Effingham County residents who want to get plugged into the community in a helpful way need to contact Elaine Spencer, the local Family Connection executive director.

Spencer's organization is a collaborative that brings community partners together to develop, implement and evaluate plans that address the serious challenges facing Effingham County children and families — including child abuse, high school drop-out rates and making sure citizens live healthy and productive lives.

"We have open meetings and anybody can come," Spencer said. "I put everyone together at one table and we just see what we can do by putting our heads together to help our at-risk families and children. We talk about what gaps we have and how we fill them. We also look to see if we have any duplication efforts that we don't need."
Family Connection has a wide range of concerns, but it usually spotlights a few each year.

See the Aug. 23 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.