CU’s Executive Director, Susan Giambalvo, was a guest during the Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) February MANP Connects, a monthly series which features prominent nonprofit leaders from across Maine and brings the sector together as they share their insights and expertise. 

Susan was invited to speak about the ways Caring Unlimited staff have stayed connected, from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic through today, as CU, like many organizations, embraces the benefits of a hybrid work environment. Throughout the pandemic, CU has worked to find the opportunities within the challenges and build a strong and sustainable support network for staff.    

Having served as Executive Director for 5 years, Susan said that her experience has been defined by COVID-19. “I’m still trying to figure out- is there a normal? Our environment has shifted so much and continues to shift.” 

As a Domestic Violence Resource Center, the services Caring Unlimited provides are critical to the community served. These services were never paused or interrupted, even in the earliest days of the pandemic, as staff worked hard to respond creatively, provide services differently, and prioritize community and connection with each other to create a strong team in the face of isolation and uncertainty. Many staff members were able to work remotely but residential staff remained on site, although their work looked different- dropping supplies off outside doors, communicating by phone call, and more.  

Not only did Caring Unlimited organizationally deal with its challenges, domestic violence statistics were on the rise across the world. “I think that really was the biggest strain on staff,” Susan said. “People constantly felt like they couldn’t do enough, not necessarily because of what was going on for us, but because of the lack of other resources in the community or because parts of the court system kind of shut down.”  

She said that the stories they were hearing from clients were much worse- more intense and more lethal. “So people were already emotionally taxed dealing with whatever was going on for them personally, and then this was layered on top of it.”  

The other guest speaker alongside Susan was Valerie Young, Chief of Staff of Bigelow Labs, a nonprofit ocean research institute. Valerie described how Bigelow Labs’ biggest challenge was making sure the 20-30 new people they hired during the pandemic felt just as connected as the staff who had worked there since the days before masking, especially since their employees come from all over the world. Since lifting COVID-19 restrictions, they have instituted a once- a- month in person staff meeting with a potluck lunch that allows employees to connect. They also used an internal newsletter to introduce new staff and share their fun facts and hobbies.  

Susan shared that one of the most important factors that has helped Caring Unlimited staff feel connected during the pandemic was overhauling all technology and switching to a cloud- based server. It allowed everyone to feel fully productive whether at home or in the office, so that no one felt like they were letting their coworkers down or wasting a day by working remotely.  

“When I asked in our staff meeting how we’re doing as an organization and what things make them feel connected, I was really surprised to hear from so many that having the proper technology in place has been really important to feeling connected,” she said. “I think it’s because it’s created some degree of equity- everybody has access to the same thing.”  

One of the creative ways CU stayed connected during the beginning of the pandemic was mailing quarterly care packages with treats like chocolate, a plant, or a fidget toy. “It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was a little something and it was regular so people knew we were thinking of them.”  

“When the weather warmed up, staff attended a ‘mandatory’ picnic and ate lunch together, played games and reconnected. The pandemic taught us the importance of connecting without a specific goal or agenda other than to have fun, and now we try to plan a staff wellness day every quarter.”  

MANP Connects talks take place virtually on the third Friday of every month. You can learn more about this program or register for the next session here.   

Watch the February 2023 installment of MANP Connects here.