Help Us Fill the Gap

The exponential growth Pause has had over the last two years has been unexpected and has really taken our team by surprise. A typical business or nonprofit growth in its first two years is about 20% (FORA Financial). In our first two years with official nonprofit status, our enrollment growth for new families has reached 200% with 101 families enrolling last fiscal year. Fun fact - 20 new children were enrolled in Pause in one week this month!

This is a huge accomplishment that comes with many positives for our program. The increased enrollment reveals families find personal benefit from the experiences Pause provides and they are spreading word of the opportunity. Our partner social service agencies and local medical facilities have also prioritized Pause as a referral for families. This shows positive momentum and built trust with families and our partners. And, it also shows the need for rest, support, connection and fun is still present within the special needs community. Our work isn’t finished. 

While we know increased engagement in our programs and experiences changes the trajectory of families' lives, dosage is an important piece of puzzle. In fact, data collected over the past 9 years shows a direct correlation between engagement and outcomes - the more a family participates in Pause opportunities, the better outcomes their family will have. It makes sense, but it also causes tension as more and more families seek our support. 

The tension comes from knowing that every family walking through our doors requires staff and financial resources in order to provide them with a continuum of services in which those positive outcomes can be attained. We would love this to be as simple as adding more craft supplies or ordering an additional pizza, but the hard truth is that it takes intentional planning, tools, space, volunteers, training, and experienced staff.  

On average, the cost to support a family of 4 for a year of Pause programming (including rest, support, connection and fun experiences) is only $2,400. This is such a big deal because it opens the door to over 35+ annual opportunities special needs families otherwise wouldn't have because of barriers to childcare, lack of accessible family fun, cost and eligibility restrictions. While we have continued to accept new families over the past 6 months, we have also been busy at work with fundraising, reorganizing staff structures, adding events and stretching our staff because serving families is our passion! 

The reality is, we have been stretching our resources like a rubber band for quite some time and we have reached a pivotal point where, to continue to do so, would compromise the best practices we know are non-negotiables - the things that make Pause, well…Pause. Things like intentional curriculum and event design, sensory friendly and safe spaces that - in their very nature - help kids regulate, and availability for families to receive Pause in the right dosage amounts to make a difference.   

To this end, our team has made the tough call to “pause” our new family enrollment at this time. This really hard decision will allow our team to continue to provide the level of excellence needed to support the families currently enrolled and to move from reactive to proactive in our plans for expansion. We want to be around a long time and we want to be able to open our doors to every single family seeking our support. That end goal absolutely requires us to implement a multi-site model to support families well. This is a project we have been working on for quite some time, but with increased enrollment over the past 2 years, our staff put this future planning on the back burner in order to serve families now. In order to continue to grow our capacity, we simply have to refocus on this imperative next step. 

While we are estimating this enrollment “pause” could continue for quite some time, we want to be clear - this speedbump has the capacity to be short-lived with the community’s support and there is nothing that would give us greater joy. And, in fact, timetables aside - we must work together to make forward progress. 

Here is how you, your business and your organizations can help:

We are calling on our community partners, local social service organizations and medical facilities who refer their families to Pause to link arms with us. The needs of the children being referred to us are higher than ever, with many diagnosed with complex medical needs. We need additional staff to provide care to these kiddos with fragile conditions. Your corporate sponsorships help us do just that! Contact Dan McSwain at dan.mcswain@pauseforparents.org for more information!

We are asking you, our readers, to consider Pause for your Giving Tuesday and year end giving. Every single donation matters and Pause considers ourselves experts at making every dollar stretch further! This isn’t our normal “come support Pause” plea, this is to help literally open our doors back up.  

We are recruiting volunteers to come love our kids this holiday season! With added sessions of our annual Holiday Shoppe to serve our growing numbers, we are in need of 130 volunteers for our events scheduled December 1st and 2nd. 

If you have specialized training in special needs or are a nurse - we need you! Our volunteer’s role is to simply love and have fun with our kids!  We need those with extra experience to help us care for kids in other ways on our resilience support teams. Contact Emily at emily.denlinger@pauseforparents.org for more information!

We are in this together!  We are not saying, “no” to new families - we are saying, “yes, when…” When we have the financial resources to provide the life changing Pause experience we know matters. When we have the additional volunteers to staff our expanded events and programs to serve more people. When we have more physical space to expand our footprint and reach more families closer to their homes. We can’t wait to share these exciting advances and adventures with you and we promise to celebrate every goal and step forward with you!

Pause is SO important and close to our hearts. We are planning for today, tomorrow, the next 5 years AND the next 50 years. Come join us - we would love to start the conversation about how YOU can be the difference. Email us at questions@pauseforparents.org.

This is CAN DO.  This is COMMUNITY.  This is YOUR SUPPORT.