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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

It is a truly rewarding feeling when your hard work is acknowledged. The hard work of Pelham’s Vineyard Family Services has been acknowledged by officially being inducted into the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers (ANFRC).

Vineyard Family Services was welcomed to the ANFRC family in a special ceremony on Oct. 13

Established in 1999, ANFRC now has 23 members, and has partnerships with the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, Alabama Department of Education and the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

Vineyard Family Services is a faith-based nonprofit organization that hosts multiple programs dedicated to aiding families and kids in need. It is most notably the home of the Backpack Buddies Program, which provides weekend meals for food insecure students in Shelby County Schools.

“We are thrilled to receive this honor,” VFS Community Engagement Director Stephanie Grissom said. “It is collaboration at its finest. The Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers, the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, and Vineyard Family Services all working together to improve child wellbeing in our state. Our staff worked diligently to be approved for this special certification and we are thankful to both ANFRC and ADCAN for their support through the years.”

“ANFRC’s mission is to promote positive outcomes for all children, families, and communities by leveraging the collective impact of family resource centers and championing quality family support and strengthening practices and policies,” a press release from ANFRC read. “ANFRC envisions an Alabama in which every family is thriving, and every community has access to a strong and effective family resource center.”

“Membership in ANFRC is a stamp of excellence that tells families, partners, stakeholders, employers and our entire state that an FRC is fully committed to improving the lives of Alabamians,” Alabama Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner said. “As a key partner to DHR, the network’s continued growth will reinforce our collective efforts to promote healthy homes and communities where families can thrive.”

Vineyard Family Services is also celebrating the opening of their new Community Center in the former Kingwood School building in Alabaster. There will be a special ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 10 a.m. The ribbon cutting will take place at the new Community Center’s location at 1359 Royalty Drive.

For more information on the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers, contact Joan Witherspoon-Norris at joan@anfrc.org or visit www.anfrc.org.