Village of Life
  • Home
  • Resources
  • Empowered Camping

People Helping People is Expanding to Utah County

9/4/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Three years ago, my children and I moved to Utah County from Salt Lake County.  Doing so made it more difficult for me to mentor single mothers at People Helping People in Salt Lake.  Recently I found out that they are expanding into Utah County which will make it much easier for me to work with them again.  It is very exciting because I know all the good they have done in Salt Lake County and now I will be able to be a part of something great again.

You may be asking the question, “What makes them so great?”  Before I answer that question, let me tell you a bit about why they exist.  People Helping People is dedicated to reducing the number of children living in poverty by teaching low-income women, primarily single mothers, how to earn a living wage.  So what is a living wage?  A living wage is calculated off of the self-sufficiency standard which is calculated according to where you live and takes into account how many people are living in your home, housing costs, food, taxes, and other essential living expenses.  The self-sufficiency standard for Utah can be found here: http://www.selfsufficiencystandard.org/docs/Utah%202001.pdf. 
What it says is that, assuming you have an average size family with three children, and you are a single parent, you would need to earn $46,000 per year in order to sustain your little family without the help of government programs, church, or family assistance.

Unfortunately, there are over 6,000 single moms in Utah County and 75% of them and their children live below the self-sufficiency standard.  Half of this group (38%) live below the poverty line.  That is why I am so excited that People Helping People is expanding into Utah County.  PHP’s Employment Program offers a unique, long term, one-on-one approach that teaches women how to get a good job, and seek and receive pay raises and promotions. In other words, they teach these women how to play the game of work.  

Utah is well known for its stay at home wife and mother population.  It is also getting better known for it’s rising divorce rates.  So it just makes sense to teach women how to earn a good living and be self-sufficient.  If you or someone you know is a single mother and could benefit from learning what People Helping People has to offer, please join us on October 3rd or 17th for a program overview.  After which, workshops will be held each Wednesday starting in October at Utah Valley University (UVU) at 723 S. 1200 W. in Orem.  Other dates are listed in the image below.  To quote Kayleen Simmons, “If you have to work, you may as well make it pay.”  Join us to learn how.

Utah County PHP Schedule
For more informaiton about People Helping People or to see schedules for Salt Lake and Weber Counties, go to: http://www.phputah.org/ or call Marva Sadler at 1.855.303.5300 or email her at marva@phputah.org
0 Comments

Traveling with Children

8/24/2012

1 Comment

 
A couple weeks ago I traveled to Chicago and took my children with me. It was a great trip! We had so much fun making some great memories. But traveling with children has not always been fun for me. Let's face it, traveling with children can be hard. I remember traveling with my ex when we just had one child and I would stress out so bad that my hair would fall out in what seemed like handfuls.

Before we started having children, he often complained about children in public, and especially about children on planes. It was like nails on a chalkboard listening to him. So when we had our own, the thought of traveling with him drove me nuts. The last thing I wanted was for our daughter to get sick or cry on the plane and give him something to complain about. I really should have been more worried about my daughter's comfort for her sake rather than his.  

Then when I became single the thought of traveling and doing everything myself was overwhelming.   That is when I decided to always take someone with me when I travel. But let's face it… that is not always possible. The people around us are not always able to drop what they are doing to go play with us. So I had to learn how to do it all myself and I have learned some tricks along the way to take the stress out of traveling with children. Here they are: 

1.  Make a list of what needs to be packed in each person's bag.  Start this list about a week before so that as you go through the week you can add things you forgot. Better yet, create the list on your computer to use over and over again. 

Split the list into two sections. On one side of the  sheet, put items that you can pack at any time. (I typically pull these items  aside into a pile as I pull them out of the dryer as I am doing laundry. On the  other side of the list I put items that get packed at the last minute. Things  like toothbrushes, medicine, and favorite toys.

Once your children are old  enough to read the list, they can start packing for themselves and all you have  to do is go through the check list with them when they are done to be sure you  approve of the clothing they have chosen. (My youngest loves to pack nice  clothes for camping and camping clothes when she needs dress up  outfits) 

2. Even at a young age, encourage your children to pack their own  backpack of things to do while traveling. This could include snacks,  dolls/stuffed animals, small cars/trucks, coloring or reading books, or small  electronics. Just make sure that they chose quiet toys to help you and the  people around you keep your sanity while in route. Last but not least, teach  them to carry the pack themselves.  

3. Leave early and give yourself plenty of time for potty breaks.  How quickly we forget that their bladders are much smaller than ours. If you  feel rushed you will be tempted to tell them to hold it which can lead to  accidents and cost you more time because now you have to clean everything up.  By the way, if your little ones are still young enough that they have accidents, make sure you pack their bag at the top or put a change of clothing in their backpack for easy access.

4. If you are going on vacation and you can avoid  agendas or schedules, I highly recommend it. As a parent we spend so much time  rushing from one thing to another (soccer, piano, dance, gymnastics, martial  arts, school, work... you get the idea). Vacation should be a break. A time to  do whatever makes you happy... Not stress you out.  So plan some activities but don't set a time to do them or a time limit.  If you do have to schedule things, make sure the schedule is flexible so that if you are having a lot of fun you can enjoy what you are doing just a little bit longer.

When my girls and I leave the house for a trip, they know that if they ask me  what time it is the answer will be "vacation time".   

5. If you are planning on going somewhere you  have never been before I highly recommend you search the internet for deals on  attractions.  Citypass.com has  some GREAT deals on select cities.   We took advantage of it while in Chicago and basically for the price of  admission to two attractions, we had the option of going to 5 different  attractions.  So our goal was to  hit at least two of the attractions just to justify the cost of the books.  Luckily, we  were able to hit 4 of the 5 attractions available to us.   Not too bad for a three day trip. 

As you are searching the internet for things to keep you entertained, don’t forget to  look at the times everything is open.   This is a mistake I almost made in Chicago.   After buying the city passes, we found that almost everything on the pass  closed between 4:30 and 6:00 pm.   This limited what we could reasonably get to but also opened up the door  to see other sights in the evening that we were not planning on like Navy Peer and the fun water  taxi ride that we took to get from one attraction to  another. 

6. Look for hotels that cater to children.  Many hotels have deals where kids stay  and play or stay and eat free with a paying adult.  This is true of Snowbird here in Utah.  That is why the last two summers we have taken a mini  vacation (one night) up the canyon to enjoy Oktoberfest at Snowbird where we enjoy free  rides on the tram, a great meal at one of the resort restaurants, and all day  activity passes for all the fun things they have going on.   It is a great way to save money and create lasting  memories. 

I want to hear from you. How do you create great memories while  keeping your sanity when traveling with  children?
Snowbird Ropes Course
Snowbird, UT - Ropes Course
1 Comment

Reduce Your Stress to Reduce The Stress Your Children Feel

9/28/2011

0 Comments

 
In order to be a better mother, I look for things each day to improve.  One area that I know I need to improve is in allowing my stress to become my children’s stress.  No matter how hard I try to suppress how I am feeling, I always wear my emotions on my sleeve.  If I am tired, I get grumpy.  If I am hungry, I get grumpy.  If I am stressed, I get really grumpy.  In fact, it is so obvious that my children have started asking me if I have eaten anything yet if I get upset in the mornings when they are running late for the bus. 

Unfortunately, those are not the only times that I get grumpy.  If I feel like I am the only one that contributes to keeping the house clean, I get grumpy.  That is a key reason why I incorporated a chore chart in our daily routine.  As soon as my girls get home from school, they know exactly what two chores they are supposed to do.

For the most part, I am a pretty happy individual.  I always try to see the cup half full and looking for the good in everything.  However, the past couple of months, I have overspent my budget and I found myself more grumpy than usual.  I know that I am very blessed with the resources I need to keep my children fed and a roof over their heads so I should not allow having to dip into my savings account to stress me out.  But it does.  Money, or the lack there of, stresses most people out.

As I sit here and contemplate my life, I realize how great I have it.  I am fortunate enough to have a savings account to dip into.  So many people around our great country cannot say that.  My children get three square meals a day plus as many snacks as they want.  Yet 17 million American children go to bed hungry every night. Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO of LearnVest said it best, “Money isn’t about being rich, it is about being secure.”  I know that I am far more secure than many Americans. That alone helps reduce the stress I feel inside and allows me to let go of the angry feelings I harbor.  By letting go, I am able to be a better parent and keep my children from havign to experience my stress.

If your children are some of the 17 million going to bed hungry or you are worried that they will be part of that statistic soon, there is help.  Wonderful organizations like People Helping People are there to help you get on your feet. 

People Helping People is a non-profit organization “Strengthening Families through Successful Employment.”  They help people realize their earning potential and teach them how to get a job and move up in that job.  They do this through a series of completely free workshop where they teach interviewing skills, how to write a resume and cover letter, and how the game of work is played.  Once you complete a set number of workshops, they actually pair you up with a mentor (also free of charge) that will help you use the knowledge you gained to go after the jobs you want.  Last but not least, they bring employers into the mix and let you do real interviews with the companies they partner with.

I had the great opportunity to work with them as a mentor (taking a break currently to work on my degree).  As a mentor, I feel like I gained as much from the workshops as the clients I was helping.  If you are struggling to make ends meet, give them a call.  Even if you have a job, give them a call.  They can help you get notice at your current job and get promoted.  Even though they have designed their program for women, people of all gender, education and skill levels are welcome.

Another great resource to look into is LearnVest.  They have free tools that help you get your finances in order.  I love their latest article, “The Secret Reason Women Aren’t Getting Raises.”

If you already make great money, consider giving back some of the blessing you have been given by volunteering with a local no-profit like People Helping People.  I promise that it will be a very rewarding experience.  I know it was for me.

Resources to check out:
 People Helping People, http://www.phputah.org/ Call 801-583-5300 or Email info@phputah.org
LearnVest.com
0 Comments
    Picture

    Michelle Rasmussen

    A single mother herself, has learned how to successfully raise strong, self reliant children that are sure to be assets to society.

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archives

    December 2019
    February 2015
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Categories

    All
    Abuse
    Action
    Anger
    Baggage
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Breath
    Bright Girls
    Burden
    Busy
    Change
    Child Directed Interaction
    Children
    Chores
    Confidence
    Contributions
    Control
    Courage
    Cursing
    Custody
    Dating
    Deadline
    Describe
    Discipline
    Divorce
    Don
    Don't Give Up
    Earning Potential
    Emotions
    Employment Tools
    Encouragement
    Enthusiasm
    Evidence
    Fairytale
    Families
    Fear
    Garden
    George Myers
    Goals
    Happiness
    Hardships
    Hurt
    Ideal
    Imitate
    Issue
    Judgement
    Keep Going
    Language
    Learnvest
    Legacy
    Letting Go
    Living Life
    Love
    Love What You Do
    Meditation
    Milestone
    Mother
    Mother's Day
    Motivation
    Networking
    Overcoming
    Parent Directed Interaction
    Parenting
    Parenting Skills
    Parenting Tools
    Patience
    Pcit
    People Helping People
    Perspective
    Plan
    Police
    Positive
    Praise
    Pray
    Prayer
    Preemptive Discipline
    Pride
    Priorities
    Protected
    Purpose
    Reality
    Recognize
    Reflect
    Repetitive Trait
    Resolution
    Roots
    R & R
    Self-control
    Self Doubt
    Self-doubt
    Self Esteem
    Self-esteem
    Self Fulfilling
    Self-fulfilling
    Self Reliance
    Self-reliance
    Self Respect
    Self-respect
    Seminar
    Single
    Smart Girls
    Steps To Take
    Stress
    Strong
    Stupid
    Support
    Swearing
    Take Action
    Thankful
    Timeout
    Tough
    Truth
    Victim
    Victory
    Wings
    Work
    Worry
    Yelling

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.