The organization that I am working for is called UMFS, an 121 year organization that is an advocate and service provider for families and children in the state of Virginia. The organization now exclusively goes by the acronym UMFS which stands for United Methodist Family Services; the organization made the choice to formally disaffiliate from the Methodist Church to allow themselves to adapt and grow to serve a broader community and have the autonomy to make decisions that they feel are best for the changing times of present day.The UMFS are nothing but their values. At UMFS it is clear that all members of the UMFS team prioritize using inclusive, thoughtful, and kind language in every encounter. They care about health. They care about love and trust. They support each other and are intentional in every sense of the word.
The team is filled with passionate professionals that are “dedicated, experienced and respected staff at every point in our organization. We work as a team to get results, one child at a time.” They believe in providing services and support that help in healing the whole family. They believe in teamwork and that collaboration can multiply impact. They refer to themselves as a group of “unwavering champions for children and families”. They use slang like “spark” and “celebrations” to encourage sharing, collaboration, and appreciating the values of each contribution and voice. In my first week they welcomed me to train and learn on their Richmond Campus in person. Before getting into UMFS as an organization, what they do, the services they provide and why, we first took the time, whole days in fact, to go over foundational knowledge about the Virginia community the structure of the Department of Social services, and the foster care pipeline. When they were educating me about the organization they were thorough. My supervisor and the rest of the Marketing Team communicated with me in a way that made it clear they cared about me really learning and understanding the gravity behind everything they do at UMFS. Questions and contributions were encouraged and appreciated. I felt like an equal at their meetings. Interactions I observed between other employees were filled with gratitude and uplifting comments as well as clear communication about their needs and how they could help each other meet them. I am in awe and I am excited to continue my work here and meet more members of the UMFS team.
