CoreCon is a non-profit fan based convention entirely run by volunteers. As if getting ready for CoreCon wasn’t enough work, some of the volunteers do more volunteering within our own group called CoreCon Cares. This year we are collecting toys and donating money to help out The Village Family Service Center and hope you will too. 
The Village Family Service Center provides a range of services designed to help children, families, and individuals live happier, healthier lives. The Village is celebrating its 125th anniversary, tracing its roots back to a cold November morning in 1891, when Rev. C.J. McConnehey arrived in Fargo, ND, with a clear “mandate” from the Children’s Home Society of Minnesota to organize an auxiliary agency in Fargo that would act as “friend and protector to homeless, neglected, and destitute children.” The original Dakota Children’s Home Society maintained an active and “flourishing” orphanage and made provision for foster care and adoption. The Village’s programs have changed over the years, but its mission of helping people continues. Today, the Village has 20 locations in North Dakota and Minnesota and its services include counseling, Big Brothers Big Sisters, financial guidance, truancy intervention, in-home family therapy, The Village Business Institute, First Step Recovery, adoption services, pregnancy counseling, and Nokomis Child Care Centers. Talking with some of the workers at the Nokomis Child Care Center they could use some playground toys if possible. One mentioned a real basketball hoop would be great as all they have now is a tiny plastic one. Please consider donating to the Village Family Service center during the convention, and please drop by their booth for more information.
