Each month, Collin County Moms Blog features a local non-profit organization that assists moms and/or families in need. We love the opportunity to spotlight how local families can help out through volunteering, donating time or money, and more, right in our own community. We try to pick organizations that our contributors know and volunteer for personally, and are eager to share the needs of our friends and neighbors throughout Collin County.
I’m so excited to share my favorite Collin County non-profit agency with you, Frisco Family Services! I first heard of Frisco Family Services by shopping at Frisco Resale, my favorite shop in town to buy clothing and home furnishing. It’s like a little slice of thrifter heaven in there! After falling in love with the deals I was finding, I learned that all donations and proceeds benefit Frisco Family Services and the assistance that they provide for the community.
Frisco Family Services was founded in 1994 after a group of Frisco residents saw a need in their community to fight hunger and homelessness in the Frisco, Little Elm, McKinney, and Plano communities. They help families who are experiencing a crisis due to loss of employment, medical issues, death, or divorce.
In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, FFS assisted more than 3,490 individuals, provided more than $1.24 million in annual program support, provided more than 474,600 meals, issued $27,720 in vouchers for clothing and household goods at Frisco Resale, offered adult life skills classes to over 475 individuals, helped over 300 children with back-to-school clothing, shoes and supplies, distributed 328 Thanksgiving Meal Boxes to families, provided more than 900 children, parents and seniors with holiday gifts, and distributed more than meals to children at the Summer Lunch Program. (Source: Frisco Family Services)
Frisco Family Services provides the following:
- Emergency financial assistance, which can be used for rent/mortgage, utilities, education scholarships towards tuition or books, and employment support, such as uniforms or professional license renewal.
- Gas vouchers
- Food pantry (it’s the only food pantry in Frisco)
- Holiday program for children and seniors
- School supplies
- Thanksgiving program
- Clothing/household vouchers
How to Help:
- Frisco Resale– Donate, volunteer, and shop! (They will pick up large items from your house!)
- Even if you don’t live in Frisco, they will pick up large items from your house. See the list of included towns here.)
- Food Pantry– Donate to the Food Pantry. Organize a food drive. Volunteer at the food pantry by accepting donations, sorting donated items, stocking the pantry, and assisting clients.
- I’ve seen Girl Scout troops, basketball teams, and Boy Scouts help in the food pantry!
- We were invited to a birthday party and instead of presents, we were asked to bring items for the food pantry! How sweet and thoughtful of that child!
- Seasonal programs- Back to School Fun Fair, Thanksgiving Meal Program, Holiday Store Program, and Summer Lunch Program.
- The Holiday Store is a great service opportunity that gets the whole family involved this holiday season! This program allows Frisco Family Service families to shop for free for their own holiday gifts for family members. FFS provided 956 individuals with gifts last year. Here a few ideas for families to get involved:
- Fill a stocking with goodies such as candy, toothbrushes, toothpaste, chapstick, coloring books, stickers, games for a child, teen or senior. My kids love shopping and packing these necessities!
- Host a Holiday Drive for specific items: teen gifts, new coats, gloves, hats, household items. I’ve done this in the past where I’ll invite people over for a holiday event—a cookie exchange, recipe exchange, or cocktail hour, and ask that they bring a certain item, usually awarding a prize to the person with the most items or drawing a participant’s name.
- Donate wrapping paper/bows/gift tags.
- Sponsor a child, teen, parent, or senior. Sponsorship forms are located here.
Need support?
If you live in Frisco or within the Frisco ISD limits and have a documented crisis, you may be eligible to receive food through the food pantry, help paying your utility bills, rent/mortgage assistance, assistance with pursuing your education and more. In order to determine if you are eligible, come into the office located at 8780 Third Street in Frisco to complete an application and set up an appointment to meet with a Case Manager. During your appointment, a Case Manger will complete an assessment to determine your eligibility and provide you with an overview of our programs and services. If you live outside of Frisco or Frisco ISD, dial 211 in the state of Texas or visit www.211texas.org to find a social service agency that meets your needs in the area in which you reside. (Source: Frisco Family Services)
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