Our mission:

Lethbridge Family Circle Association is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to develop and operate a co-location site called Family Village that brings together family and community social service organizations to share resources, collaborate and improve access to services for the citizens of Lethbridge and southwestern Alberta.

Our vision:

Family Village is the busy and vibrant home to a collective of mutually supportive member organizations that provides: 

• a warm, inviting and inclusive Family Village where people can access supportive services in a socially interactive gathering place.
• accessible and complementary services provided through the collaborative relationships between the community and member organizations.
• a place that brings people together to create meaningful relationships that will help them  more fully participate in the community.
• expanded services to family and community through the reduction of administrative and operating costs of member organizations by cost sharing and sustainable building ownership.
• an enhanced quality of life in our community.

Purpose:

The purpose of LFCA is to enable partner agencies, plus other interested parties, through the co-location project, to deliver services to clients in the most coordinated, collaborative, and cooperative manner possible. This will be enabled by the cost savings that co-location will lend to all involved.  The excess money will then be put into enhancing, extending or adding new services, not into overhead!

History:

The concept of co-locating various family and children service agencies first took root in Lethbridge in 1983. Over the years the idea has gained momentum as the various stakeholders underwent changes in staffing, board memberships, and funding sources and levels. In 2003, a core group of not-for-profit agencies with the greatest interest in the concept began meeting and planning the future of co-location in Lethbridge.

Lethbridge Family Circle Association formed in May 2005 with the mandate to oversee the development, implementation, and operation of the co-location project, known as the Family Village, to locate and operate a number of not-for-profit agencies with similar interests and client base into a single facility (co-locate) within the City of Lethbridge.

In August 2007, a contracted project coordinator began to update the business plan, work with the architect and real estate agent, coordinate board and committee meetings, and facilitate stakeholder discussions.

Goals for 2009-2012:

1. Materials, packages and presentations have been developed to promote and obtain funding for Family Village.
2. Citizens and organizations in Lethbridge and southwest Alberta are aware of the Family Village project.
3. LFCA has a well-defined corporate structure.
4. The LFCA team is strong, united and energized.
5. Contracted commitments for organizations to relocate to Family Village have been obtained.
6. LFCA has adequate funding commitments to proceed with building Family Village.
7. LFCA has secured a location for Family Village.