Family Service Inc.
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What We Do: Outreaches, Family Treasures
Our Outreaches:
Family Service, Inc. is a private not-for-profit 501(c)3 human service organization serving friends and neighbors in Billings and Yellowstone County. We provide people with mortgage, rental, utility, prescription, food and other types of assistance. Family Service, Inc. is the only agency in Yellowstone County that provides free clothing—good, serviceable used clothing—on a day to day basis. Other special services we often help with are: diapers and other baby care products, city bus passes, in-town gasoline vouchers, document preparation, and spousal abuse “safe harbor” assistance.
In addition to these daily services, we conduct three very special programs at Family Service, Inc.—Back To School, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Back To School helps about 1200 school-age children from low to middle income families by providing grade-specific school supplies, clothing vouchers, and a quality backpack. We’ve conducted BTS for nearly a quarter century, and each year we help more schoolchildren. According to school district officials, we alone are helping nearly 25% of all the students who are eligible for assistance.
At Thanksgiving FSI assembles food boxes that contain a Thanksgiving dinner, complete with “all the trimmings.” We generally distribute over 1500 Thanksgiving boxes each year to local families and individuals who otherwise may not have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
FSI’s Christmas food and gift program is a huge “Santa Claus” affair with a complete Christmas dinner box and several gifts for each child in the family, thanks to the Marines and their “Toys for Tots”. We salute them for their hard work to make sure there are many “Merry Christmas” mornings in Billings. Bright eyes, beaming smiles, and thankful hearts make the season a bright one for all of us!
Not one bit of this could be done without the generosity of our donors and the hard work of dedicated volunteers. What a magnificent outpouring of community spirit this involves!
Funding for our work:
Much of our funding comes from concerned and generous people. An approximate breakdown of our annual income for operations and assistance programs is:
- 67% Donations
- 23% Family Treasures Thrift Store at FSI
- 5.4% United Way
- 2.4% Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
- 2.2% Other, including repayment of assistance, in kind donations, etc.
Referrals, Coordination and Collaboration:
If we can't or don’t provide services, we are able to refer people to someone or some agency that can help them. We are also networked electronically with other agencies so we can avoid duplication of services. More and more we are finding that some issues require collaboration with other agencies. Today’s world can be very challenging; we often find that no single organization has the capabilities to meet the needs alone. Partnerships or collaborations are becoming very important in meeting today’s need, and Family Service, Inc. seeks opportunities within its mission to form strong bonds with our fellow service providers in Billings and Yellowstone County.
"The Best Kept Secret in Billings"
Our Family Treasures 2nd Hand Store is gaining the reputation of being THE place to go and find just about anything you could want--Antiques, Collectibles, Knick-Knacks, Jewelry, Furniture, & Appliances are found in abundance. The real fun comes when you spot those dishes, tools or framed pictures that you haven’t seen since you were a child visiting your grandparents. Are you starting a new hobby or exercise routine; come see our selection of golf clubs, bicycles, and exercise equipment.
If you are looking for something in particular, ask Martha, our Sales Coordinator who takes a special interest in finding just the right item for the customers who come into browse. The dollars generated by Family Treasures 2nd Hand Store help fund service assistance programs that Family Service, Inc. provides for our low-income Yellowstone County neighbors.
