Recently, one of the foster parents from our 1HOPE Foster Family Support Network stated, “It’s a relief knowing people want to help. It was really helpful knowing that these people are volunteering and want to come and serve us.”
Although each one of us is not necessarily called to become a foster parent, every single person has an important role to play in caring for and supporting foster children in their community. May is Foster Care Awareness Month. Now is the time to get involved! Here are some ways that you can make a difference in the lives of foster children:
1) Pray for foster children, foster families, and foster children waiting to be adopted. By visiting https://wiadopt.org/kids/, you can pray for children by name waiting for a home throughout Wisconsin.
2) Send a note of encouragement, text, or call and check-in on a foster family. Within the first year, 50% of foster families drop out of the program. Lack of support is cited as a big reason for lack of retention.
3) Provide a meal to a foster family. This enables the family to spend more time together nurturing the relationship with their foster child.
4) Provide services, goods, and items to a foster family. Often, when a foster child first arrives at their foster home, they might not have all the personal items and services they need to feel at home.
5) Assist a foster family with babysitting, tutoring, or mentoring. Foster children benefit from additional care and support from their community.
It takes a community to raise a foster child. 1HOPE, through our Foster Family Support Network, provides an opportunity for you to make an impact in a foster child’s life!
Volunteer today by visiting us at www.1hope.community/what-we-do