Emily Stewart
Poughkeepie Journal
Linda Ronconi knew she needed to get out of her marriage. She contacted a lawyer about getting a divorce and showed the lawyer a journal she’d kept for the past year, documenting the relationship, she said.
The lawyer immediately called Battered Women’s Services, a branch of Poughkeepsie-based Family Services, and sent her there “that day,” Ronconi of LaGrange said. Ronconi said she hadn’t admitted to herself she was being abused, but the lawyer identified it immediately.
Two and a half years later, speaking at a breakfast for supporters of Family Services, she said the agency, in conjunction with the legal services offered at the Family Partnership Center, walked her through the long ordeal, accompanying her to court visits, helping with emergency food and things for her kids and providing emotional support.
“I always had an advocate,” she said. “They help you put your life together.” The breakfast was held to thank supporters and board members who participated in the organization’s first “major gift campaign,” Family Services President Susan West said.
Family Services was founded in 1879 as a charity for the poor. Since then, it has expanded to include youth development, counseling and support, case management, education, staff training and development, program design and evaluation, according to its Web site.
About 50 people attended the breakfast. “We wanted an intimate environment so we can be very personal in our gratitude,” West said. The fund drive began about three months ago, she said. While she didn’t have a total yet because gifts are still expected to come in, she called the fundraiser “extremely successful,” and said the organization hopes to reach its goal of $250,000 by the end of the year.
“Through the generous support of our community, this year we have been able to help over 200 teen parents get off to a healthy start with their new baby, 100 people got their GED,” West said in a speech to the audience. “ Another 100 stayed in school, over 1,100 victims of crime begin their journey of healing, over 2,500 battered women begin to break the cycle of violence,” she said.
“All of this work takes intelligence, creativity and passion,” she said. “It’s the best we can do to make sure we’re here for the families that need us.”
West said the drive reached about 7,500 people directly. People donated money, volunteer hours and gifts-in-kind, she added.
Also at the breakfast, a new Family Services logo, featuring a tree simulated by four blocks of color, was unveiled.
The logo was designed by the Fishkill-based Momentum Advertising & Design. The logo will go on new items over the next year as old supplies run out, communications officer Kristin Waller-Donovan said.
