Be Strong Families NFP

Be Strong Families NFP create transformative conversations to nurture the spirit of family, well-being, and prevent violence Our social fabric is fraying. According to a recent U.S.

Mission: Be Strong Families partners to create transformative change by developing and sustaining conversations that nurture the spirit of family, promote well-being, and prevent violence. Strong families are the foundation of strong communities and a strong society. Surgeon General’s Report (Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, 2023), we are currently experiencing an epidemic of loneliness t

hat not only has major physical and mental health consequences but also is weakening our ability to stand together as a country. All Be Strong Families offerings intentionally strengthen social ties between parents and children, among family members, within schools and family-serving programs, and in communities. Whether through Parent Cafés, Living the Protective Factors or other skill-building workshops, a game of Questionable, or coloring book parent–child time, join us and be part of a groundswell of positive change.

Next up on 101 Ways to Build Real Connection: Put your phone away during a conversation. 🙅🏽📱Remember how what we communi...
08/25/2026

Next up on 101 Ways to Build Real Connection: Put your phone away during a conversation. 🙅🏽📱

Remember how what we communicate is mostly nonverbal? Well, having your phone out while someone is talking is a great way to indicate you can't *wait* for something more interesting to come along. 🥱😒🤦🏽‍♀️

Focus on the conversation at hand and leave your phone somewhere else. 🤙🏽

Where did the Café model actually come from? Now you can see the whole story. 🗓️We recently added a Café timeline to our...
08/24/2026

Where did the Café model actually come from? Now you can see the whole story. 🗓️

We recently added a Café timeline to our newly refreshed website. It traces the evolution of this beloved gathering from its roots in Strengthening Families and World Cafés 🌱, through the emergence of all three Café designs 🪴, to BSF's first international Parent Café affiliate 🌳.

If you've ever hosted, trained, joined, funded, or referred someone to a Café — anywhere across the country or beyond — you're part of this story, too. 🫵🏽🫶🏽

Here's to many more decades of conversations that transform. 🐛↪️ 🦋

08/22/2026

The Baby Shark Dance-Off at the Evanston Family Fun Fest was a HIT!

08/22/2026

Kyle Campbell performing at the Evanston Family Fun Fest! We're here til 4pm!

The Evanston Family Fun Fest starts at 12pm! See you soon!!
08/22/2026

The Evanston Family Fun Fest starts at 12pm! See you soon!!

Check out the schedule of activities for the Evanston Family Fun Fest! See you all tomorrow from 12-4pm at the Robert Cr...
08/21/2026

Check out the schedule of activities for the Evanston Family Fun Fest! See you all tomorrow from 12-4pm at the Robert Crown Center!

Saturday, August 22, 2026 | 12-4 PM
Robert Crown Center | 1801 Main St., Evanston, IL
https://www.bestrongfamilies.org/evanston-family-fun-fest

TOMORROW take the afternoon off from summer screen time battles. 📵With food, ice skating, a dance-off, activities, games...
08/21/2026

TOMORROW take the afternoon off from summer screen time battles. 📵

With food, ice skating, a dance-off, activities, games, a resource fair, and more, your kids won’t even have time to miss their screens.

See you on August 22nd at the Robert Crown Center for the 4th Annual Evanston Family Fun Fest!

Find all the details here: https://www.bestrongfamilies.org/evanston-family-fun-fest

The finding from Annie E. Casey Foundation new resource that particularly vibed with us confirms that the biggest bottle...
08/21/2026

The finding from Annie E. Casey Foundation new resource that particularly vibed with us confirms that the biggest bottleneck to youth leadership isn't young people: It's adults.💡😒

Adults often struggle with vulnerability, old habits, and defensiveness when receiving feedback from young people, and that struggle, more than anything else, determines whether youth leadership actually takes root.

We've experienced this first-hand through our own youth-adult partnership work over the past decade. "Youth voice" or getting youth "in the room" was never the hard part.

The hard part is preparing adults to share leadership, sit with discomfort, and treat young people as genuine partners rather than participants to manage. 🧐

The Youth-Adult Partnership resource, "A Toolkit for Shared Leadership Across Generations," is the result of a two-year collaborative with youth, adult partners, and pilot organizations across the country.

To find the full report, click here: https://www.aecf.org/resources/advancing-youth-adult-partnership-a-tool-kit-for-shared-leadership-across-generations

Thanks to our Community Partners, the Evanston Family Fun Fest is chock-full of things for your kids to do. Craft projec...
08/20/2026

Thanks to our Community Partners, the Evanston Family Fun Fest is chock-full of things for your kids to do. Craft projects, face painting, hula hoop contests, plus loads of other games and activities keep your kids of all ages busy having fun all afternoon.

Black Pearl, LLC
Evanston Wildkits
Open Studio Project
Chicago Stars FC
Chicago Ballet Arts
Chicago Union
Eventbrite
Mudlark Theater Company
Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI)

See you there on August 22nd!

Find all the details here: https://www.bestrongfamilies.org/evanston-family-fun-fest

Our BSF Café Community of Practice just reached a huge milestone! 🎉This private Facebook group is exclusively for traine...
08/20/2026

Our BSF Café Community of Practice just reached a huge milestone! 🎉

This private Facebook group is exclusively for trained Café hosts. It’s a space to share resources, ask questions, connect with fellow hosts, and join Ask-the-Trainer live events. It's the place where our Café community shows up for each other every day, learning from one another and building on the work happening in Cafés across the country.

Thank you to all 6,000 members!! 🙏🏽 🙌🏽 🫶🏽

To everyone who has shared a resource, gotten a tip, answered a question, or joined a live session: YOU are the reason this community works because you ARE the community.

Haven't joined yet? If you're a trained Café host, reach out to learn how to become part of the group.

Address

1074 W Taylor Street, #354
Chicago, IL
60607

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