Janesville Night of Respite / Sibs Night

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This monthly Night of Respite program is hosted on the 2nd Friday per month, September through May, at our Beloit program site at Brother Dutton Catholic School. The same program is offered to Janesville on the 3rd Friday per month at Orchard View Alliance Church. Registered parents / caregivers bring their children to the program site at 6pm and they are allowed and encouraged to drop off in an effort for parents to receive the full allocated time for rejuvenation. Any child(ren) with special needs are welcome as well as the siblings of said children. This prevents parents / caregivers from having the barrier of finding additional childcare for siblings, which reduces stress in the long run. Some parents choose to spend time with the sibling during this time and that is perfectly fine as well! The idea of the program is to promote and support family stability.

During the three hour time frame, 6pm-9pm, volunteer respite providers facilitate and engage youth in arts, crafts, games, and other recreation that supports their needs and abilities. Youth are divided into groups based on age and ability while allowing siblings 6+ years of age to receive a form of respite of their own by engaging in Sibs' Night activities. We must remember that siblings need their time to shine as well! Siblings that are in their teens are welcome to join as Jr. Volunteers and mentors for the younger sibling group. This has had a wonderful, positive impact on all involved.

FRCS welcomes teenage youth volunteers. They are titled Jr. Volunteers and are typically paired with the siblings group or the toddler groups since those groups are easier to handle. I am attaching the volunteer application and policy. You will notice that it states that volunteers are to be 18 yrs old. That is required in order to be determined a "volunteer respite provider" so just realize that teens will ALWAYS be paired with an adult despite parental attendance or lack thereof. We have many youth who have used this program to fulfill community service hours for school, scouts, or the like.

The week of the event emails will be sent to registered volunteers and / or therapists with additional instructions and "need to know" information.

FRCS strives to provide training support and education by hosting monthly special educational workshops in both Beloit and Janesville. The calendar has not been prepared yet for either but as we work this out, you will be electronically invited. We also encourage all of our volunteers and supporters to follow us on Facebook and to join our FRCS Volunteer & Therapist page in an effort to stay connected! Regardless, new volunteers are always paired with seasoned volunteers so everybody works together. In the event of a behavior or meltdown the volunteer would send someone to get either myself or another FRCS staff / program assistant. Honestly though this is rarely an issue of concern. We have a great group of kids that truly enjoy their respite care experience!