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Nita Kauffman, center director, is ready to help parents and families.
The Family First Pregnancy Care Center in Winkelman, AZ is a little building dedicated to a big cause. The red-brick building, located at 508 Thorne Ave., is a reclaimed Conservative Baptist church purchased by Frank and Clare Grochocki, the founders of the organization, in 2002. The Grochockis use this building as their second location – the first location founded in Oracle, AZ. Considering that the organization is donation-funded, the center strives to do its best and give the best advice, training, and care possible.
Focusing on DVD-based instruction, the center offers one-on-one classes on a range of subjects. From teenage motherhood to basic life skills to how to handle your own teenager, the Family First Center has much to offer for people from all walks of life. The classes come with worksheets to fill out while watching the video and then a volunteer goes over the worksheet with the “student” to make sure they understood the lesson. Going a step further, there is even homework to be completed and turned in the next time they wander through.
The center’s director, Nita Kauffman, has been volunteering for the organization for seven years. This past January, she was promoted to director.
“I love working with the moms, children, babies, and getting to know them and build relationships with them,” Kauffman told the Copper Basin News.
Although, it’s not all fun and games. This Christian-based organization has their work cut out for them. The areas they serve are very much in need of their services. According to Kauffman, “There’s no jobs, no public transportation, no local doctor. We are not a medical facility, but we’re a place where people can come in and we can encourage them to go to their primary care physicians and give them a little help along the way.”
One of the ways the center has devised to help combat this problem is Mommy Money and Daddy Dollars. For each class a mother or father attends, they have a chance at earning “money” that they can choose to spend on supplies kept shelved and stocked right in the main office. Supplies include diapers, clothes, food, and blankets.
But even with these incentives, turn-out can be low and inconsistent. “They can’t always get here,” Kauffman says, “but we’re here, we’re teaching them, and we’re giving them life skills so that hopefully they can get jobs. And sometimes they do find jobs, or we get them to go to school. Whatever we can do to help better their lives and their children’s lives.”
The Family First Pregnancy Care Center is currently open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, but will switch back to their normal schedule of Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Fall. Any and all donations are welcome.
Article by Angelina Bauer
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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