Concerned Fathers Against Crime (C-FAC)
Concerned Fathers Against Crime seeks to demonstrate fatherly responsibility in every way deemed helpful to the community, beginning with "eyes-and-ears-only" patrolling guided by the local sheriff and in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies. Called "community policing at its finest," Concerned Fathers' general goal is to improve the safety, security, and well-being of the place we call home.
C-FAC has been patrolling in Southern Oregon for over 20 years to the acclaim of law enforcement, from the sheriff to the city police, and then all the way to the White House. (Click to see letter from the White House) We are a strict non-involvement patrolling organization, fulfilling a useful function law enforcement calls a "force multiplier." C-FAC maintains its mainstream approach to helping the community by recruiting busy, responsible "community fathers." All we ask is 6 patrols a year from our members. We are your neighbors, friends and colleagues, your doctors, your teachers, your business owners, realtors, contractors, pastors, and plumbers.
C-FAC volunteers also patrol out of genuine concern for the youth of our community. To that end, we and Concerned Mothers partner with the local Boys & Girls Club and other organizations. Concerned Fathers also works in coordination with Concerned Mothers to hold a "Birth-Day" celebration every May 1st reaching out to the public and private schools in our area, as well as to our youth correctional system. In recent years we served ice cream sundaes to nearly 10,000 students, honoring everyone's birthday on that single day. The secret to C-FAC has always been "lots of men doing a little." We are not really an organization you join, but rather a system you use to "make a difference." And we do just that!
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Concerned Mothers Alliance for Children (C-MAC)
Our Concerned Mothers' mission is to coordinate the women of our community in a continual letter-writing campaign the focus of which is to express genuine motherly concern, both locally and nationally, about America's increasingly negative culture and its disastrous effect on our children.
By writing friendly but concerned letters on issues that affect the public square, we seek to gently raise consciousness among community and national leaders, including business leaders, about the dangers of exposing our youth to various negative influences. Our campaign's purpose is not related to private behavior but only to public behavior that has an impact on the children of our community.�As the saying goes, "Please, not in front of the children."
C-MAC has been in existence since the spring of 2004 when it began its six-month pilot program. All we asked of our "community mothers" was one hour every two months. Our official launch was in October of that year and we've been writing cards, notes, and letters ever since, urging leaders of all kinds to remember the children of our community. And they have! C-MAC mothers have been overwhelmed at the positive response from business and community leaders, including the start of "family friendly" aisles at a northwest grocery chain.
We also work side by side with Concerned Fathers organizing a yearly Birth-Day event. On Birth-Day (May 1st) we celebrate everyone's birthday by serving ice cream sundaes to the children of our community. Working with the Concerned Father Executive Board, Concerned Mothers launched Birth-Day in 2012, serving only a few hundred students. Now together we serve practically every school in our county, and starting in 2019 we're even celebrating in New York City! 'C-MAC is proud to play a positive parental role in our community, honoring our responsibility to remind the community that the children are the future.
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Concerned Youth (C-Y)
Concerned Youth was created in 2006 to give young people an opportunity to help the community in a significant way while not overwhelming their already busy schedules. Of course, the C-Y system also creates a great opportunity for caring adults (we call them "guardian parents") to interact with youth � without overwhelming their schedules either.
The Concerned Youth system is particularly simple. On the first Saturday morning of most months, different C-Y work crews � along with their adult "guardian parents" � patrol the city's downtown area picking up litter and reporting graffiti to law enforcement. This easy task gives the children (from high school age to 10-year-olds) an opportunity to demonstrate self-discipline, team work and a heart for service. It not only keeps our city center clean and brings adults and youth together, it also sets an important example of what our US Congressman, Greg Walden calls "community connectedness" in describing what we do. (Click Here for video of Congressman Walden.)
Shopkeepers and store employees are always happy to see our C-Y kids in their light blue t-shirts descend on parking lots and store fronts and in moments leave them spotless. After the morning's work, the youth gather for a pizza lunch sponsored by local businesses. This gives them a chance to socialize and of course, rewards them for time well spent improving their community (and away from their cellphones). But the real impact of C-Y is what happens when people come together to do a good thing, especially when the activity involves adults and youth.
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