Amity Announces Campaign to Build A Family Center

TUCSON, Ariz., April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On May 9th, Mother's Day
Weekend, Amity Foundation is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Tucson, and
announcing a campaign to build a center to provide help and services to
support, strengthen, and reunify needy families.

The celebration will be held at Amity's Circle Tree Ranch, and will honor
Amity's many friends and donors of the past four decades. Several of those
honored will make remarks including Tim Bee, Director of Governor Brewer's
Southern Arizona Office. Preliminary plans for the family center -- named the
"Dragonfly Village" -- will be unveiled.

Live music, brunch, a silent auction, and games and other activities for
children will be provided.

Arizona is the fastest growing state in the U.S. but services to families are
not keeping up with growth: according to Department of Economic Security,
there are over 6000 families who needed services, safety, and support last
year who were not helped. Given the current financial crisis, that number will
grow even larger this year.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Amity's founding in Tucson (originally
known as Tucson Awareness House) -- this organization was started with a focus
on youth, and was one of the first in the state to take in women and men with
children. Over the past four decades thousands of adults, youth, and children
have been helped by Amity.

The Dragonfly Village will house up to twenty families simultaneously,
providing medical attention, facilities for infants and toddlers, classes for
parents to improve their skills, addiction treatment, vocational counseling --
all with the focus on building strong, healthy families with the promise of
productive, fulfilling lives. The celebration will recognize the Emerald
Foundation, which provided the funding for the architectural plans for the
Village.

Amity in Tucson was the inspiration and model for federal programs throughout
the U.S. that targeted pregnant, post-partum women, and women with children of
varying ages. The Amity approach has been widely recognized: by Alice Miller
-- internationally known psychiatrist; by Walter Cronkite, who termed it "one
of the best programs in the United States"; in testimony in the U.S. Congress;
and by many international organizations. Naya Arbiter -- internationally
known for her innovative work with women and families, is on the Board of the
Dragonfly Village, as is Rod Mullen, President and CEO of Amity, nationally
and internationally known for his contributions to the human services field
over the past four decades.

SOURCE Amity's Dragonfly Village

Blazenka Dizdarevic, Development Director, Amity's Dragonfly Village,
+1-520-760-6685, dragonflyvillage@dragonflyvillage.org