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Subscribe NowHospitality for ECPDX
Showing Appreciation for our Essential Child Welfare Staff & Bringing Dignity to Physical Spaces for Kids and Families
Hospitality is essential for raising awareness about the needs of kids in foster care at the local level.
*Every Child PDX Liaisons are the face of Hospitality at an assigned ODHS office and lead all hospitality efforts. Liaisons are warm, collaborative, communicative, administrative, positive, and loving leaders overseeing a team of hospitality volunteers coming together to execute hospitality to child welfare staff.
💚 Activities Include
Case Worker Appreciation Events:
By extending hospitality to child welfare staff, we cultivate an environment where they feel appreciated, valued, and motivated to continue their essential work. When these professionals feel respected and supported, they can better focus on the individual needs of each child.
Quarterly Appreciations – regular appreciation events are held at the local ODHS Child Welfare offices and offer staff time to take a break, enjoy a delightful treat and receive thanks. Supporters contribute to provide items such as: breakfast treats & bites, gift cards for a meal or coffee on-the-go. Re-stocking the break room with healthy snacks, coffee bar needs etc.
Grief & Acknowledgement Appreciations – on occasion, grief and acknowledgement appreciations will be provided when requested. This will offer staff a time to step back, grieve and process the most difficult moments of casework. Comfort food, hand-written thank you cards, and self-care items are offered.
Child Welfare Makeovers:
Makeovers transform physical spaces to add dignity and warmth to otherwise sterile ODHS office spaces. Teams tackle a room at a time, working to create a makeover plan, and partnering to execute the vision.
Visitation Rooms – Visitation spaces become welcoming for families and children as they work to stay connected, make memories and build new skills. These makeovers aim to create comfort, brighten spaces and add interactive touches.
Wellness Rooms – Staff spaces become areas of reprieve and restoration from the demanding work of providing families in crisis with support. Case workers can step away to eat, grieve, rest, pray, exercise or engage in self-care and resist burnout.
Event Hosting Support:
Twice a year, ODHS leads a few large-scale appreciation events for the families and children they serve. Linking arms with staff as they attempt to procure community donations, support and funds to hold these events enables the bulk of the energy to be focused on the work with children and families that they cannot delegate.
Holiday Parties – Liaisons help coordinate volunteers & tangible support for the annual Holiday Party in December for children visiting their families of origin during the holidays. Joining planning meetings and communicating back to EC PDX who will share the needs with partners and individuals in the community to participate.
Resource (Foster) Family Appreciation Parties – retaining Resource Families is a significant challenge. Appreciation events provide an opportunity for ODHS to say thank you to these incredible families. “
