Family Access Network receives $2,000 grant from First Interstate Foundation

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Family Access Network met with First Interstate Bank’s Bend representatives recently to accept a $2,500 grant toward sustaining FAN services in Central Oregon.

Funds will support FAN’s mission to break the cycle of poverty for low-income children and their family members at schools throughout the region.

First Interstate Bank is a long-time partner of FAN, working to help ensure children have access to basic-needs resources like nutritious food, clean clothing, school supplies, safe shelter, health care and more.

“FAN is thankful for First Interstate Bank’s unwavering belief in our vision of a community where children flourish and families thrive. Their continuing support is more crucial than ever as we prepare for a prolonged recovery from the COVID-19 crisis,” said Julie N. Lyche, FAN's executive director.

The First Interstate Foundation is driven by a vested interest in the health and strength of their communities, working to make them better places to live, work, and raise families. With an emphasis on building strong communities, 55% of First Interstate Foundation’s granting dollars focus on alleviating poverty and are awarded to nonprofits actively assisting low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. The Foundation's mission is to assist the First Interstate Bank family in being the premier corporate citizen in the communities they serve.

Unique to Central Oregon, FAN began in 1993 and currently employs 26 advocates at 62 sites in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties. These advocates work tirelessly to help families break the cycle of poverty. The direct placement of FAN advocates within schools allows FAN to effectively reach and connect disadvantaged children and families to essential basic needs.

To learn more about the Family Access Network, please visit familyaccessnetwork.org or call (541) 693-5675.

Family Access Network’s mission is to offer assistance, possibility and hope to Central Oregon families in need by connecting them with crucial resources that will help children flourish in school and in life. Every year, FAN advocates improve the lives of nearly 8,000 children and family members in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.