Who We Are
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is a nonprofit national career and technical student organization for young men and women in Family and Consumer Sciences education in public and private school through grade 12. Everyone is part of a family, and FCCLA is the only national Career and Technical Student Organization with the family as its central focus. Since 1945, FCCLA members have been making a difference in their families, careers, and communities by addressing important personal, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education.
Chapter projects focus on a variety of youth concerns, including traffic safety, parenting, family relationships, substance abuse, peer pressure, environment, nutrition and fitness, teen violence, and career exploration. Involvement in FCCLA offers members the opportunity to expand their leadership potential and develop skills for life — planning, goal setting, problem-solving, decision making, and interpersonal communication — necessary in the home and workplace.
You can learn even more about the organization by visiting the National FCCLA website at http://www.fcclainc.org/about.
What We Offer
FCCLA is a dynamic organization with something that truly fits everyone. Whether it’s involvement in Competitive Events, National Programs, service, and leadership development, members and chapters can select the components of their own Program of Work that meet their needs.
- Involvement in Competitive Events programs offers members the opportunity to expand their leadership potential and develop skills necessary for families, communities, and workplaces. Members can demonstrate family and consumer sciences skills, career skills, and interpersonal skills through these events. This includes Skill Demonstration Events, STAR Events, FCCLA/Knowledge Matters Virtual Business Challenge, and the FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl.
- National Programs provide opportunities for integration into the Family & Consumer Sciences classroom through topics from career preparation and skills for success to becoming financially fit to empowering youth to assess, educate, and advocate for change.
- Leadership development occurs throughout everything that FCCLA does. Students can engage locally or at the District, State, and National levels to build their leadership skills. Whether it’s in a STAR Event, completing the tasks of a State Officer, or organizing a local community service learning opportunity, students are building their skills to lead within their families, communities, and future workplaces.
Check out this flow chart compiled by one of our chapter advisers that explains all of the parts of FCCLA!
Mission
To promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, members develop skills for life through: character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and career preparation.
Purposes
- To provide opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life
- To strengthen the function of the family as a basic unit of society
- To encourage democracy through cooperative action in the home and community
- To encourage individual and group involvement in helping achieve global cooperation and harmony
- To promote greater understanding between youth and adults
- To provide opportunities for making decisions and for assuming responsibilities.
- To prepare for the multiple roles of men and women in today’s society
- To promote Family and Consumer Sciences and related occupations
Creed
We are the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
We face the future with warm courage and high hope.
For we have the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious values.
For we are the builders of homes,
Homes for America’s future,
Homes where living will be the expression of everything that is good and fair,
Homes where truth and love and security and faith will be realities, not dreams.
We are the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
We face the future with warm courage and high hope.
Program Emphasis
FCCLA is the only in-school student organization with the family as its central focus. FCCLA is a career and technical student organization that functions as an integral part of the Family and Consumer Sciences education curriculum and operates within the school system, and it provides opportunities for active student participation at local, state, and national levels.
Membership
In Nebraska, over 3,000 youth are actively engaged in FCCLA chapters representing over 100 schools. FCCLA has a national membership of over 199,000 young men and women in nearly 5,000 chapters. There are 47 state associations including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Since its founding in 1945, FCCLA has involved more than nine million youth. Former members are eligible to become members of Alumni & Associates.