Our stateside Team

The Center for Working Families (C4WF) serves as the United States outreach and fundraising arm for The Center – A Family of Families in Quito, Ecuador. Through the support of thousands of stateside donors and volunteers, the C4WF provides the funds necessary to maintain and promote the integral family programming and services provided to the Center’s “Family of Families.”

The C4WF Board works in collaboration with the Center leadership team in order to ensure their funding needs are being met and that the Center community is receiving the necessary tools and resources to break the generational cycle of poverty.

C4WF Board Members not pictured:
- Patrick Barrett, Former Center Volunteer
- Eddie Bernau, Former Center Volunteer
- Queta Parks, Donations Manager

Our Family of Families’ guardian angels.

In Remembrance of
Pat & Jim Parks

Pat began fundraising for the Center in its early years and, with her magnetism and passion to serve others, worked tirelessly as a fundraiser on behalf of the The Center – A Family of Families. Everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Pat knew about the ongoings of the largest “Family of Families” in Quito, Ecuador.

Pat’s sister, Madre Miguel Conway, BVM, is the co-founder of the Center. This relationship was the source of Pat’s nearly five decade-long commitment to serving and accompanying the most vulnerable families in Quito. With the support of her husband, Jim Sr., and her family and friends, Pat made the work at the Center possible through fundraising and vast outreach.

Pat and her husband of more than 50 years, Jim, were the proud parents of ten children, three of whom are adopted from Ecuador, 33 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Jim Parks, Sr. passed away on March 14, 2019 and his beloved wife and Center champion, Pat, joined him in heaven on October 12, 2019.