On May 16th, Peninsula Family Service held its 2017 Open House. At the end of the work day, we opened the doors of our headquarters in downtown San Mateo to the many community supporters that bring families and individuals closer to opportunity, financial stability and wellness. We were also delighted to see some new faces!
Old friends and new had a chance to meet with our Executive Director, Heather Cleary and to learn more about our programs. They engaged in games and activities prepared by our Early Learning, Financial Empowerment and Older Adults teams, and joined us in tours of our Early Learning Center upstairs (including a play-dough making activity!).
In our game “If Peninsula Family Service was a village of 100 people”, our attendees had a chance to guess details about who we serve (gender, age, ethnicity, income, geographical location) which was a really fun way to understand a little more about our neighbors in need. In this room, we also had a video projection with a selection of the videos that we have produced in the past.
Our Financial Empowerment Jeopardy helped our attendees understand a little better how the program works, the geographic locations it serves and why is it so important to help individuals attain financial skills and access financial services that would be otherwise impossible for them to get.
Our Older Adults program was also present with 70 Strong, a “Thoughts on Aging” section and a colorful Older Adults board.
The “70 Strong corner” featured our Lead Navigator for 70 Strong, Theodora Kyle-Singer, who helped our guests become acquainted with the program and helped a few of our friends navigate the free directory and find services for their loved ones and for themselves. 70 Strong is an initiative made possible by the Sequoia Healthcare District in partnership with Peninsula Family Service.
In our “Thoughts on aging” section, people had a chance to express a few words of appreciation and their views on what aging means to them. It was very insightful to look back and see all the input that our visitors provided!
The Older Adults board helped our attendees get a little more information about who we serve in this program.
We also had a Job and Volunteer Fair, which also featured success stories of our Second Careers program. This station was particularly successful as we received many inquiries about how to collaborate and support our community.
We are very happy that you chose to spend the evening with us, learning more about the neighbors that we serve and the difference that your support can make!
