Adopt-a-Family and a growing passion for foster care
When we began Fostering Faithfully, we chose many initiatives to serve families that you can find on our website, and we always hoped as we made pathways for people to support foster children, and the families caring for them, many people would come join our team. We have been so blessed! We have many wonderful new meals team volunteers in Oconee and Pickens counties, and our childcare team is growing as well. God has also been sending hard-working groups to sort and organize our resource center. He is always the most faithful of all!
We don't officially have an "Adopt A Family" program, but I loved the idea when a group from Clemson United Methodist came to us wanting to come alongside a couple families and be part of supporting them on a more regular basis. I chose a couple families that have multiple placements in their area for them to support. This is their leader's response recently:
I wanted to update you on what we have accomplished so far. We have fed both families 3 out of 4 weeks (1 night per week) and we have someone signed up to take a meal for months. These are some sweet, dedicated foster parents!
We also collected some snacks for the children to have a the DSS offices, as well as clothes and toys for the center.
God is blessing this effort. I know there are people who have been touched by these families and their hearts. We will keep talking, cooking, and praying so more can be done.
As one of their adopted families has a foster child with many medical issues their bond has grown over the past year. This group has stepped up to help this family through multiple hospitalizations while they continue to foster many children through these hospital stays with their little one.
Next, their passion for loving foster children spilled over to the college students in their church family who helped pull off a wonderful date night out for fostering couples this fall.
Nationwide, half of all foster families quit within a year of their first placement. I am so thankful for this group that saw the need and joined our team to encourage foster families!
This group and many others are living out Hebrews 10:24: "let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works." We have had other groups and individuals serve meals at Foster Parent Association meetings, host a benefit yard sale, host foster parent date nights, do a diaper drive, take professional pictures for foster children in care experiencing milestone birthdays, sew blankets/hats for children in foster care, pack care bags, and we have our wonderful baker who shares her talent of baking birthday cakes for children in foster care. Have a talent or idea to help encourage a foster child/family this year? https://www.fosteringfaithfully.org/join-the-campaign
