PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT (PNO)

One of the many programs that we offer is Parents’ Night Out. Several of you probably already know about this program, but there are still a lot that may not. Unfortunately, we have not been able to offer this in 2 years during the crazy COVID times. We are hoping that we can start offering PNO again very soon, but this program relies on volunteers! We lost some volunteers in the past 2 years that we haven’t had PNO due to people moving, changing jobs, etc. Please read the info below and consider volunteering for this amazing program.

What is PNO?

We offer PNO once a month to foster and adoptive families from 5:30-8:30 pm on a Friday night alternating the location every other month. We offer this so foster/adopt families can enjoy a kid free night while our trusted volunteers watch their kiddos (foster and bio). We provide pizza, snacks, a bible craft, games, a movie, and popcorn. We split the kids into different rooms by age groups: infant, 2-4 years old, 5-7 years old and 8 and up. We usually need at least 3 volunteers per age group.

Why is PNO helpful for foster/adopt parents?

We have had many families participate in PNO over the years. The feedback has been very encouraging for us to keep this program going. The families use their 3 kid-free hours in many ways. Some go on a date night with their significant other, some go grocery shopping, and others have told us that they take a much-needed nap. All these things are extremely helpful to these families. With the stress and craziness, even 3 hours a month of alone time means SO much! These families deal with very hard behaviors in their homes and struggle with allowing time for self-care. Wouldn’t you want to help give them a small blessing in some alone time to recharge?

How do I volunteer for PNO?

The first step if you want to be on our volunteer list for PNO is we must have a background check on file for you. Please email me at fsoalyssa@gmail.com and I will email you the background check form to fill out. You can also come by our office to pick up a physical copy of the form to fill out. Once you get the form back to us, we will send it to CPS for them to run the background check. If you live in Arkansas, you may have to get fingerprinted. It normally takes around 2 weeks to get the results back. Once we have your cleared background check on file, we will contact you to let you know that you are able to volunteer for PNO. You will then be placed on our contact list and at the beginning of each month we will email and text the volunteer list the info for that month’s PNO─ date, location, and the link to sign up for the age group you want to help with. Keep in mind that you do not have to commit to helping every month if you are on our volunteer list. We send the info out each month to everyone on the list and if you can volunteer for that date, wonderful! If you are not free that day, it is no problem! Do not let that be the reason you are not on our volunteer list. It is completely up to your availability.

We have so many people in the community that continuously want to know how they can help if they are not able to foster. This is one of the ways we could use your help! This is also a great way for families that are thinking about fostering to get their feet wet.

Contact Alyssa Beach at fsoalyssa@gmail.com or 903-329-0566.

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