About

Family & Youth Initiatives' mission is to empower families and provide hope. Every day families and children are suffering from traumas caused by generational cycles of abuse and poverty. FYI’s solution is to rescue and protect those families and children to prevent future trauma by redirecting their paths through education, training, and support in our multiple programs.

 

Co-founded in 1978 by Pat Banaszak and Carol Tipton, FYI began its journey to primarily provide free education and support to struggling teen mothers. Over the years, FYI has expanded its services in order to assist and impact more members of the community. 

 

FYI's services include:

 

• Education and tools to assist expectant mothers and fathers, as well as parents/guardians of infants and children to equip them for pregnancy and the struggles of parenthood. 

• An engaging, proactive in-school program for middle and high school teens that focuses on developing healthy relationships, character building, and the realities and consequences of engaging in at-risk behaviors. 

• Influencing youth through supportive one-on-one, group, and in-school mentoring by caring adults to encourage and support them through the challenges of adolescence.

• A community garden that allows the beginner to advanced gardeners space to grow their own produce and also supplies vegetables to the local food pantries.

 

With the support of our local community, we can continue to offer these services and more to the people within our reach. We want every person who walks in our door – at whatever stage of life – to walk out changed and better equipped to thrive today and have hope for his or her future.

 

How can you empower someone through FYI?