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Celebrating ACR Mothers & Daughters!

May 7, 2021

In honor of Mother’s Day this Sunday, May 9th, we caught up with some of our ACR Mother Daughter duos who share an ACR workplace! Each of these moms and daughters works at ACR- read on to read their unique stories.

Maren & Kaitlynn

Maren fills multiple hats at ACR, currently serving as float supervisor and high school recruiter. Interestingly enough, Maren and her husband were live-in supervisors when their daughter Kaitlynn was little, so Kaitlynn also grew up in an ACR Home from the time she was 1 1/2 until she was going to Kindergarten.

Maren: “Kaitlynn knew how to use a a Hoyer lift from the time she was 2 years old, using her doll and stuffed animals.  It was clear when she turned 16 where she was going to work.  She talked about it for years before she turned 16 years old.  She was hired at Dawn as a DCA shortly after her 16th birthday.  She is now getting ready to head to college for Nursing, soon to be 19 years old and a weekend supervisor at ACR on Dawn.
It is so fun for us to be able to talk about our jobs, she is proud to tell her friends and family that her and I work at the same place.  It makes our relationship stronger, in a way that not otherwise would happen.  We can relate to each other on a totally different level.
I have helped her with a shift or two to help get her residents get to an ACR Dance and she has helped me too when life was just too crazy, she has helped me out with shifts too!  It is a win win all around!”
Kaitlynn adds: “My mom makes a great employee because she has unwavering dedication to her job! She cares so much about her employees and residents and does everything she can to please everyone!”

[Read how working at ACR was a family affair for the Callaghan family!]

Fati & Fee

Fati & Fee both fill the incredibly important roles of being full-time awake nights at ACR. Fee started working at ACR in October 2014, and it took a little time to convince her mother, Fati, to join her. Fati joined ACR in October 2019!

Fee: “I referred my mom, Fati because I knew she would be a great fit for what we do at ACR. At the time she was looking for something different in terms of work and knowing her qualities and capabilities I suggested she apply. She is compassionate, hardworking and put her best in everything she does. We work awake nights and we sometimes call to keep each other company. There are days I will pick up asleep shifts at her house so we could work together. Her residents and staff love her.”

Fati, featured in a Humans of ACR segment in November, stated: “My daughter worked at ACR and I had heard her praise ACR in many, many ways. She always tried to drag me to the hiring events, but I didn’t have the urge to apply quite yet. Eventually, I felt like it was time for the change and I applied. Even though the pay was less, the job is fulfilling to the point where I don’t even think about my paycheck. I enjoy my work so much that I don’t care. I go and come back home feeling happy. During this pandemic, I’m so grateful to God for having a job that I like, and where I can even work overtime when I want to.”

 

Heather & Dawn

Heather has filled multiple roles at ACR since starting as a part-time direct care staff in 2015. She has since become a Residential Supervisor and is now serving as an interim Program Director! Dawn is one of our newest ACR Employees, and the latest addition to our Finance Department where she fills the Accounts Receivable position!

Dawn: “My daughter Heather started working at ACR when she was in college at the University of Minnesota and from what she told me it was a great place for HER to work and she was learning a lot and having a wonderful experience.  I said it was a great place for HER to work, but at the time I didn’t think it was something I was interested in or would be able to do.  You see, she is more of a hands-on direct care kind of person and I feel more comfortable in the office.   She kept telling me about the great co-workers, supervisors and support staff that were always there to help her with questions and brain storming solutions to tough problems. She always commented that everyone was so caring and paid attention to the residents and really helped them to do their best.  I really admired a company with such a strong work ethic and high focus on the value of all life, so I told her that if any opening come up in the office, preferably finance, to let me know right away.

And that she did!

Heather: “I referred her because a position opened up that was in her previous line of work. I thought that having normal hours again and getting back into what she went to school for would be so beneficial for her and I wanted her to experience ACRs work environment and how well they care for their employees. I thought her positivity and expertise would be a wonderful addition to ACRs finance department!

Dawn adds: “Heather is such a sweet person, she brought me a cup of coffee and stopped in to say hi and ask how my first day was going!”

 

Marcia & Maggie

Maggie started working at ACR in January 2020 as a Junior Direct Care Professional while still in High School. She was placed at a nearby home in Eden Prairie. Maggie’s love for working with her residents spread to Marcia, her mom, who with Maggie’s encouragement also began to work at ACR last Fall.

The two are both happily employed at quite different ACR Homes. Maggie’s home is more medical based, while Marcia preferred to work at a home where the residents were a bit more independent.

Marcia adds: “Age knows no bounds in caring for residents and being able to share positive stories and encouragement, all because of ACR!”

 

 

 

[Read Lexi & Jean’s Like Mother, Like Daughter blog here!]

Alyssa & Miriam

Alyssa started working at ACR in October 2014 at our ACR Home on Crestridge where she worked as a Direct Care staff and then Residential Supervisor. Alyssa is now the Housing Manager at ACR / Arthur’s Senior Care on Alta Vista! Thanks to Alyssa’s recommendation, Miriam has been working as a Direct Care Nurse at a home in Lakeville since June 2017!

Alyssa: ” I referred my Mom as she did not necessarily enjoy the job she was working at during that time due to staff turnover and the leadership. She noticed how well ACR treated their employees as well as the values they had for their clients/residents and was immediately interested when I sent her the nurse hiring incentive. She applied shortly after and has loved working for ACR since!

She is extremely compassionate; you can tell right away the incredible amount of LOVE she has for all the residents at 178th! She radiates compassion and care for not only the residents, but also the other staff! She doesn’t always believe it herself, but ACR is so blessed to have her, as she is also blessed to have ACR! It’s not always the case children love working with their parents, but there’s not a moment I regret sharing this experience with her, working for the same company who truly aspires to value everyone daily, whether staff or resident.

It is so fun to relate to her in this way! We share experiences, stories, and inspirations, it’s brought us even closer! She has challenged me through conversation, pushed me to work hard and diligently, even in difficult times. How cool is it that she can understand the type of work I do, as well as seeing the type of work she does, and we can discuss it in depth! We’ve had many walks and talks solely focused on our work with ACR, so thank you for offering us this opportunity!”

Miriam: “I was excited to find a new prospect for work because I wasn’t happy with my current job at the time.  I knew that my daughter, Alyssa, really enjoyed working for ACR and was especially drawn to the direct care aspect of the job.  In other nursing jobs, I was stuck passing medications or rooming patients in record time and had little direct care with the actual patients.  Alyssa knew that I would love the direct care aspect of the ACR job and she was absolutely right.

I think Alyssa makes a great employee of ACR because she truly cares for people.  She is one of the kindest people I know and she would go anywhere or do anything to make another person happy.  The direct care position at ACR allows her gifts to shine their brightest.  Even when she was a little girl she would seek out the special needs children at school and befriend them.  It’s in her DNA.  This is why I believe ACR has been such a great fit for her.
We just “get it” when it comes to each other’s jobs. I love sharing the ACR experience with her and am so glad she introduced me.”
Editors Note: This mother/daughter combo enjoys their work at ACR so much they also ended up recruiting Alyssa’s Dad/Miriam’s husband, Nate! Nate is the residential supervisor at our ACR Home on Lydia West! 

[Read Miriam’s Day-in-the-life-of an LPN acccount here! ] 

Thanks to these mothers and daughters for their work at ACR and for sharing your employment with each other! Each pair will get a $50 Gift Card to Hope Breakfast Bar for a little mother/daughter brunch to catch up on their ACR work stories! 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day, moms!

Want to share the gift of employment with your family? We can’t wait for you to join our ACR family! Apply Today!

Posted in Make a Difference