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PRESENTING PARTNERS:
Family Forward Oregon; along with Lane Community College’s Early Childhood Education Program, Social Science Division, and Family Connections of Lane and Douglas Counties

Screening will be held at:

Lane Community College
4000 E 30th Ave, Eugene, Oregon 97405
Building 31, The Longhouse

Free parking is located in lots A & B

If you have any questions about this event, contact Regional Outreach Director, Laurie, at laurie@familyforward.org.

The post October 20th: Raising of America Film Screening in Eugene appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

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Please join us in congratulating these forward-thinking employers who know that making work work for their employees is good for everyone, including their bottom line, the communities where they operate, and our state’s economy!

We will be celebrating and learning from these impressive employers at the annual When Work Works awards luncheon on Monday, June 6th in Old Town Portland (in the classic White Stag building).

Click here to find out who our winners are, get your tickets, and to learn how to sponsor the event!

The post When Work Works Award | 2016 Oregon Winners appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

The U.S. is a can-do nation. So why is child well-being in the U.S. so much worse than in other rich countries? How does what Paul Kershaw calls “the growing squeeze” on so many young families and caregivers—the squeeze for time, for money and for resources—“drip down” on their infants and young children, literally altering the wiring of their developing brains with potential long-term consequences for learning, earning and mental and physical health? How might we do better? (Source)

This August 25th, Family Forward Oregon is hosting a screening of Raising of America at the Eugene Public Library from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by an interactive panel discussion. Come learn about the care crisis in the United States, and how to change the conversation to promote and affect the transformation that most working families so desperately need. and panel discussion post movie screening.

• What: “Raising of America” documentary and panel discussion (check out trailers & info here).
• Where: The Eugene Public Library @ 100 W. 10th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401 (here’s a map).
• When: Tuesday, August 25th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Who:  You! Your friends! (Your friends with kids. Your friends without kids. Free and open to all.)
• Why: Because to predict how our nation will fare tomorrow, we need to look at how our youngest children are faring today — and the numbers are not all that promising. Raising of America hopes to change the conversation so that more parents and children have access to the kind of care they need — but we can’t do it without first knowing about the problem.
• RSVP: No need, this one is first come, first served, until space runs out!

The post Film Screening | The Raising of America appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

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• Eugene Facebook Event
• Portland Facebook Event

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One of our favorite ways to create a public conversation around the policy issues we care about and work to solve is to gather some folks together and watch a movie – especially one followed by an interesting panel discussion.

Which is why we’re so thrilled that a local partner, the Health Equity Circle @ OHSU, is hosting a screening of a new documentary series called The Raising of America.

And while it may sound like it’s all about raising kids in the United States, it’s also about their parents and how hard they’re struggling in a country with next to no modern work-family policies to make it possible for families to meet the competing demands of work, family and finances. This ambitious documentary series (finally!) links work-family policy to how our children are doing, with an obvious conclusion: we need better work-family policies in this country. For our children – AND the adults who care for them.

Our Executive Director, Andrea Paluso, will be on the post-film panel to provide perspective on paid family leave and other policies that exist – or don’t – for parents and other caregivers. Promises to be a great conversation! We sure hope you are able to join us for it.

Details, Details:

• Who: You! And a friend if you like.
• What: Movie screening and panel discussion, The Raising of America
• Where: The Aladdin Theater in SE Portland (here’s a map)
• When: Monday, November 10 @ 7 PM
• Why: Because you’ll learn something about work-family policy in the U.S. and leave inspired about the changes we are poised to make in Oregon and across the nation. Oh, and get out of the house, too!
• Tickets: Grab your $5 ticket online to guarantee a seat (or bring a new children’s book or two non-perishable food items and admission is free).
• Childcare? On-site childcare is not available, but Wee Village offers certified drop-in care in the Portland area: http://www.wevillage.com
• Facebook: Yep, there’s a Facebook event for this screening – please spread the word and use it to invite friends!

We really like  what the filmmakers have to say about this project:

“Through the stories of families from different walks of life, we discover how the lack of paid parental leave and high-quality affordable childcare, stagnant wages and overcrowded housing, depression and social exclusion, and perhaps most of all the time crunch too often undermine even the efforts of parents and caregivers struggling to provide the nurturing environments all children need to thrive.

By exploring how things got this way—the history of U.S. child and family policy over the past century, the victories as well as the defeats—The Raising of America seeks to better understand what stands in the way of progress, and what we can do. The film lifts up those struggling to make good on a vision where all our children matter, all are nurtured and all have opportunities to thrive.”

Hear, hear!

The post Join Us for a Film Screening in Pdx | “The Raising of America” appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

All working families deserve the chance to succeed in our economy. More than ever, ensuring the success of women and working families will enhance the success of our economy, our workplaces, and our most vulnerable citizens. The White House Summit on Working Families will elevate these issues in the national debate and explore how we can create an economy that works for all Americans.

You’re invited to join us in Portland on June 11, 2014 to learn about new polling and these issues and the local, state and national efforts to improve our work-family policies.  RSVP to andrea@familyforwardoregon.org.

Because when women succeed, America succeeds!

The post Briefing: Women’s Economic Agenda appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

We’re hosting a volunteer training later this month and want you to be there. We’re looking for volunteers to help us with a range of jobs, including outreach, advocacy, and more.

It’s a great way to get off the sidelines – and we really hope you can make it.

At our Volunteer Training you’ll learn more about our organization and the real family values movement we’re building in Oregon. You’ll leave with a sense of how you can be involved, new connections with like-minded Oregonians, and a volunteer job on your calendar!

Volunteer Training Details:

• Who: Anyone interested in learning more about Family Forward and getting involved as an effective volunteer in our work
• What: A training for new (and old!) volunteers
• When: Tuesday evening, May 27th from 7 to 8:30 PM
• Where: Our office at Hatch, 2420 NE Sandy Blvd (here’s a map)
• RSVP: Email me (I’m: sharon@familyforwardoregon.org)
• Kids? Babes in arms and independent kids are most welcome; let me know if you need childcare.
• Can’t Make It? No worries — just let me know & we’ll find a way to get you involved!

Together we can accomplish a lot! Hope to see you on the 27th,

The post Get Trained to Volunteer with FFO! appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

In today’s competitive market it can be challenging to get that first job after time away.  Resumés need to be updated and written to highlight recent skills and experience, interviewing feels like a thing of the past and explaining time away can feel difficult. And that essential peer network may no longer be in place.

For all these reasons, Family Forward Oregon is hosting a workshop to help On Rampers successfully ramp back on.

Too often caregivers (both those who combine caregiving with paid work and those who give up paid work to provide care full-time) suffer financially and in the job market. They don’t earn benefits like health care and retirement savings, they don’t contribute to their future Social Security, and they never recover the lost wages.

Our goal is to help the caregivers among us (thank you, under-appreciated caregivers!) get back into the paid workforce when they are ready – by providing expert support, confidence, and a peer network to strategize and share with. 

Workshop Details  – Join Us (and please, spread the word!):

• What: A “how to” Workshop for On Rampers, including a panel discussion and two break-out sessions, one on resumé writing and one on interviewing skills. And some conversation about jut getting started – which can be hard!  Plus coffee and connections with others, of course!
• Who: The panel discussion will include people who have successfully re-entered the paid workforce after time away, employment and flexibility consultants, and local employers. Confirmed panelists are: Joni Rolance of Boly:Welch, Cary Hixon (career counselor), Dana Visse (work-at-home graphic design mom), and Diana Bartlett (currently employed On Ramper).
• Why: On Ramping is Hard! Taking the steps to find a job after being away for any amount of time can be difficult. Life marches on, technology changes, and it’s easy to feel like an outsider even when returning to the same profession. It can be even harder if you’re trying to enter a new field. We want to help you get your groove back, so feel like an insider wherever you land.
• Where: SE Portland, at Tabor Space @ 5441 SE Belmont, Pdx (Inside Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church: http://taborspace.org/)
• When: Tuesday, March 18^th from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, with the main program from 10:00 AM to noon.
• Cost:  The workshop is free to participants! Childcare will also be provided for $5 an hour (or on a sliding scale basis, if needed).
• RSVP: lisa@familyforwardoregon.org or register online here.

We’re really excited about this workshop because we know how hard it is to ramp back on after stepping out to be a caregiver. But caregiving is important – where would we be as a community without it?

Hope to see you on the 18^th!

The post On Ramping Workshop | March 18th appeared first on Family Forward Oregon.

Jerry Roylance Photography

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