July 2016

July 2016
THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
11
Wildomar Non-profit Honored with
‘Child and Family Advocate of the Year’ Award
The tireless work of a Wildomar-based
nonprofit to brighten the
futures of local at-risk youth, many
whose parents are incarcerated, has not
gone unnoticed.
Bob and Mona Davies, co-founders
of Community Outreach Ministry, were
honored June 3 with the Child and Family
Advocate of the Year award from HOPE
Collaborative, the child abuse council of
Riverside County.
The award, which recognizes exemplary
dedication and commitment to the
youth of local communities, has been
given annually since 2013 to a person or
organization in each of Riverside County’s
five supervisorial districts.
County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries
nominated the Davies for this year’s
District 1 award.
“I was honored to nominate Bob and
Mona Davies for the 2016 HOPE Child
and Advocate of the Year Award because
they serve the needs of a very vulnerable
and at-risk population of youth whose
parents have been incarcerated,” Jeffries
said.
Through Community Outreach Ministry,
the Davies offer summer camps for
these vulnerable youth. They also provide
year-round access to mentoring, and for
the past several years have held Angel
Tree Christmas parties, distributing gifts
to more than 200 children.
“This population often goes undetected
in the child welfare and education
systems, putting them further at risk,” Jeffries
said. “The resources Bob and Mona
provide help to prevent these youth from
entering the juvenile/criminal justice
system by breaking the cycle of crime,
poverty, illiteracy, violence, delinquency,
school dropout and destructive behaviors
which leads to a lower incidence of generational
incarceration.”
More than 60 percent of the youth
served by Community Outreach Ministry
come from Lake Elsinore, which along
with Wildomar, is part of the District 1.
“We feel richly rewarded as the First
District recipient of the 2016 Child and
Family Advocate of the Year Award presented
by the HOPE Collaborative and
Riverside County.
“This population often goes undetected
in the child welfare and
education systems, putting them
further at risk.”
Why Moms in the Workplace Rock
I know what you’re thinking, secretly,
even though you would never admit it:
“If I hire a mom, she’ll need to take
time off for her kids.”
“If I hire a mom, she will be thinking
about her kids a lot.”
“If I hire a mom, she might be tired
when she comes to work some mornings.”
So why would you hire a mom? Or even
scarier, a single mom?
Because moms:
• Are wizards at time management.
• Can function on very little sleep.
• Show up to work even when they don’t
feel good.
• Can go for hours on a single cup of
coffee or a piece of chocolate.
• Are creative thinkers.
• Train people with ease.
• Think independently.
• Will calm a client, bandage a finger,
fix a broken copier, write a proposal,
send a literate email and update social
media – all at the same time.
If you need an extra hand doing
something that’s “not my job,” most likely
it’s not the recent college graduate but the
mom who will do it.
Need to mediate between two employees?
Moms are experts at getting
people to play well together.
One of your employees have a
personal problem? A mom will listen,
be supportive, and get him or her back to
work in record time.
Not sure how to go about expanding
your business? Moms are expert budgeters
and can help you figure out where
to start and how to get the most for your
money.
Team building is a cinch for moms.
Want your company to get involved
in charity work? Ask a mom…she’ll
know where to go.
Stuck in a foreign country on business
with a lost passport, laptop and
money? Don’t panic! A mom will figure
out who to call, where to get new documents
and how to get you home.
Need something proofread, printed
and handed to you as you walk out the
door to that important meeting? Duh,
that’s our expertise. Ask a mom...she’ll
help you look even better.
So maybe we need a few hours off
here and there to take our kids to the doctor.
Every now and then we might have to
stay home and take care of a sick child.
Maybe we need to get home in time to
make dinner, help with homework and
tuck our children into bed.
But we will more than make up for it
and often work extra when we can…even
from home.
• Moms are fiercely loyal.
• Quick to learn.
• Able to multi-multi-multi task.
• Won’t throw fits.
• Can handle difficult people.
• Stay calm.
• Won’t spend her day ‘tweeting.’
• Will call you back.
• Show up when she’s tired.
So don’t be afraid. Hire a mom.
Heck, even a single mom. If she doesn’t
have the skills you need, she will learn.
Give her a chance, a job, a career,
and she will be your one of your strongest
allies.
Yes, moms rock in the workplace.
Helen M. Ryan is a freelance writer,
marketing communicatrix and
fitness pro. Follow her on Twitter
@aspinchick.
Lifestyle
by
Tina Helen M. M. Gottlieb, Ryan D.C.