1. What in the world is RESPITE? For over 20 years I have watched as RESPITE has evolved…however the meaning of the word never changes… TO GRANT A TEMPORARY PERIOD OF RELIEF THE NEED FOR RESPITE, FOR THOSE WHO ARE CAREGIVERS,WILL NEVER GO AWAY…FAMILIES WILL ALWAYS NEED A PERIOD OF RELIEF However today we are going to look at several ways that we as a church, small or large, can provide ways to meet this need… remembering it will always be a need. AS A VERB!

2. Church/Community Invited ‣ Volunteers within the church participate ‣ Activities are planned out and a time and date are scheduled ‣ Held at church campus ‣ Parents drop off kids for 4 hours of care with or without a fee for care ‣ Siblings attend ‣ Respite Freestanding Event

3. Evaluate the details after the event 1. Parents in your community get a break for 4 hours 2. Church volunteers experience serving families with special needs kids 3.The church is recognized within the community as a welcoming place 4.____________________________ 5. ____________________________ Respite Freestanding event:

4. Respite Silo with No Inclusion After the 1 st time it’s expected Volunteers begin to burn out Families network so event grows What was once offered as relief becomes #1 Chore for YOU!

5. Mom’s Pampering Day 1. Invite mom’s who attend your church who have kids with special needs 2. Find a person in your church with a skill to share with moms (we had a Mary Kay Consultant come and do makeovers and provided a brunch/mom’s brought food to share 3. We provided the care team to keep kids and siblings from 10am – 2pm so Mom’s could interact and it was during the summer when they had more flexibility 4. Did something very similar on a Wednesday evening and provided dinner, makeovers, small gifts for moms and they could invite a guest 5. Because it was a Wednesday night, programming was provided for siblings and kids with special needs … making it shorter night 6:00pm – 8:30pm Parent Connection and Care

6. Both met the goal to reach mom’s Both gave mom’s time to connect and LAUGH Provided care to the children that was safe and planned Gave opportunities for mom’s to invite other guests and therefore grow the ministry for Sundays

7. PHOTO / IMAGE

8. Evaluate the details after the event 1.Cost effective? Yes, we used space in Kids Venue that was already decorated for the Summer Sessions 2.Moms left feeling encouraged and inspired 3.Siblings were cared for and made connections with ministry and new friends so that when they attend other activities in the church, now they have that relationship 4.Now we have some “bridges” so we can invite moms to women's events Parent Connection with Care

9. Married Couples Date Night 1. Our church offers a “Date Night” usually once a month 2.It’s a calendared event on the website/announced in parents Bible Study groups 3.There is childcare for Preschoolers, Children 1 st – 5 th grade and Special Needs Care 4.Parents are given registration link 5.There is a fee, however, we wave the fee for families with special needs kids 6. Parents have 4 hours of childcare once a month and it’s “piggybacked” with other ministry areas 7.Parents then have the opportunity to attend Small Group Bible study gatherings that evening or plan a date night with other couples they have met in those small groups 8. We are working side by side providing a themed evening and we didn’t have to PLAN… JUST PARTICIPATE “Piggybacking” on a church event (my favorite)

10. Evaluate the details after the event 1.Everyone wins – your class or ministry no matter the size gets buy in from your church because you have blended with other ministry areas 2. The cost is minimal 3.Theme was planned by other ministry area, you just participated and enriched your area 4.Parents experienced INCLUSION 5.Siblings met other kids in your church’s kids ministry 6.________?_______? ___________________? ________________ Piggybacking Respite Event

11. From my experience ‣ Does the YMCA or other community services host such an event? (resource) ‣ It’s always a win when we partner with other ministry areas in our church… Children’s, Preschool, Young Married Couples, Singles, Pastoral care, Next Gen, Culinary, College, Sr. Adults, prayer group…they can all assist and you can be plugged in with them as well… think outside your box! ‣ Cost… is it in your budget? Who supports the cost? Can you get a grant? ‣ Volunteers: do you have enough? Are they too overworked already? ‣ DOES THIS BRING A FAMILY CLOSER TO A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST? Respite Wrapping it up