— With support from the Parent Coordinator at the Lorenzo R. Smith Elementary School, and the Pembroke School District’s Superintendent of Schools, Family-to-Family now serves families in the Pembroke/St. Anne/Momence area of Illinois.

Pembroke, located 70 miles south of Chicago, is the community that first inspired the founding of Family-to-Family when it was featured in a front-page September 2002 New York Times article. Pembroke is:

• Populated by 2,784 residents, primarily African-American
• Lacking a bank, supermarket, police force, barbershop, gas station, bookstore, and pharmacy
• Without a bus or train connection
• Made up of many roads paved only with sand or gravel

Many of its homes are crumbling shacks with dirt floors and no running water. Some homes feature tires on top to keep the roof from flying off. Many households have no telephone service. There is one doctor in town. In 1999:

• More than 51% of Pembroke families with children under five were below the poverty level.
• 43.4% of household incomes were below $25,000.
• Per capita income was $9,642.

In addition to sending food boxes to these families, Family-to-Family is acting as the conduit between Litlife, a literacy consulting company, and the Pembroke school district with the goal of implementing “The Family Power Book”, a unique after-school book club designed to improve the literacy skills of local children and their parents. After piloting the program here and in our Washington County, Maine community, we plan to expand the program to other communities.