March is Social Worker Appreciation Month. Over the course of this past month, we have read beautiful stories from communities all over celebrating the men and women in this work. Social workers are the ones on the front lines of crises every single day; dedicating their time, energy, and care to advocating for and aiding children and families. They both greatly deserve and need communities that support and lift them up as they are in the field. An Oklahoma pastor once said, “Supported social workers support kids.” 111Project shared a resource earlier this month listing five ways a church can support social workers (access the PDF HERE), but ANYONE can support a social worker!
There are many practical ways YOU and your community can support a social worker in your life or collaborate with others to love on a local DHS office. When it comes to gathering communities and Social Worker Appreciation, we want to highlight one of 111Project’s Regional Managers, Jennifer Holbert, and the amazing church leaders in her counties. Jennifer is the North Central Region 1B Regional Manager. She oversees Payne, Garfield, Grant, Noble, Logan, and Kay Oklahoma counties and has done an extraordinary job organizing leaders in each of these communities in the effort of consistently supporting and encouraging social workers. There is an estimated 50% of child welfare workers that leave within the first year and this crew is dedicated to being a part of the solve.
“Part of the encouragement that keeps them around is making sure they know, ‘You’re not alone.’ The things that social workers have to go through every day, every week in their jobs are things we never have to think about. We could be a part of the solution,” said Jennifer.
YOU can be a part of that solution too. We have compiled some of the strategies Jennifer and the church leaders in her counties have found to be most effective in mobilizing people to support social workers. You will find them listed below in an Acrostic style. Check out these support tactics and let us continue appreciating our social workers even as we move out of March and into April!
S – Supporting social workers does not require a huge monetary or time commitment.
No blessing is too small! People often get it in their heads that supporting social workers needs to be extravagant and time-consuming, but even if you or your community do not have a lot of funding, you can get creative with homemade gifts, treats, and invite others who could contribute into the effort.
O – Organize an appreciation luncheon, gathering, or gift drop-off to be held at the local DHS or agency office.
When planning a space or gathering that is dedicated to supporting social workers, we recommend coordinating with your local DHS or agency office to have that gathering in their office location. Meeting in the offices where the social workers are means that more of them might actually be able to attend!
C – Creative, simple gifts can be just as meaningful as expensive gifts.
If you or your community are wanting to put together gift bags for your local social workers, simple can be SO sweet! Some of the ideas that Jennifer’s church partners came up with were putting together breakfast care packages (baskets with pancake mixes, granola, syrup, etc), snack bags, or gifted them notebooks and other useful items. In Noble County, the Point Person put on her creative hat and printed the cutest, custom flamingo cards to attach to each goody box for their social workers. The possibilities are endless!
I – Initiate conversations with specific people who would want to help.
Contact people in your own community and ask for their involvement! If you have a vision and strategy, then initiate conversations with people in your life who might want to help rather than waiting for people to rise to the occasion on their own.
A – Ask local businesses to contribute.
Jennifer’s Point Person in Garfield County had a resourceful idea for social worker gift bags. Along with some $15 gift cards, she reached out to McAlester’s Deli to see if they would provide “1 Free Cookie” cards and to Chickfila for their “1 Free Sandwich” cards for the 45 social workers they were wanting to celebrate. Both companies happily gave her the cards to bless these workers with! Think about businesses in your area that offer donation items or rewards cards. They may have items you can add to your social worker’s appreciation gift bags at no extra cost.
L – Lunch, drinks, and/or homemade treats.
One simple, but impactful, way to love on your local social workers is to bring lunch, drinks, or homemade snacks into their office. Ask your church if they might fund catering or go in with a group of friends to order in lunch for the office. You might also coordinate with your community to do a potluck meal or gift them homemade treats.
W – Write encouraging notes.
Encouraging notes can go a long way! Write the social workers notes with words of support, prayers, Bible verses, or quotes to make them smile.
O – Organize an ongoing team of support.
If you are not already operating in a team, create one that is dedicated to Social Worker Appreciation! Rally together people in your community who want to help and game plan together how and when you want to intentionally support social workers in your community.
R – Rhythms are key.
In Jennifer’s Counties, she not only commits the month of March (as Social Worker Appreciation Month) to supporting social workers. Additionally, she commits the month of October to this effort. These rhythms have proven to be essential as she’s leading Community Gatherings and dialoguing with people in her Counties. This provides her teams with rhythms on the calendar that they can mark off and prepare for well in advance.
K – Kindness is contagious.
As you and your community find ways to support social workers in your area, share with others how and why you are dedicated to this effort. Remember, “Supported social workers support kids.” The way we pour into social workers, the ones in the front lines of the crises, is essential to advocating for children and families in crisis. Kindness can spread like a wildfire, so invite people into the effort and encourage them to show social workers kindness and support in their own ways!
E – Everyone can do something.
It is true! Whether you are a member of a church leader, a CarePortal responder, a bio parent, foster parent, or an individual who simply cares for those in need, YOU can do something to support the social workers who are advocating for children and families in crisis.
R – Remind social workers they are not alone.
Loving on social workers is a ministry. Remind them that they are not alone. Sometimes those reminders come in the form of the encouraging notes, gift bags, lunches, or treats described above. The intentionality and effort of loving on them will leave a mark that communicates their value and that the work they do is important.
S – Spend time listening to their story.
Lastly, one of the greatest gifts you can give to a social worker is a listening ear! Ask them about their story and why they chose to work in this field. Give them your attention and provide space for them to talk as little or as much as they feel comfortable with about what it is like working in the field every single day.
We want to say, “THANK YOU,” to the social workers out there who are working on behalf of children and families in crisis. We are grateful for the many ways in which they advocate and support families as our 111Project team works to mobilize the local church so every child has family.
Do you have questions about how to support social workers? Click the link to contact us below! Would you also consider becoming a CarePortal responder to help meet the needs of the families these social workers are supporting? We need your help, and remember, everyone can do something!