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President’s Message
Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report President's Message
This message is being written from Farmington, New Mexico where I have visited with the Futures for Children Youth Leadership students at Navajo Preparatory School. The students shared lunch with me and talked about their projects for the semester. It seems appropriate that my annual message to you is written after this meeting, and I will do my best to do justice to the many ways in which these students embody the mission of Futures for Children.
These students include seniors who had been a part of Youth Leadership for 3 years and freshmen who had been in the circle for only two months. In addition to a common cultural heritage, they share an unspoken bond of working hard to achieve their goals and aspirations – they are focused on the future. They worked hard to get into Navajo Prep, they work hard at their education, and they are prepared to work hard toward the fulfillment of their dreams.
For 41 years Futures for Children has supported the educational success of American Indian children and young people just like these students. They have something in common with many past Futures’ students – they spend little time “resting on their laurels,” and they focus on their future with eagerness and imagination. They embody the concept of “the future.”
Mirroring the experience of these students, Futures for Children has also faced challenges and experienced significant success in the past 41 years. The circle of children, volunteers, mentors, donors, and staff is proud of this success, and we all know the success does not come without sacrifice and hard work. In fiscal year 2009, we worked to overcome challenges of decreased revenue, expanded need for services, budget cuts, and financial reserves diminished by the market. In fiscal year 2010, we face similar challenges and will work even harder to maintain the quality of our programs and sustain the children and young people we serve.
It is important that we face the challenges of today objectively and with determination to fulfill our mission. However, I would suggest that the young people in our program challenge us to look beyond the current economic climate, and focus on a future of hope for their success. We will need your help: your commitment as mentors, your donations, and your efforts to find other supporters who want to help young people like those in the Youth Leadership team described above. The American Indian students we serve challenge all of us to not only work hard for a bright future, but also to do so with an eager and enthusiastic commitment to succeed. After all, if they can continue to do so in the face of overwhelming odds, can we do anything less?
Jim West
President/CEO
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