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Happy Easter from Spaulding for Children!

In this time of stress and uncertainty, we need to remind each other that better days are ahead. Spring is here and flowers are abloom. Our community of staff and families have certainly come together this past month to serve families and children, often in new ways and difficult circumstances and always tirelessly and wholeheartedly. The stories below detail just some of the countless ways people have stepped up to help our families. We are thankful for each of you and hope that Easter brings you hope and time to treasure family.
What Spaulding Is Doing
During the National Emergency
We are doing everything we can, including following government directives and professional guidelines to keep everyone Spaulding serves healthy and safe.
  • We constantly monitor MDHHS, Michigan.gov/Coronavirus, OSHA, DOL and CDC communications to determine expectations or changes in process.
  • We have created virtual support groups for clients/families that meet online.
  • There are weekly check-in calls with families to assess well-being and to determine needs.
  • We are utilizing group messaging to stay connected with caregivers and share critical information.
  • We are working with Federal pilot project sites across the nation to identify alternatives for in-person training.
  • We are engaging volunteers to support caregivers with donations of homemade face masks and virtual tutoring.
Online Resources from SFC
Families can participate in a weekly foster parent support meeting on Wednesdays from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. We have partnered with Hands Across the Water. Topics have been selected based on surveys conducted with foster/relative parents, including developing a routine schedule for your kids while at home, physical activities for kids, and educational resources.  Follow this link Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and click "Join the Meeting" to attend: https://tinyurl.com/qstmcbu.
Storytime Monday Nights
Join us on our Facebook page for Storytime with Miss Katie. She leads readings of children’s books each Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. Books include classic children’s stories, including those of Dr. Seuss, as well as books that deal with emotions and challenges our kids face such as April 5’s Anxious Ninja. Click here to visit online. (When page loads, click on videos.)
Volunteers Helping to Protect Our Families
Spaulding for Children wants to provide handmade masks to our foster families that can be washed and reused. Our goal is to give an average of 8 to 10 masks to each household. So, we needed approximately 500 masks. We have received more than 500 homemade face masks, sewn by volunteers.
 
As many things, most of our donations came because our staff reached out through their networks. Spaulding reached out to Catholic Community Response Team’s Joe Powells who tapped his niece Michelle Bain. Michelle is on the board of Vista Maria and knows well the challenges our families are facing. She sews with a group of volunteers called Quilts of Compassion who have shifted 100% of their work into making masks. She asked for their help and in a matter of days they created over 400 masks that Michelle brought to Spaulding.
 
Quilts of Compassion is looking for sewers. Reach out at www.facebook.com/quiltsofcompassion.
 
Spaulding also received 60 homemade masks from sewing volunteers in Rochester Hills. We are truly humbled.  We salute all the volunteers that are giving their time, talents and connections to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in our communities. We hope their generosity will inspire others to act and do what they can to support organizations they care about.
 
 “We all have gifts and we all have to use what we have and what we can to help. It’s great to know we can stop the spread of this virus and help those on the front-line serving community members.”- Michelle Bain
The Power of Community
The community has come together in so many ways to not only help Spaulding, but to help one another.  Some have made masks or invited others to join a fitness class. We’d love to hear your ideas and stories about ways you have heard people helping others.
 
During March, National Reading Month, we collected more than 30 books for our families.  When appropriate, we will utilize the book donations with our families.
 
Good news: We collected $600 to help one of Spaulding’s youth attend a special field trip. While the trip has been postponed, thanks go out to everyone who contributed. Their generosity is another reminder that strong communities do build strong families.
Thank You to Huda School!
Looking back with gratitude to March when students from Huda School in Franklin, Mich., brought supplies for making bird houses, a chocolate fountain, and cookie decorating. They also provided a monetary donation. This was a school project that the kids organized, and they asked if they could come to our agency as part of their project. The Library/Technology staff, Ms. Valerie Hanley, helped the young students with the project. Learn more about the school at https://www.hudaschool.org/.
Staying Healthy in a Time of Crisis
Most of us today are experiencing additional stressors. Social distancing, sheltering in place, and physical isolation can be traumatic experiences reports Dr. Karen Noelle Clark, PhD.

Spaulding is consulting with Dr. Clark to help our response team members handle the physical and emotional challenges of our new world. Due to new restrictions, case managers at present are not able to visit families as they are trained.  Spaulding created an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to go out if a child is in crisis, must be removed from the home or other emergencies. The team is made up of volunteers who are case managers and Spaulding management team members.

Following a visit by a member of the ERT, team members conduct a debriefing with Dr. Clark after each case. This will help the team bond as well as give them a chance to get their feelings out and be heard. “I am encouraging them to talk about their anxieties and fears because verbalizing helps us frame it and sharing it with our professional peers can help,” Clark said. “Everyone must figure out how to manage our feelings in this unprecedented time of uncertainty, so we can help ourselves and others.”

Dr. Clark reminds us all that many of our families today are experiencing additional trauma today.  Physical distancing and isolation, along with sheltering in place, can be traumatic experiences.  

Children who have been removed from their families have already been through trauma. Now they also must face additional stressors, such as the stay-at-home quarantine, computer-access only school rooms, a lack of school and social interactions, plus truly frightening news about a pandemic the likes of which the nation has never seen. And if some of the family is ill or in a hospital, the stressors add up even more.
 
Mental Health Tips for Us All
from Dr. Clark


Each day take time to step away from everything and do some deep breathing. Close your eyes and go “inside” and think of something that is tranquil and brings you peace. Even if you do this for just five minutes – you can return to your day strengthened and refreshed.

1.) Deep Breathing – Each day take time to step away from everything and do some deep breathing. Close your eyes and go “inside” and think of something that is tranquil and brings you peace. Even if you do this for just five minutes – you can return to your day strengthened and refreshed.

2.) Healthy Habits – Invest in developing good practices to develop healthy habits. Get some physical exercise every day. Be conscious of what you are eating and be certain to include all your vitamins. While it’s tempting to give in to comfort foods, now is the time to take extra care of your health. It will affect how your mind and body are able to react to most everything life brings.

3.) T.L.C.  In order to become more resilient, practice tender loving care to protect yourself and your health. Keep a routine with the same bed and waking times each day. Get dressed every day. Whatever structure you can bring to your day will help.

4.) Patient and Kind  Take time to reach out to others – especially those who are alone or prone to depression or anxiety. Follow the Golden Rule and treat others as one would like to be treated. People who help other people discover a special kind of happiness. Reach out to people and practice kindness.

5.) Keep It Simple – Focus on today and what you can control. Be aware of what’s ahead and make plans accordingly. Then, set the plan in motion and take one step at a time.
This Is the Time for All to Be Flexible
When the national emergency separated Maya Lis from her friends and her yoga classes in studio, the 9th-grade student decided to hold her own “classes” for kids who were also under quarantine.

“Yoga releases the stress of being quarantined,” Maya said. “And it’s fun and challenging. I try to make each session entertaining.”
 
Maya invites Spaulding’s extended family to join her each day Monday-Sunday at 5 p.m. Join her daily for a 30 minute session at 5 p.m. EST at https://www.facebook.com/melinda.lis.1 or search "Melinda Lis Orlando" at Facebook.
 
She reminds us that anyone can try yoga.
 
“People think they must be flexible,” Maya said. “That’s not the case. Everyone can get something out of it. My 70-year aunt joins us every day. It’s just fun!”
 
Flexibility means more than stretching muscles, tendons and ligaments, Maya added. Being flexible also means an ability to adjust to changing circumstances.
 
Maya is the daughter of one of Spaulding’s staff members. As an aerial artist, Maya knows the power of flexibility and movement. She started practicing and teaching daily yoga instruction via Facebook.
 
Recently the Lis family opened their home to four cats, brought in after the local animal shelter closed. The new additions are adding fun to what could be a difficult time, Maya said.
 
Still, Maya said she can’t wait to see her human friends again in person. Maya plans to continue her online yoga until the quarantine ends. She hopes to become a certified yoga instructor one day.
Thank You to Gardner-White!
On March 24 we received word that we won Gardner-White's #Charituesday online contest. Thanks for all who voted for us that prior week. We will receive a $1,000 gift certificate to Gardner-White Furniture.
Join the Minority Professional Development Leadership Program
Are you ready to become a transformational leader? The Minority Professional Leadership Development Program (MPLD) at AdoptUSKids is accepting candidates now through June 8th for the next cohort which will start October 2020. This fellowship is designed for emerging minority leaders working in child welfare. The fellowship includes hands-on experience, exposure to
national adoption experts and mentorship opportunities. To learn more about MPLD and to apply for the fellowship go to www.adoptuskids.org/mpld.
 


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