A Message From the President 

Success Is Attainable

S-U-C-C-E-S-S: what does it look like and what makes a child successful after being in one of our programs?

The reality is that these are difficult questions to answer. Success may not be the same for every person and there are certainly different paths to getting there.

The “desired outcome” for a child who has been at Cal Farley’s is to become a productive citizen. The values we hold dear manifest themselves in the attributes of a productive citizen.

Those values include a relationship with God, completion of an education, a strong work ethic, strong family values, and an appreciation for service to others – after all, it is the sweat off someone else’s brow that has made this organization thrive for so many years.

For youth who graduate from our campuses, we can continue to provide the “wrap around” services they need at a time when they may be more vulnerable. Sometimes; however, we do not have the benefit of seeing a child into adulthood and the best we might hope for is for him or her to leave our program at least better off than when they came.

In either case, the way we get there is not arbitrary. It is the life we create for children in our programs that determine our success in setting the stage for youngsters to become productive citizens.

First, we make sure that we provide a safe place for them to be, and then offer them something of significance to belong to, such as a club, a team, or even a work crew. Safety and belonging are the most basic and critical components of any program working with youth. Without these, development beyond primitive survival instincts, for any human being, will not occur.

Next we provide them opportunities for achievement. That is, to help them identify their interests and teach them skills needed to become competent at something, and sometimes even master something. We empower them by helping them recognize that life is not always fair, and though they may not have had control over their past, they do have control over their future. And finally, we bring them into an awareness, if it did not already exist, of a purpose for their being, larger than themselves, available only through an understanding and acknowledgement of God.

I hope that through our various aspects of communications, such as our Web site and newsletters, we capture the moments in the lives of our youth that illustrate, through pictures and stories, the path you help pave for our youth to grow into successful and productive citizens.

Sincerely,

Dan Adams,
President and CEO (Biography)