
vital work well into the 21st century.
Drivers of change, including technological, social,
economic, and public policy have fueled the explosion of
family and consumer sciences, as a profession, a critical
science, and field of study.
So, too, has this growth constantly pushed AAFCS to its
capacity every year and demanded greater leadership, dedication,
and resources as vast societal issues are brought to its
doorstep.
Success will depend on widespread participation and on
unprecedented numbers of gifts, large and small. Is there
anyone who can say their purpose in life or their business
does not have an impact on the quality of family life, individual
learning, or societal issues?
Family and consumer sciences represents a unique capacity
to empower families and individuals to develop their full
potential. This requires an integrative, holistic approach,
with a variety of specializations.
Only AAFCS is putting this together. More than any other
organization, AAFCS is uniquely positioned because of a total
integration of all knowledge and professionals which focus
on family functions and issues.
Through family and consumer sciences it is possible, as
well as efficient and realistic, to successfully address
individual needs while always remembering the larger, more
complex issues and relationships of the family.
Is This For You?
Who should respond to this invitation to contact AAFCS
and participate in our work to sustain healthy and productive
families?
You, as a supporter of strong families or if you work
for an organization that has, as part of its mission, any
of the following outcomes:
- The enhancement of social, cognitive,
economic, emotional, and physical health and well-being
of individuals and families;
- The empowerment of individuals and families
to take charge of their lives, to maximize their potential,
and to function independently and interdependently;
- The enhancement of the quality of the
environments in which individuals and families function.
For further information about making a gift to
support the program initiatives of AAFCS or about creating
a new program, customized to your vision and reasons for
giving, contact:
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
400 N. Columbus Street, Suite 202, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone: 703-706-4600 Fax: 703-706-4663
AAFCS is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative
Action Association
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