Robin C. Miller EDUC – 6990
Blog –
Week 4
I tried to narrow it down to three
national organizations that I would love to apply to my community of practice but,
there are five organizations that caught my eye…
“The
Bank of America Charitable Foundation provides philanthropic support to address
needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on preserving
neighborhoods, educating
the workforce for 21st century jobs and addressing basic
human services, such as hunger.
In order to create greater impact, they leverage a powerful combination of
local and national funding and volunteerism,
both addressing the needs of the community and supporting the passion of our
employees. These activities help create a ripple effect of positive change and
economic stability in communities across the country” (Bank of America, 2014).
“Furniture
banks are not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations whose mission is to provide
free furniture to families struggling with poverty and other severe life
challenges. These families are financially unable to furnish their own homes to
even a minimal standard. Furniture banks collect donations of gently used
furniture, and provide the furniture for free to families in need via referrals
from other social service agencies, churches, schools, employers, etc.” (Furniture
Bank of North America, 2014).
“The
mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of
disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and
the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life” (Dress
for Success: Going Places, Going Strong, 2014).
“The
National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are
currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and
advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others
committed to a single mission: To prevent and end homelessness while ensuring
the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil
rights protected” (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2014).
Feeding
America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Our mission is
to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and
engage our country in the fight to end hunger.
I focused on these
five sites because they all had something different to offer families and
children in need. One focused on the community as a whole, another focused on
hunger, while others focused on food, clothing, shelter, and home furnishings
all in which, families need for basic survival and ability to live a stable
life. These programs not only, offer material items but they also, offer
motivation, understanding, and a path for families to have another chance at
life, success, and happiness.
Here are two job opportunities that I am currently interested
in…
Job Summary
– A Family Advocate is needed for the Early Head Start program to conduct home
visiting with pregnant women and families with young children ages 0 – 3 to
provide health education, connect them to needed health care and other
community resources and promote child development. The Family Advocate
maintains relationships with identified clients and provides support via weekly
home visits. Attends community meetings and trainings; organizes parent
meetings. Keeps accurate written records; uses organization database. We seek
motivated individuals, knowledgeable about community resources, with good
computer skills and the ability to work well with people, good organizational
skills.
Requirements -
Valid driver's license and clean driving record. High school diploma required.
Job Summary - The Parent Advocate offers emotional support, shares
experiences, and helps parents and caregivers understand the system. Parent
Advocates will have successfully reunified with their children and/or youth or
successfully stabilized their family and maintained safe case closure for a
minimum of one year and recognize that they have benefited from their
experience with the Child Welfare System. As an alternative, Parent Advocates
will have positively utilized prevention services to keep their family from
entering the formal child welfare system.
Requirements
–
·
High School Diploma or equivalent.
·
Two (2) years or more experience working
in environment involving children, youth and families.
·
Work experience in social service,
education, health care or related field is a plus.
·
Knowledge of child, youth and family
service systems and community preferred.
·
Ability to provide accurate and timely
reports and recommendations.
·
Ability to work with diverse
populations.
·
Strong oral and written communications
skills in English.
·
Willingness to participate in on-going
learning to update skills and acquired knowledge.
·
Ability to work a flexible schedule to
meet the needs of children, youth, and families and to cover emergencies.
·
Must have a valid driver’s license and
own reliable vehicle with current registration and insurance. Transport
children, youth, and family members as required.
·
Must be free from any
communicable/infectious diseases.
·
Provide a valid PA child abuse clearance,
FBI check and Criminal Background Check.
References
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