Support Marion CARE-FIT

Hello All,

As a mental health provider in our community, I have had the privilege of working with the Marion CARE-FIT facility and staff. Marion CARE-FIT is one of the few remaining visitation centers that service the families and parents we represent. The facility is wonderful, complete with visitation rooms that actually feel comforting and inviting, video monitoring, and equipped with toys and activities for the span of developmental needs.

I was struck with how organized, inviting, and engaged the staff was upon my visits. This is a contrasting experience from visits to other visitation facilities that have since been forced to close. The director, Stephanie Kreisher, is extremely passionate about the mission of this facility and works tirelessly to maintain the facility, support the staff, and meet the needs of the families.

As such, recognizing the true economic struggles the facility faces given the limited funding and limited capacity of families to pay for services, I am personally reaching out to ask for your assistance in supporting this facility. I am confident this is a facility that your past, present, and likely future clients will be using. As such, please join me in fundraising for the upkeep and support of Marion CARE-FIT so that our clients, and our dedication to families as whole can have the best opportunity for safe and encouraging family growth.

I have included a statement from Stephanie Kreisher, the director to better educate on the purpose and current struggles for CARE- FIT:

Thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of CARE-FIT. The center was my dream and I am so proud of what we have achieved since August 2014. I am very fortunate to have supportive judges in Marion County who allowed my dream to become a reality and who have supported us despite losing our VOCA funding in 2020. I have attached our operating budget for 2021. I eliminated a position which was my assistant at the center as I wanted to repurpose her salary among the staff so that we could serve more families. We are open Wednesdays from 3:00-7:30, Fridays from 3:00-6:00, Sundays from 9:00am-6:00pm and alternate Saturdays from 9:00am-1:00pm. We serve 60-65 families per week with an average of 45-55 supervised visits and 34 neutral exchanges. We stopped our parenting classes due to the pandemic but those will resume in January 2022. We are currently providing services to families from Marion, Morrow, Crawford, Licking, Delaware, Hardin and Franklin County. We currently charge $30/hour for visitation and $15 for zoom visits. We received a $10,000.00 donation from an attorney in Marion to reduce the costs to $5/visit for indigent clients in Marion County.

Our Mission:

To provide a supportive and safe environment for children and families who have experienced conflict and/or family violence by providing educational resources, and coordinating and monitoring visitation and the exchange of children in a structured conflict-free environment.

CARE-FIT: Collaboration, Advocacy, Resources and Education for Families in Transition

Our Wish List:

Board games/games in general

Craft Supplies (These go fast as we have a new craft weekly), the kids love to make bracelets and necklaces and we use tons of popsicle sticks

Legos

Action figures

Barbie dolls and clothes

If you need anything else to support our center, please let me know, I'm happy to talk to anyone who will listen to my stories about CARE-FIT. Have a good day!

If interested, please consider making a donation via the go fund me page. Alternatively, you are welcome to mail a check directly to the facility or to my office which I can hand deliver before Christmas. Additionally, if you would like to make a tangible donation such as those mentioned on the wish list, I am also happy to deliver those as well. My office address to send checks or tangible gifts is:

870 N High St. Suite 108

Worthington Oh, 43085

The address for Marion CARE-FIT is:

CARE-FIT Center

1440 Mt. Vernon Ave.

Marion, OH 43302

Please consider making a donation. I can tell you first hand, this is a caring facility that our family and court services are in great need of. Thank you a million times over for your time and consideration.

Jamie Niesen, MA., MS., LPCC

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

870 N High St. Suite 108

Worthington, OH 43085

www.niesenresolutionservices.com