We here at Crippen are looking to make 2017 a record-year for giving back to our communities. We will be holding monthly intraoffice fundraisers to benefit 12 different charities this year through our new Crippen Cares™ initiative. Our nonprofit spotlight is on this month’s fundraiser recipient, Arnette House, Inc.
Arnette House provides programs and services to the 5th Judicial Circuit which includes Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus & Hernando Counties. They do this through caring and dedicated professionals who focus on the strengths of the family while providing skills and knowledge to help improve life at home. Their goals are
- To keep families together by helping them earlier, before kids are out of control.
- To strengthen the family unit before kids end up in delinquency or foster care.
- Arnette House is the “front end” of the Juvenile Justice System (the key is prevention and early intervention).
Arnette House was founded in 1979 by Vernon and Sara Arnette who tragically lost their son Gary to a drug overdose. Since the opening of the first Arnette House in 1982, they have expanded into a three-building complex on 4.8 acres in Northeast Ocala. Their facilities at that campus include an emergency shelter, the Branan Counseling and Administration building, and the Vernon Arnette Educational Center, which houses a facility with a home like environment intended for a Transitional Living Program. In 2009 two foster care Group Homes were added. Arnette House’s reach now also extends into Lake County to support its children through initiatives such as the Safe Place Program and an extensive Outreach and Prevention Program including non-residential counseling.
Arnette House offers residential services (including short-term foster care and emergency shelter), non-residential family crisis intervention counseling, residential group homes for youth ages 13-17, grouper therapy, parenting classes, and much more.
For more information on how you can help, you can visit them on Facebook, or at their website to find out more about their volunteer opportunities or donate directly to Arnette House.