Staff Participates in Generational Leadership Training

During our September All Staff meeting we had a fun, interactive training presented by Jan Astani. With a staff of 25+ individuals we have just about every generation on board. Check out what Jan's morning with CCFI was like:

“Who did you see at your first concert” and “What was the most popular girl’s name when you were in grade school?” Those were just two of the fun questions that started off my morning of “Generational Leadership” training recently with the awesome staff at Center for Children and Families in Norman, Oklahoma.
 

The purpose of the training was to examine the characteristics of each of the four generations and to learn ways to appreciate the differences to create a more peaceful work place.

Traditionalists (born 1927 - 1945) are considered the “silent” generation because they don’t rock the boat or cause conflict in the workplace. They are loyal to the company and don’t question authority.

Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) believe that hard work, long hours and playing nice gets them ahead in the work place. They are honest and ethical.

Generation X (born 1965 – 1981) are resilient, independent and prefer working alone rather than in teams.

Millennials (born 1982 to present) make great team players, possess a global mentality and know technology like the back of their hand. (This group is sometimes called Generation Y.)

Conflicts often arise in the work place when one generation thinks their way is the best. They don’t recognize and appreciate the talents that other generations bring to the table. How can they all get along to create a more harmonious, productive office environment?

1.       Accept your mutual rightness. In other words, each generation’s way is right.

2.       Acknowledge your interdependence. Each generation needs each other.

3.       Appreciate your commonalities. Each generation is more alike than different.

4.       Assume responsibility for making relationships better. We don’t get to choose the people we work with. We do, however, get to choose how we respond to those co-workers.

5.       Adopt the Platinum Rule – treat people the way they want to be treated. 

 For more information on generational leadership, read The Generational Imperative by Chuck Underwood and Generations Working Together by Laura E. Bernstein.

 Jan S. Astani
Speaker . trainer . writer
405.476.9138
Enjoy my blog at http://janastani.wordpress.com      

No act of kindness is too small.

Many stories come to us through our front doors, and for all of those who have helped a little bottom by donating to our Baby Pantry, THIS is your impact: 

Dear Center for Children and Families,

Last winter, about every other week, I came to get pull-ups from your Baby Pantry for my grandson.  I was out of work and felt really ashamed that I had to do this and I got really down on myself.  But, at your agency there is a pretty lady that always greets me and gets me diapers and wipes when I come in for a little help. I told her how embarrassed I was and she assured me that ‘it’s okay, everyone needs help sometimes.’  She has always been nothing but nice to me and even took the time to walk me to the unemployment office one day.  

(not an actual client pictured above)

During February of last year, I was really depressed and was ready to give up on life and leave my daughter and her son to get along without me.  The lady that sits up front had roses on her desk for Valentine’s Day that I could smell as soon as I walked in the front doors. I commented on how great they smelled and told her no one had ever given me flowers before. She looked me in the eyes, gave me one of her roses and told me I was special. Nobody has ever treated me that nicely before and I really think she was my miracle because that simple act made me feel like it was all worth it. 

Some time has passed since then and I go to counseling now. I have come a long way and got through some rough times because of the nice people at the Center for Children and Families.  Someday, when I have more money, I am going to bring pull-ups and a flower to repay you guys.  In the mean time, thank you for your help. It means the world to me, and others that need it, to have your help.

-D

To learn more about our Baby Pantry services, click here.

Bubbles over barriers

I like to listen to audio books during my daily commute.  It makes me forget the stresses of my job and pulls me into a story that’s more interesting than my own.  Audio books are one of several ways I escape the everyday pressures of life.  I also love sitting on my porch swing or taking a long walk.  It’s easy to live life in a bubble when the most challenging part of your day is getting caught in rush hour traffic.

Emily Claudé, CCFI Board President

But I’ve recently come to realize that my reality would be a welcome escape for many parents and children in our community.  There are countless families right here in Norman who are experiencing daily stressors that are difficult for me to even comprehend.  Forget audio books and porch swings, there are parents in this community who don’t have the support necessary to be able to provide a safe, nurturing, loving environment for their children.

A few years ago, my metaphorical bubble was burst when a little boy came into my office on an ordinary summer day.  A man carried him in and told us he found him wandering on the road.  He called him “Fred.”  The boy couldn’t have been more than four years old, and my coworkers and I took turns playing with him.  Although he seemed happy, there was something heartbreaking about this little boy. He could only communicate in babbles and gestures.  He was soaked in sweat, had a heavy diaper, and had clearly been outside for a long time.  When the police arrived, they told us he hadn’t been reported missing.  I couldn’t believe it: The parents of this sweet, vulnerable child hadn’t even noticed he was gone. 

There are hundreds of children like Fred right here in Norman, but most of them never wander outside the walls of their own home and into the arms of a caring adult.  The little boy who walked innocently into my office that day couldn’t speak for himself.  And even if he could, would he know what to say?  We all have different gifts we can contribute to the cause.  You may have contacts in the community with the ability to make change, you may have time to volunteer, or you may have resources you can donate.  But we can all speak up for Fred.

Four years ago, the Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI) gave me a chance to invest in its mission and to be a part of something important happening in this community - something life-altering.  There are struggles, yes.  But there are successes too.  And there is no bigger success story than CCFI.  The Center for Children and Families isn’t afraid of taking chances, making changes, and investing in the future of this community and all of the little Freds in it.

So I will continue to drive to work every day in my bubble, listening to the imaginary world of my most recent audio-read.  But every day I will emerge with hope and growing compassion for those whose escape from reality is through the doors of CCFI.  I’m grateful for the opportunity the Centerfor Children and Families has given me to invest my time and resources in such a worthy cause. 

I am privileged to be a part of an organization that encourages blowing bubbles, not building barriers.

- Emily Claudé, CCFI Board of Directors President

The gift of summer smiles

Neighborhood Centers aquarium field trip!

Remember your childhood summers? Loading up the car for a family vacation, packing for church camp, spending hours at the pool, riding your bike to your friend’s house... Unfortunately, many of the children we serve at CCFI do not have memories of such carefree summers. Each child we serve deserves a chance to enjoy the summer and it is you — our generous supporters — who help make that possible through your gifts.

Your contributions allowed CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers to provide an enriching six-week camp for more than 100 kids this summer. There were lots of field trips in June and July, from the Oklahoma Aquarium to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum. Kids cooled off each week at Westwood swimming pool and visited area water parks. The older youth had the chance to give back by volunteering at the Humane Society and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma while our middle school kids learned new skills such as cooking with the Food for Thought Learning Institute.

Thank you for helping to make the summer what it should be for our kids — fun and enriching!

Summer Smiles Photo Album »

Check out pictures, adventure and smiles from our 2012 Nighborhood Centers summer enrichment services!

Be careful what you wish for

In the fall of 2010 I was talking with an old friend who was inquiring on how things were going in my life. I happen to be very blessed because for a day job I get to fly business jets all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Alright, it’s not as glamorous as it may sound (at least, that’s what I tell people) but it does keep me from sitting behind a desk and it usually keeps me out of trouble. I told my friend, Mike, that flying was rather slow at the moment and I had been looking for a small project to keep me busy. Mike is not only a Chaplin for Norman Regional Health System but he also sits on the board for the Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI), an organization that sadly, up until that moment, I knew very little about. He told me about a conversation that he recently had with CCFI’s Executive Director Katie Fitzgerald, she had remarked to Mike that one of the needs that they had at the agency was for someone who could help out with a few handyman duties here and there. Well, we’ve all heard the phrase “be careful what you wish for, you might just get it”… and boy, did I get it. I definitely received more than I could have ever expected and my outlook on life will never be the same.

From day one my “Honey Do List” has seemed to just always have a task on it. I have painted doors, walls, ceilings, cabinets, shelves, and the occasional spot on the floor – woops! - along with anything else that would stay still for more than a few minutes. I have hung pictures, photos, diplomas, calendars, paintings, mirrors, bulletin boards, fire extinguishers, clothing rods, curtains, blinds, battery operated lights, fans, Christmas lights, and a giant blue ribbon which I had to designed and built as well. I have spread mulch over the play area, power washed the eves, fixed both gates, built a toy cabinet, repaired numerous desk drawers and children’s chairs, created two large cork boards, built a frame for a bathroom mirror, used enough painters tape to stretch from here to the moon (slight exaggeration), and generally anything else that the wonderful folks at CCFI could come up with. Phew!

This might sound like a long laundry list, but it’s not my intention to paint a bleak picture. The fact is CCFI is a nonprofit organization that has a tremendous task to fulfill and a very tight budget with which to accomplish this undertaking. And within these tight constraints I am continually amazed at the amount energy that the staff at CCFI shows, on a daily basis, to those who are less fortunate and often, overlooked in our society due to no fault of their own. Every time I have the pleasure to visit CCFI, I am continually reminded of the blessings that have been bestowed upon me and these blessings come with an obligation.

Those of us who are blessed have a duty to share those blessings with those who have been less fortunate. On numerous occasions I have been told that the staff has struggled with how they could show their appreciation for the work that I have done. However, they do that very thing, in volumes, with how much care they show for each and every individual that walks through their doors. It’s a job that quite often goes unnoticed and underappreciated, but they do it every day with a song in their hearts and a spring in their step. For me that’s all the thanks that I need. I feel that I am blessed to be a very small part of such a wonderful organization, and on occasion, they even feed me. What else could a single guy ask for?

So, if you find yourself with a little spare time and would like to reach out to those who need it most, by all means give them a call and I guarantee you will be forever changed by the lives that you will touch, or more likely, the lives that will touch you. And who knows, if you’re really lucky, you might even get to work with me. I mean, anything is possible.

- Brian Krause, CCFI 'Handyman' Volunteer