breaking the cycle of poverty. together.
two organizations. One community.
The Center for Working Families (C4WF) is the U.S. arm of The Center – A Family of Families in Quito, Ecuador. Hands and feet of the same work.
The Center – A Family of Families was founded in 1964, and what began with shoeshine boys quickly grew to serve the entire family.
The Center walks alongside families, providing programs in education, job training, food security, medical care, and more.
Grounded in love, solidarity, justice, faith, and dignity.
The Center for Working Families (C4WF) exists so the work in Quito continues.
In the U.S., we fuel the funding, create awareness, and run year-long volunteer and service-learning programs.
Giving, volunteering, visiting, or sharing the story isn't supporting the work. It's being part of it.
There are more than 325 families in the Center’s care.
Since the beginning of its work with the most vulnerable, more than 6,000 families have left the cycle of generational poverty because of the Center’s support.
Creating community is the cornerstone of our work; we accompany and empower families through comprehensive programs.
Together, we are a “Family of Families!”
not just words. real work
Walking with. Walking alongside. Accompanying.
Picture a singer at the front of a stage, and a pianist behind. The song belongs to the singer. The piano isn't there to lead, compete, or take over. It is there to make the song fuller, to give it depth, to honor the voice that is already singing.
That is what accompaniment means at The Center. Each family writes their own life. The Center is the music underneath, helping that life sound richer, more dignified, more like the song the family always meant to sing.
And without C4WF and supporters like you, who keep this work going, there is no piano.
Comprehensive: Everything is connected.
. Comprehensive Programs:
Education - Pre-K through high school & adult education
Job training - skills & trades
Food security - meals, food kits & urban gardening
Medical care
Mental health & counseling
Faith and spiritual support
Social services & legal aid
A hungry child can’t focus in class. A parent without an education struggles to earn a living wage. Families rarely face just one need at a time, so no single solution is enough. What began with shoeshine boys in 1964 quickly grew to serve the entire family, because meeting one need in isolation isn’t enough to break the cycle of poverty.
Empowerment can sound like an organization handing power to a family. At The Center, it's the other way around.
A toolbox doesn't build the house. The builder does. The Center hands families the tools they need to build the lives they choose, but the vision, the work, and the choices belong to them.
Families set the goals. They choose the path. They build the life.
Empowerment: ownership, not dependency.
FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS, the center HAs SERVED THE MOST VULNERABLE OF FAMILIES in Quito, Ecuador.
With your support, we can continue the center’s mission!
Contact
For General Inquiries:
communityoutreach@c4wf.org
Regarding Donations:
development@c4wf.org
Board Questions:
boardpres@c4wf.org
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