By Frank X. Moraga • Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth
As we prepare to celebrate the upcoming holiday weekend, there are many reasons for us to be thankful here at the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth. At the top of that list are the many friends, community partners and organizations who have supported us over the past year in our mission to “… ignite collective action that creates better lives for children and families.”
Our recent 50th anniversary celebration emphasized the love and support this organization has received over the years as we seek to support the children and youth throughout Coconino County in the face of a variety of economic, health and social pressures facing local families.
For the more than a half-dozen years I have been with the Coalition, I’m thankful for the joy of being with a non-profit organization where each day I get to work in concert with people from all walks of life who are dedicated to serving children and families in the region. They include talented volunteer board members and executive directors and representatives from a variety of organizations who share their time and information during a number of monthly video remote, conference calls and in-person resource meetings, community health and information fairs and back-to-school events.
Though the recent pandemic curtailed my in-person travel time (during one trip I traveled to resource meetings in Tusayan, Tuba City, Page and Fredonia), the willingness of everyone to learn new technologies to keep serving our communities has been nothing short of amazing. During a recent Coconino County Board of Supervisors meeting, the Coalition was thanked by District 5 Supervisor Lena Fowler for our willingness to partner with the Tuba City Public Library and take charge of presenting the monthly Tuba City Regional Resource Meeting. We have more than 120 people on our email subscription list for that meeting and we look forward to the day in 2023 when we can finally return to in-person meetings at the Tuba City Public Library.
To all those who have worked with me, thank you very much for enriching my life and helping me to support the mission of the Coalition.
— Frank X. Moraga is the Outreach Coordinator for the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth.