Dr. Doreen Cato will speak at Family Resource Center’s fourth annual “Strengthening Families, Building Community” event at Big Picture, Redmond Town Center from 5:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The evening kicks off with grill-fired pizza and no-host microbrew at 5:30 p.m., followed by a program that includes Dr. Cato at 6:30 p.m. The event continues at 7:15 with a silent auction, pool and more until 9 p.m.

Cato is an international children’s advocate, human services leader (she heads First Place in Seattle), long-time Eastside resident and highly regarded public speaker.

This annual event, conceived as “An Evening with Friends of Family Resource Center,” connects supporters and raises funds to increase access to human services.

Family Resource Center is an innovative nonprofit agency that works collaboratively to lower barriers to services, so families throughout East King County are always able to find the help they need, when they need it.

Eighteen agencies provide more than 40,000 people each year — half of them children — with food, shelter, medical and dental care, counseling, child care, disability support, mental health services and much more from the center’s “one-stop” three-building campus in downtown Redmond.

Sponsors include Big Picture, Microsoft, Redmond Town Center, Rainier Welding, Emerald Heights, Evergreen Healthcare, Redmond General Insurance Agency, Charter Bank, Falco Sult & Company P.S. and Waste Management.

To attend or for more information on Family Resource Center, call (425) 869-6699 or e-mail paulam@familyresourcecenter.org.