BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Five Binghamton families say they’ve learned the skills to be better parents, sons and daughters while connecting with the broader community.
The Astor D. Rice Foundation held a graduation ceremony last night at East Middle School honoring the families that recently completed its FACE program. FACE stands for Families Achieve Community Empowerment.
The twelve-week program at East Middle focused on fostering family bonds, exploring community resources, and building stronger, more resilient families.
Students met after school on Tuesdays and participated in skill-building activities and took fields trips to a bowling alley, a Cornell basketball game and a fitness gym. On Thursdays they held a family night program which included parents and siblings where the parents learned conflict-resolution skills, how to better work with their school and how to access community resources.
There was also a strong focus on spending time together as a family.
Executive Director of the foundation Amy Rice believes nourishing relationships in the home creates a strong foundation to better succeed in school.
“I have just seen both the youth and the families just flourish and grow, develop stronger familial bonds and just really, really come together as a community. We formed a little community right here and we strengthen each other,” said Rice.
The foundation was founded by Rice’s brother King Rice in honor of their father Astor D. Rice, who was a dedicated member of the community.
Rice says the program was made possible by a grant from the City of Binghamton’s $1 million Youth Fund.
The program will hold a new session starting in February and hopes to increase the number of families participating.
‑ Reproduced from original source (binghamtonhomepage.com)