Foster Village Recognizes Rockstar Foster Moms for Mother’s Day, and Every Day
We’ve partnered up with Foster Village, the local nonprofit organization founded by foster moms in Austin, to put foster moms first for Mother’s Day. Together we’ve gifted a local foster family a total laundry room transformation!
This two day project was focused on creating more usable space and making day-to-day functions that much easier.
"With all that foster moms juggle on a daily basis, we wanted to show them they have a whole community behind them,” said Chrystal Smith, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Foster Village. “It’s so important for us all to remember that we have the ability to share our unique gifts and talents to impact the lives of foster families in positive, meaningful ways this Mother’s Day, and every day.”
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Moms have been hit hard by the pandemic, with 9 out of 10 mothers seeing their responsibilities at home increase since its onset, according to a recent survey Foster Village conducted, surveying 600 moms. More people at home has led to more chaos, with 69% of moms saying their home environments have become more cluttered since March 2020.
Easy to clean categories bins were added to the new elfa shelving making it easy to keep categories contained and easy to access household items that easily get lost in the shuffle.
Cluttered environments can have a detrimental impact on mothers and families, with more than half (55%) of moms agreeing that disorganization in their homes has a negative effect on their mental health.
Further, foster moms were 87% more likely to say the children in their care have experienced increased anxiety, depression, and/or mental health challenges due to the additional chaos and disruption to their routines brought on by the pandemic.
Elfa over the door storage shelving was added to ensure every free space was utilized. Its a great place for household cleaners and overflow bathroom and kitchen cleaners. A rolling laundry rack was added to keep laundry off the floor and still offer a portable solution for this family.
Command hooks were added as a simple solution for getting mops and brooms off the floor and easy to access. Found art was framed and hung to add color and to carry the brightness and love that flows through the rest of the home.
Elfa over the door solutions are easy to build and can fit both commercial and residential doors. Used for cleaning supplies, pantry items, holiday storage, wrapping and so much more. A perfect way too grab extra space!
Virtually all (99%) of foster moms agree: household organization is even more important now than it was before they started fostering. When foster families feel organized in their home environments, that feeling of empowerment and safety spreads to other parts of their lives as well.
Keeping paperwork front of mind and easy to process is important for Foster Families. For this household the micro organizing was actually proving harder to keep up then intended.
We’ve swapped the metal organizer for crisp white Poppin solutions with broader and more action based categories. These handy organizers are magnetic and held with command strips making them easy to add and remove.
"In helping this deserving family by transforming their laundry room, it reinforced the importance of organization and the positive impact it can have," said Christina Lee, Co-Founder of Graceful Spaces.
"We've seen first-hand how the right systems and solutions can empower a family and how that feeling of empowerment can manifest into feelings of comfort and happiness, which can be especially beneficial for children in foster care."
By finding space in the laundry room we were able to remove overflow cleaning items from under the kitchen sink to create clear categories.
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For more information on Foster Village, visit https://www.fostervillageaustin.org/.
ABOUT FOSTER VILLAGE
Foster Village is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded by foster moms in Austin, TX. Their mission is to provide a village of support to children and families intersecting with the child welfare system by equipping them with critical necessities, connecting them with therapeutic services, and advocating for community engagement beyond the system. Foster Village serves over 2,000 children in the Austin area each year and their model is now being replicated nationwide.