Family Resource Advocacy Network (FRAN) Grand Opening Marks New Chapter Of Support, Connection And Opportunity For Northeast Salem Families (Photo) - 07/22/26
SALEM, Ore. (July 22, 2026) –Community partners and local leaders will mark a major milestone with the ribbon-cutting for the Family Resource Advocacy Network (FRAN) building, a new community hub designed to connect Northeast Salem families with resources, support services and opportunities to thrive. The ribbon cutting will take place Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the new FRAN center, located at 3803 Lancaster Drive NE, followed by an open house and facility tours.
FRAN was established to address the critical needs in Northeast Salem by providing a welcoming, family-centered space where residents can access support, navigate services and build meaningful connections.
"FRAN is a community social-service hub built on the understanding that everyone, at some point in their lives, faces adversity. Our goal is to provide a safe, welcoming space where individuals and families can navigate those challenges and begin to overcome them. Whether someone arrives seeking stability, support, education, or simply a moment of reassurance, we want every person who walks through our doors to feel one thing immediately: that everything is going to be OK. Through navigation services, self-sufficiency resources, social and behavioral support, and health and wellness opportunities, FRAN helps young people and families build resilience and create lifelong pathways to opportunity," said Gary Epping, President, Larry & Jeanette Epping Family Foundation.
The center will serve as a neighborhood hub for collaboration among a wide range of community-based organizations, Community Health Workers from the Fostering Hope Initiative and family advocates who are committed to helping families connect with services that strengthen financial stability, health outcomes and community engagement.
"Through the dedication and leadership of Larry and Jeanette Epping and the Epping Family Foundation, FRAN will be a place of family support, rich with resources, and with a team of advocates from the Fostering Hope Initiative who will stand with those families and walk alongside them through whatever challenges they may be facing," said Josh Graves, CEO of Catholic Community Services. "FRAN will be a place of inclusivity and creativity, with partner organizations all working together to ensure families are well supported and thrive in our community."
“FRAN honors the values of Larry and Jeanette Epping, and their belief in giving back to the community that invested so much in them. FRAN sits on the very homestead property where they built their home, raised their children, built a thriving business, and the family continues investing — to build resiliency, community, and opportunities for our youth and families to thrive,” added Sue Bloom, FRAN project manager.
About FRAN: The Family Resource Advocacy Network (FRAN) is a community-centered initiative created by the Larry & Jeanette Epping Family Foundation and professionally managed by Catholic Community Services' Fostering Hope Initiative. The center was developed to serve as a hub for support, connection and resource navigation for Northeast Salem families.
About Catholic Community Services of the Mid-Willamette Valley and Central Coast: A nonprofit, faith-based organization. Founded in Salem in 1938, today, CCS offers multiple programs across 10 Oregon counties and serves more than 4,500 people each year. It operates with fidelity to the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which call it to work for the common good and to serve its neighbors who are the poorest and most vulnerable. CCS envisions a caring, resilient community full of hope and connection where all people flourish. CCS is a Christian ministry caring for all in our community, built on faith, hope and kinship. www.ccswv.org.
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