ADFAC celebrating 30th ‘birthday’

 

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, has reached a major milestone: 30 years of helping low-income families in the community.

It was January 28, 1987, that ADFAC officially became an incorporated nonprofit in the State of Tennessee. To recognize this achievement, ADFAC will celebrate through 2017 with special events and projects.

Last October, ADFAC kicked off its 30th year by providing a special birthday cake, snacks, and drinks to members of First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge. When ADFAC was first forming, First Presbyterian offered office space to the young organization. As the years went by and ADFAC grew both in size and services, First Presbyterian provided additional office space.

Annie Cacheiro, ADFAC’s executive director, said: “Going from one small corner office in 1987 to four large offices in 2017 is amazing! This generous gift of office space allows us to provide services efficiently—which means by spending nothing on rent—we can spend more precious donated dollars on directly helping those in need. That is a blessing to ADFAC and our community.”

It’s not just office space. Many church members are supporters of ADFAC, and several have served on the board of directors.

“We were proud to launch our 30th with our friends at First Presbyterian, and look forward to celebrating with many more of our supporters this year,” Cacheiro said.

One of the special events begins on Monday, January 23. ADFAC will be hosting a “virtual birthday party” during which supporters can help the agency by donating specific items. An Amazon.com wish list is being created that contains items needed for the School Supplies Program, new homes being built by the Affordable Housing Program, and many office supplies to keep ADFAC’s overhead low. A link to the wish list will be on www.adfac.org and www.facebook.com/adfac.

Additional “birthday” requests are gift cards to local grocery stores to purchase items for special events, such as ADFAC’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon and Annual Meeting.

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties is an independent nonprofit agency that was established in 1987, and it exists to serve the basic needs of primarily low-income residents in Anderson and surrounding Appalachian counties. ADFAC’s goal is to help families become stable and self-sufficient through a variety of direct assistance services provided by its Social Services and Affordable Housing programs. ADFAC answers more than 6,000 requests for assistance each year.

This press release was submitted by Annie Cacheiro.