Written description of project/HUS 352/Sullivan
- 1. HUS 352 Interventions for Families with Children Patricia Clark Advocacy Project “Families Helping Families” Julie Lamoreau Krissy Wyman Brianna Sullivan Bath/Brunswick Center
- 2. “Families Helping Families” Clothing Donations/Exchange Program Mission Statement With winter approaching many families are in need of winter apparel for their children. We would like to make these hard times easier for parents by getting their children in warmer clothes now. We would like to see parents come together in their own Childcare or Head Start Center and donate clothes to those less fortunate. In addition, parents may find something they need from other parents donations, which in turn equals a win, win situation. We worked with three different centers. Julie worked with New Meadows Childcare Center who also is her employer. Brianna worked with Bath Head Start because this is where her daughter attends and Krissy worked with Woodside Family Services, where her sons attend.We came up with the name “Families Helping Families is a Clothing Exchange/Donation Program.” How we chose this project When we first learned of this project, we all thought gathering winter items for needy kids would be a great thing. However, because of the season so many other businesses were doing this so we decided to keep the donations local in our own centers and between the families themselves. We all chose our own centers we work with on a daily basis whether it be from employment or where our children attend. Sequence of events from choosing idea to finished product Brianna’s Sequence: When I first heard of this project, I knew right away that I wanted to do something for my daughter’s head start. I had done many other things for my classes involving her Head Start. Last semester I made brochures to make the community more
- 3. aware of Head Start and it benefits. I approached my case manager Sandra and my previous case manager Steve who were both willing to help me. I explained to them about what my group was interested in doing. They informed me that they already had a similar donation (Share Table) area set up but that it would be nice to make parents more aware. I decided I could help with letting parents know exactly what the “Share Table” was. I made flyers to put in every child’s cubby so their parents would be able to see them. I also made extra flyers to put around the head start center to let parents know that way also. Sandra and Steve continued to work with me in order to make parents more aware that help was there is they needed it. Sandra had informed me that we could not just place a box for donations the donations had to be delivered to Sandra or Steve directly because all clothes must be washed before families may have them. They told me that when I get donations I could wash them there in the center and they even told me they could apply for a grant for the laundry detergent in order to wash the clothes. Julie’s Sequence: When I first heard about the advocacy project assignment, I knew I had to find a group of people close to me that I could interact with regularly! Many people had the same idea for setting up winter clothing collections. As luck should have it, I saw a few members of class that were in my area and looking to do the same project. I wanted to start coats for kids bin at my childcare center. I know many parents in the center find it hard to replace their child’s winter gear each year. I came to the decision to approach my boss with the idea of setting up a winter clothing exchange. The idea of a drop box within the center for parents to donate their child’s outgrown items and in return, another family may find those items helpful. My boss who was more than accepting of the idea infact, she took the matter into her own hands. I had written up a sign for a box I had brought in. She was left to review the visual and let me know what might need to be changed so I could get things started. The next day she came to me with a revamped sign, a new box covered in wrapping paper and a poster board with bubble letters on it, promoting my project heading. My
- 4. only job was to write a brief message to the parents explaining what the purpose of the box was and how they could help. The first day was on a Thursday and nothing was donated. By Monday morning, the box was nearly full. Each day since things have continued to add up. We have much more donations then I ever expected. “Julie, I have some things at home for you. What a great idea you have started!“ said one parent “Thank you so much for your idea, my son loves his new hat!” Krissy’s Sequence: When we first learned about this project, many different ideas flew through my head about what we could do. My sons attend Woodford Family Services; it is an early head start/preschool for children with autism, aspersers, and other developmental delays. One thing that stuck out the most was, when browsing through the handbook of my son’s head start, they have a policy in place that if unless all of the children in their class come prepared with proper hats, and coats, gloves, ex. than none of the children are allowed to go outside. It is much simpler to tell them “it’s too cold” than to explain their policy to three to four year olds. Therefore, that is where the idea was born to start a winter clothing exchange at their school. After gathering my group with two younger women from my area, which had similar ideas with their head starts, I went and talked with Sara the program coordinator at Woodford’s Family Services. When I approached her with the idea, she thought it was fantastic. Together, we also came up with the idea along with doing a winter clothing exchange, to do a regular clothing exchange as well. Parents can bring in their children’s gently used clothing, and parents can browse through to see if there is anything their child needs. We agreed to place the box in a semi-private room, to avoid any embarrassment for the parents, if they did. Later that week, I made flyers to hand out to families, and I posted a thread on my Facebook asking my friends, if they had any winter items that their children have outgrown. I wanted to have some items in the boxes when I dropped them off to get
- 5. things started. Within a few minutes, I had friends, family, and a few co-workers who were willing to donate. I picked up some items from some friends and family members, and a few co-workers dropped off some items for me to pick up at work. Later in the month, we had a small Halloween party at their school, I brought the idea up to the parents that attended, and they were excited as well and thought it was a fantastic idea, and as soon as we had the boxes ready, they too would go through their children’s clothes to donate items. The only thing that was standing in our way was waiting for the OK from the director of Woodfords. Both Sara and I tried to reach her via-email. She has yet to respond to us, but neither one of us plans to give up. In the event that this is not an option for us to do here, I plan to take the items that I have collected and donate them to either a group that one of the other students have started, or to a winter coat drive of some sort. What we learned and things we could have done differently What Julie Learned: Through this entire process, I have learned how helpful and giving people really can be, even with the tough economy. Many more parents donated in such a timely manner then I ever imagined. With all the consignment shops in the area, I assumed parents would pass on the idea of donating their items for consigning them. I have also learned how important an open line of communication is between team members. Within our group, we needed to be in better contact with each other so that we remained on the same page and could assist others along the way when needed. The sad thing about there being so many donations is the fact that there are few people taking the items. I am not sure if it is the fact that parents do not have time to stop and look through the box with their busy lives getting in the way or if there is a deeper reason. Now for the things I would do differently, I have a few. First, I would take the collections personally so that I can wash them and look them over for quality. Some people are leery about taking items from other people due to the risk of lice, bed bugs or
- 6. other risk factors. If I made it clear that, the items would be clean and of good quality, people may have donated and picked up more of the items. The other thing I would do is make a note of the inventory. I am thinking that if there were a paper listing the items within the box maybe parents could quickly look for the size of the item they could be looking for and not have to spend time picking through the clothes and finding sizes. Another thought I had was to do the swap a little differently. I could have put out the idea of the clothing swap to the parents and ask them what size or items are most needed. Then in return post another notice to parents asking if anyone had a certain size or item that another parent needed. This could in turn lead to a parent-to-parent swap so that outgrown clothes could be continuously handed down. These are all just ideas that I had. I know by doing this project that it is all just trial and error to figure out what works best. I have learned through it all that hard work does pay off and that it feels good to make a difference in people’s lives, even if only just one child gets a new coat, at least I can pat myself on the back knowing I took part in that! What Krissy Learned: One thing I learned about this project is that something that is seemingly simple is not. Something that seems as easy as placing a box with some clothes to help families in need, all the hoops you have to jump through, just to do it. Another thing I learned, that no matter how big or small a project is, everyone who can wants to donate or help in some sort of way. One of the biggest reasons I like living in such a small community, everyone is willing to give a helping hand if possible. Too be honest, I am not sure what I could or would have done differently. Maybe we could have been a little more aggressive with trying to reach the director because the cold temperatures are here and winter is right around the corner. Winter items are not something that is wanted for families they are needed. Regardless, we still have time before snow gets here (hopefully) and we have every intentions to keep this idea going and hopefully it will be a huge success and help some families that are in need.
- 7. What Brianna Learned: I learned that many people who are in need of anything don’t always want to ask for help. They feel they will be looked down on if they do. However, the donations/exchange box lets them know that they are not the only ones who need help. Asking for help does not make them weak or a bad parent in fact it make them a better parent because they know they cannot give their child everything and asking for help means their child will get one they need. So in turn, the parent did actually do it for their children and made sure they were taken care of. I also learned that when parents understand that they are not the only ones who need help. They are more willing to be open about their situation and what their own needs are. This makes the parents more known to each other and it makes the community stronger by bringing people together to work towards a common goal. LINK TO POWERPOINT ON SLIDESHARE http://www.slideshare.net/ellabella719/my-advocacy-projecthus-352fall-2012
- 8. Name: Julie Lamoreau Site: Bath/Brunswick Center Peer Reviews for HUS 352 Interventions for Children and Families Please take a minute to reflect upon how your group functioned and why. I appreciate feedback on the process, success, and frustrations. Suggestions are also welcome. I am always looking to refine the process. Information is confidential. How involved were members of your group? Please circle the number that best represents the involvement of each person with one being not involved and 5 being very involved Brianna 1 2 3 4 5* Krissy 1 2 3* 4 5 Did attendance or absence from class affect the process for some members? How?For whom? None of us attend class weekly. We were able to meet on our own time Did attendance or absence from meetings affect the progress of the project? How? One meeting lacked one person. That made an impact that day but other then that we were able to make it all work out How was communication with members? How could it be improved? Brianna was very involved with contacting me. Krissy and I did not communicate much. I think sticking to a group chat would have made it easier, so that all partied involved saw the same messages and received the same information. Were you able to contact members via (circle all that apply) e-mail, telephone, in person, another way. We were in contact through all these ways. How beneficial was working in a group to this project? Working in a group for the project itself was not beneficial because we all worked through different centers, working together on the presentation and written part was beneficial as a group What would you do differently next time? As a group I would try to stay more actively involved with others. Meet more frequently or communicate more. Though I feel things worked out really well. What suggestions do you have for me for the project? Maybe- do a group presentation and individual papers. Just for each person to reflect back, instead of a group paper.
- 9. Name: Krissy Wyman Site: Bath/Brunswick Center Peer Reviews for HUS 352 Interventions for Children and Families Please take a minute to reflect upon how your group functioned and why. I appreciate feedback on the process, success, and frustrations. Suggestions are also welcome. I am always looking to refine the process. Information is confidential. 1. How involved were members of your group? Please circle the number that best represents the involvement of each person with one being not involved and 5 being very involved Names Brianna 1 2 3 4 5* Julie 1 2 3 4 5* Did attendance or absence from class affect the process for some members? How?For whom? No not at all. Did attendance or absence from meetings affect the progress of the project? How? We were all diligent with attending our meetings and I we could not we communicated through text/ e-mails. How was communication with members? How could it be improved? It was great! Were you able to contact members via (circle all that apply) e-mail, telephone, in person, another way. E-mail, telephone, text, meeting in person. How beneficial was working in a group to this project? Very beneficial What would you do differently next time? I do not think we could have done anything differently. What suggestions do you have for me for the project? Maybe, if possible, a little more time to do them.
- 10. Name: Brianna Sullivan Site: Bath/Brunswick Center Peer Reviews for HUS 352 Interventions for Children and Families Please take a minute to reflect upon how your group functioned and why. I appreciate feedback on the process, success, and frustrations. Suggestions are also welcome. I am always looking to refine the process. Information is confidential. How involved were members of your group? Please circle the number that best represents the involvement of each person with one being not involved and 5 being very involved Names Krissy 1 2 3 4* 5 Julie 1 2 3 4 5* Did attendance or absence from class affect the process for some members? How?For whom? We did not always attend classes together but we did stay in contact and met a few times for our project. Did attendance or absence from meetings affect the progress of the project? How? Most meeting we were all there. There was only one occasion where we couldn’t all meet but we kept in contact so that one member wouldn’t be left out. How was communication with members? How could it be improved? Communication was good between us. It was nice that we had already known each other and the fact that we all attended classes at the same center. Were you able to contact members via (circle all that apply) e-mail, telephone, in person, another way. We contactd through all of these forms. We also used texting on our phones. Email really helped in order to email our own portions of the papers to each other. How beneficial was working in a group to this project? It was nice to work in a group because we didn’t feel so much pressure about doing the project alone. What would you do differently next time? Next time I would let others do more instead of taking on so much of it myself. I think I wore myself out but I am happy to have it done.
- 11. What suggestions do you have for me for the project? I was very confused in the beginning on what exactly you wanted from us. I had a hard time getting started with the project. I think the project needs to be explained in a different manner in order to get point across.