Howard McFarland, Program Director of West Fulton Family Support Center, a grant funded, after-school, and summer camp program for the low to moderate income families of Fulton county will be retiring as of May of 2008. McFarland has decided to retire due to lack of much needed, corporate, community, county and state funding that all started with the TAP program and co-sponsorship from Sprint Nextel. The the program meets in a community church that has regularly complained of the wear-and-tear, and utility expenses that the program has not been able to pay. The church has supported the project by providing the use of the facility, but no financial support has been offered. Atlanta West Fulton community will be at a great lose for much needed family support such as this program currently offers. Working parents will need to seek other agencies for after school care and summer camp. Per an interview with my McFarland, on September 26, 2007, "finding grant writers who are willing to donate services" to such a vital character building family resource has not been easy to come by. He spoke of the hardship of attempting to continue to run such a program as it has run without charging for after school care, and with the meager fees collected on a sliding scale for the seasonal summer camps. McFarland willingly made time to share his leadership experience with me at the end of a long day, in the middle of the week.
This review was written by Emily Rowland Wells, Junior, Human Services major from Kennesaw State University in correlation with an assignment for the Leadership for Non-profit Organizations class taught by Dr. Antavius Weems, in Fall 2007.
Cons: In Desperate Need of Funding!!!
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