National Foster Care Month


May is National Foster Care Month, and while we don't exactly do foster care (although we're doing something a little similar at the moment), it is something that has been in my thoughts a lot lately, so I thought writing this little blog post might put it in your thoughts too.

I'm not writing this post so that everyone will run out and become foster parents (although if you are feel drawn towards that, by all means do it!). I'm writing it more to support those that are currently foster parents. Foster care can be a wonderful opportunity for children that cannot currently be in their own homes or are orphans to be surrounded by and cared for by a loving family. I know there are horror stories out there of foster families, but I also know that there are wonderful God-fearing foster families out there that want nothing more than to smother these children with their love and introduce them to God's love during the time that they have them in their homes.

All of this to say, being a foster parent is not an easy thing. Many of the children that come into a foster home have behavioral issues, and all of them have experienced loss and trauma in their lives in some capacity. These are the children that foster families bring into their homes to love and care for on a daily basis. These families pour their time, love and energy into these children without very often receiving a break or vacation, and often times without much appreciation.

So, the point of this whole post. What can you do? I've come up with some ideas that may help you find something you are capable of doing. You can find MANY more ideas here.

1. Become certified to do respite care for foster families so they can have a much needed break
2. Take a meal to a foster family
3. Purchase school supplies, new clothes or other necessities for the foster children (foster families have a very limited amount of money that they can spend on these necessities).
4. Offer to babysit for a foster family (not sure if there are certain qualifications for this)
5. Provide a family with the opportunity to do an activity they might not usually be able to afford such as an outing to the pool or zoo or something (and offer to go and be an extra helping hand!)
6. Become a big brother or big sister mentor for older foster children
7. Pray!
8. Become a foster parent yourself

What if you don't know any foster families? If this is the case, you can contact your local department of family services (or social services), let them know you would like to help a foster family, and they can connect you to a family. Maybe you know someone, but they don't live in your area. Many things can be shipped in the mail!

With National Foster Care Month this month, consider finding one thing that you could do this month to help a foster family or a child in foster care. Maybe this will be a one time thing for you or maybe this will become something you do on a regular basis. Either way, my challenge to you (and to myself) is DO SOMETHING.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Any Day Now

Image
So, how’s your adoption going? This is the question I get almost daily, and really, I don’t mind. I enjoy explaining the process of adoption to others. If you’re not personally involved in it or connected in some way, it can be hard to understand sometimes, especially since many times it is such a long process. So, how is our personal journey going? Once again we are in a waiting period “hurry up and wait”. We have done everything on our end that we need to do at this point. Our dossier (lots of paperwork) is in Ghana, and we are currently waiting for a referral of a child from Ghana. When will we receive that information? Well, according to our adoption agency, it will be “any day now”. Which literally means it could be tomorrow, or it could be in the next month or two. Right now it is out of our hands and out of the hands of our agency and is in the hands of the government of Ghana. There are some other families that are in front of us, and once those families have been proce
Read more

Two For One

Image
Many of you, our family and friends, have already heard about this new fundraiser we are currently doing. The great thing about this fundraiser is that it doesn't cost you any money!!! We have teamed up with two other local families also working on adoptions and Funds2orgs  to do a Shoe Drive. For the months of June and July we are collecting new and gently used shoes. We take shoes of all types and sizes. Dress shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, boots, kids shoes, adult shoes. We cannot accept flip flops or house slippers. Once all the shoes are collected and organized, the company we are working with will come pick up the shoes and pay us for them. We have a HUGE goal of collecting 2,500 pairs of shoes!!! The great thing about this shoe drive is that it serves TWO great purposes. You help us raise funds for our adoptions, and you help those that are in need get a good pair of shoes in developing nations. Two for One, pretty awesome. So, we need YOUR help to reach this goal! W
Read more

Thank You

Image
Our t-shirt fundraiser is complete, and shirts are being delivered as we speak. This fundraiser was a great success, bringing in just at $750 for our adoption! We are so excited and thankful to all of you that purchased a shirt. We also happen to be super excited about the shirts themselves and how they turned out! I have yet to get a picture of our entire family in the shirts, otherwise I would have used that picture for this post, but who knows when that will happen, and I didn't want to wait to get this thank you posted.  To all those that purchased a shirt and to all those that have supported us through other fundraisers and YouCaring donations we want to say a huge THANK YOU to you all! Having your support and knowing that you all are behind us in this decision and this journey means the world to us. We couldn't do this without all of you. Your help in raising money, your prayers, and the continuous encouraging words that we receive all help is in continuing o
Read more