Dear Friends and Supporters, 

Hello! We hope this newsletter finds you and your family enjoying the fall season. We have a lot of exciting news to share from the Family Leadership Center (FLC). Word is out of our core classes, workshops, and one-on-one coaching sessions, as parents and caregivers learn about the work we do to encourage healthy, resilient families. Following you’ll find the latest information on our classes, our board, and how you can become an integral part of our organization, whether it’s through volunteering, donating or participating in our programs. With your kind support, FLC can welcome continued growth in the coming year. If you’re interested, simply start a conversation with our founder, Marjie Longshore.

FLC Purpose

The mission of FLC is to educate parents, teachers, and caregivers in principles that encourage young people to contribute to society and become thoughtful leaders. At the heart, our workshops and classes provide a civic education. FLC gives parents, teachers and caregivers the tools to raise citizens who can listen to one another – even those with differing opinions – make decisions collectively, and contribute to the community in meaningful ways. 

Our parenting classes are designed to give caregivers the tools they need to make a healthy, lasting impact on families. In class, participants find an encouraging and interactive environment where they receive practical support for daily obstacles as well as the skills to look beyond challenging behavior to grow an encouraging community at home. With the help of leader support, class members are able to try new parenting tactics in a group setting. 

If you know someone who wants to further develop their civic parenting skills or find the help they need to address and overcome family challenges, encourage them to read more about FLC and our classes at http://familyleadershipcenter.org or reach out to us directly at info@familyleadershipcenter.org

Our Mission at Home: A Personal Parenting Story

In the spring of 2019, a local father signed up for the Raising Resilient & Responsible Children Core Class. He and his wife were struggling with their 6-year old child, whose behavior was causing both parents concern.

During the course of the class, his wife also received recommendations from their pediatrician for a number of local psychologists. The child had been in occupational therapy for years, but the parents were in search of additional support. Due to her concerns about their child, his wife spoke with each recommended psychologist to find a good fit. None of the psychologists were taking new patients, but one did take the time to speak with her over the phone. After hearing her story, the psychologist recommended medication for the child. The couple was frustrated that no one was able to offer an appointment and discouraged by the potential solution. They decided to wait on the prescription and acknowledged that medicating was not something they were ready to embrace. Instead, they contacted Marjie Longshore, executive director at Family Leadership Center, for one-on-one coaching. Marjie responded quickly and met with both parents the next morning. 

With the help of the FLC Core Class and thoughtful coaching, both parents were able to use the skills they learned and applied them at home to help their son. The result, they say, transformed their day-to-day: “We feel so grateful to Marjie for meeting with us so quickly. We were really frustrated with the psychologist’s comments and extremely concerned about our child. Everything Marjie told us made sense, and we realized that our child wasn’t the only one who needed to modify what he was doing. We worked together as parents and used Marjie’s coaching to help our child – the results were immediate. Marjie is a tremendous resource and every parent could benefit from her help.”

2019 Program Updates

Our programs continue to grow through local support and word of mouth. Over the past year, parent educator Marjie Longshore has led a half dozen core and master classes, as well as more focused workshops. The core class, titled Raising Resilient and Responsible Children, covers everything from the importance of family meetings to how to encourage each other with kindness and mutual respect. 

In addition to our core and master class offerings, Marjie expanded beyond Family Leadership Center’s homebase of Yarmouth, Maine, and worked alongside Cape Elizabeth Community Services in December 2018 to offer a holiday-themed Can Do Kids Fair for families. This unique fair is designed for kids to teach their peers new skills. Teenage volunteers from Yarmouth, Portland, and Cape Elizabeth schools offered a variety of fun stations, including how to cut vegetables for soup, how to write a thank you letter, and how to make balsam sachets for gifts.

Marjie also led a workshop for parents of preschoolers at the River School in Yarmouth in April. The class covered the importance of family meeting, creating an atmosphere of encouragement, and empowering children with thoughtful questions. After taking the workshop, one of the parents commented, “This workshop was engaging, useful and practical,” and another attendee said, “I left feeling encouraged and excited to learn more useful parenting tools.”

The workshops at River School have been so well-received by parents, Marjie will return to lead another this November and again in Spring 2020. For more information, see our upcoming workshops and events on our website or visit our events page on Facebook. 

In July, FLC had the pleasure of being a part of The Yarmouth Clam Festival, an annual community food and art festival. We sponsored a Family Care Station, where families with young children had a quiet space to feed their babies, change diapers or simply replenish water. The station was a great way to support festival-goers amid temperatures in the mid-90s and spread the word about our mission and activities. One father commented, “I don’t know how we could have survived the fair without you,” as his toddler stacked the wooden blocks we provided in the shade.

Rounding out the year, Marjie will lead a free, 2-hour workshop on Raising Resilient and Responsible Children at Mabel I. Wilson School in Cumberland. This November workshop will cover tools and strategies for setting screen time limits, fresh ideas on how to lead families through encouragement, and how to end struggles with daily routines. If you’re local, you can learn more about the workshop here.

For parents who are not near Maine, FLC encourages you to to explore parent coaching and how it could support you and your family. These sessions will help you better understand your parenting style and how you can deepen your strengths. Through coaching, Marjie will also help you learn how to interpret challenging behavior. Best yet, our coaching sessions are designed to leave you feeling encouraged with an attainable plan in place. For more details, visit our website. 

Upcoming Workshops/Events

We’re busy working on our calendar for the upcoming months, so please check our Facebook page or web site for updates about our 2020 workshops, programs, and events. We’ll share specific dates and times soon!  

November & December 2019: 

• Wrapping up our fall series of classes: Parenting Preschoolers, The Core Class, and The
• Master ClassRaising Resilient & Responsible Children, Mabel I Wilson School Library, Cumberland, Maine 
• Preschool Parenting Workshop at River School, Yarmouth, Maine 

January 2020: 

• Workshop for senior citizens volunteering in schools, Opportunity Alliance, South Portland, Maine 
• 8-week Parenting Core Class, Yarmouth, Maine
• 8-week Preschooler Class, Yarmouth, Maine
• 8-week Master Class, Yarmouth, Maine

With Gratitude and Appreciation

We honor and thank Elizabeth “Betta” Ehrenfeld (1926 – 2019). Betta was a mother, friend, lawyer, author, and philanthropist. The support and encouragement she gave to FLC from the beginning has enabled us to grow to where we are today. She was a founding encourager and donor. We are forever grateful.

In addition, a huge thank you to the parents who have joined us for workshops, core classes, one-on-one sessions and special events. FLC is fortunate to be supported and surrounded by a community of thoughtful, encouraging and dedicated moms and dads. We are so thankful!

Help Us Grow! 

There are so many great ways to help FLC continue to grow in the coming year. If you shop Amazon.com, a quick change to shopping AmazonSmile can help support our mission. Under the search bar, you’ll find a link to charities. Simply select “Family Leadership Center” and a portion of your purchase will go to FLC. 

You can also donate to FLC directly here.

In addition to donations, we always welcome volunteers! If you’ve taken a course with us, consider helping to co-lead a class. Your input and expertise is so important, and can have a big impact on parents just like you! 

FLC is still evolving and we need engaged leaders like you to help spread our core values of empowering parents and children through encouragement, diplomacy and kindness. Please consider being a part of our organization from the ground up! To have a positive impact on the lives of families, consider volunteering, donating or participating in our programs. Your support makes all the difference. To start, reach out to Founder, Marjie Longshore here.

Meet Our Board

Marjie Longshore (Yarmouth, ME), Executive Director 

Marjie is a mother of two and the Founder and Executive Director of FLC. She has a Masters in Education from Harvard and has worked in the field of education throughout her career. In addition to her work in Maine, she’s also led parenting and teacher programs in Cambridge, MA; Washington, DC; Ecuador; and Brazil. 

Susanna Hooper (Swarthmore, PA), Board President

Susanna is a professional life coach. Before starting her coaching practice, she was a business consultant and head of marketing at Gap International, a management consulting firm in Springfield, Pennsylvania. As the Board President for FLC, she lends her communications and development expertise to FLC strategy and fundraising.

Louise LeBlanc (Yarmouth, ME), Board Treasurer

Louise is the Treasurer of FLC and mother of three boys. She is an active member of the Yarmouth community serving on the boards of the Yarmouth Parent Teacher Organization and the Yarmouth Football Boosters, and as a team manager for various soccer and baseball teams. In her spare time, Louise enjoys traveling, hiking, and watching her boys from the bleachers.

Judy Carlson (Chatham, MA), Board Secretary

Judy and her family enjoy camping, baseball, reading, and hosting game nights with friends. Through her involvement with FLC, Judy has seen how “family meeting” and encouragement improve day-to-day interactions. She works part-time for a family business and is involved with her son’s Scout troop and other community activities. 

Leah Eggers (Chesterfield, MO) 

Leah offers strategic counsel that focuses on fundraising, donor relations and constituent communications. This mother of two is a Development and Communications consultant and has collaborated with libraries, schools and museums in Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Utah. 

Andy Hooper (Swarthmore, PA)

Andy lives in Swarthmore with his wife Susanna and their two high school kids. He is a Vice President at Gap International, a global performance consulting firm. A founding board member, he contributes strategy, marketing, and content ideas to support the growth of FLC. Andy also is an avid cyclist, backpacker, and soccer fan.

Katie Redfield (Yarmouth, ME)

Katie contributes to FLC as both an engaged parent in our programs and leadership team as well as an active board member. Her perspicacity and keen ability to put ideas into action make her uniquely suited to her many roles. She is a key partner in developing and spreading the word about our programs. 

Thank You!

Thanks so much for your continued support! If you have a friend or family member who might be interested in our programs, please have them sign up for our newsletter or invite them to read our blog to learn more. 

Wishing you wonderful holidays, and we look forward to staying in touch with you!