According to the National Foster Youth Institute, of the kids who will age out of foster care, 20% will instantly become homeless. Only half of them will be gainfully employed by the age of 24. Less than 3% of them will earn a college degree. Seven out of 10 girls who age out of the system will become pregnant before the age of 21. Do you want me to go on with the grim statistics? It’s not pretty. 23,000 kids will age out of the foster care system this year and face these awful statistics. It makes me angry. It makes me sad. It breaks my heart. Here is a young lady that deserves our time and attention. She deserves a forever family. She’s close to aging out of the system but there is still time for us to make a difference. She is going to need love and support. She is going to need us! The transition into adulthood is tough enough with all of the negative possibilities staring you in the face. Just because kids age out of foster care does not mean they stop needing people in their corner. People to love and believe in them and support them. Here’s a young lady that needs all of that.

Please allow me to introduce you to Atischa who is living in Alabama. She need us more than ever as she just turned 19 years old. Fortunately in the state of Alabama children have the option to stay in foster care until age 21. She has just a few short more years. Atischa has a loving personality and her friends would describe her as funny, honest and real. She likes to play sports in addition to drawing, singing and shopping. In school she does well and art, math and reading are her favorite subjects. Sushi is her favorite food and she would like to be an art teacher when she grows up. Atischa is a very caring person and a good friend to many.

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption   
#NationalFosterCareMonth 
#ForeverFamilyFriday

Happy #ForeverFamilyFriday y’all. We are in the middle of National Foster Care Awareness month and Lord knows we all need more awareness! When I was reading about Dominic I paused when he said he admires Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and “wishes everyone could be treated equally.” What a wise young man. Each week I have that same thought. Why can’t this child have a loving home? Regular check ups? A bed of his own? Someone to go to her parent teachers meetings at school?  WHY?! My wish is that all children would be treated equally by having loving parents who are concerned about, care for, and love them. Have stability and structure. Birthday parties and graduation celebrations. 400,000+ kids are facing these obstacles to no fault of their own. You can look up the grim statistics of what happens to kids in foster care. Or DM me and I will share them with you. It’s not pretty. These kids are all of our responsibilities. Let me introduce you to one young man that needs a door opened to hope, love and opportunity. Please meet Dominic!

Dominic is 15 and lives in FL. This “future engineer” is highly motivated and intelligent. He enjoys fencing, designing, and building things. Dominic makes friends easily and is known to be very outgoing. He loves to talk and teach people things he knows, specifically anything science related.

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption   
#NationalFosterCareMonth 
#Equality

Happy #ForeverFamilyFriday everyone! This has been a week of shared stories that have really made me realize that we are so doing the right thing looking for families for kids in foster care. I’ve always thought I’ve needed to light a fire under folks to get them interested and involved but my goal is to now light a fire within you. I want you to have a burning desire to help these kids that are doing without…without hope, love, security, basic necessities, opportunities…I could go on and on. I could tell you about the young man this week that got a pair of new shoes and his first statement was that now he would fit in at school. He would have shoes that actually fit him. Not a pair of Nikes – just shoes that fit. Or the young lady that aged out of the system and through a church and some amazing folks got an apartment and with tears in her eyes said, “this is the best and nobody will tell me I have to leave and I have 10 minutes to get my stuff together.“ Those stories just physically make me so angry. Shoes that fit and a place to sleep that is your own. What is going on in this world? 

Did you know every 2 minutes a kid enters the foster care system in the US. Every 2 minutes! These heartbreaking stories and statistics are not going away but we can do our best to come together as a community and try to find loving homes for these kids. Together we can make a difference. Please allow me to introduce you to Jacob and Rylin. They deserve not to be a statistic. They deserve hope, love and opportunity.

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption   
#NationalFosterCareMonth 
#Brothers

Happy #ForeverFamilyFriday y’all. Did you know that May is foster care awareness month? I know we are just a few days into May but I hope that you will take a moment at some point this month to use your voice and your platform to bring awareness to the 400,000 plus kids in the foster care system. There have been millions of kids over the years that have been affected by our flawed and struggling foster care system and we have an opportunity this month to try to do something to make a difference in the lives of those vulnerable kids. I’m so thankful for each and everyone of you that are reading this and are journeying along with me each Friday. I understand that many of you can’t adopt, but as I have said before, there is so much that you can do to be a part of making a difference in the lives of kids in foster care. Something as simple as cooking a meal for a foster care family or send them a note of encouragement, or plan an activity for kids in foster care. We can serve them, support them, and help care for them, even if we cannot adopt. Here is a young man that is worth supporting, serving and caring for.

Qwinshon said his greatest wish is to have the best family which would include simply spending time and seeing that they love him. Oh my heart. He needs a loving family who will give him the attention, support, encouragement, structure and nurturing environment to continue to thrive and achieve his goals. Can you be that family for Qwinshon? For more information, please contact Rebecca at [email protected]

Thank You!

 

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption   
#NationalFosterCareMonth

Happy #ForeverFamilyFriday y’all. Have you ever stopped just for a minute and thought about the fact that adopting a child out of the foster care system is less about getting a child for your family but it is more about giving your family for a child. Read that again if you need to. Children belong in families. It’s a pure and simple fact. Look, not everyone is called to be a foster parent. Trust me…I get it. It’s a little chaotic at times and takes you out of your comfort zone. But you can offer your support and encouragement to those in the fight and these kids are worth fighting for. They are worth the hours and hours spent each week on searching and vetting and praying and writing posts and us annoying you guys to join us in trying to find families for them. Here is a young man that is worth giving your family too. He needs us.

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption  
#Dependable
#Caring
#ForeverFamilyFriday
#FamiliesDontHaveToMatch

Sing this song with me… “Jesus loves the little children… all the children of the world…red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Most of us sang that song growing up or sing it to our grandchildren now. And these little children of the world…these foster children are precious in His sight and should be in ours as well. They deserve to be loved and feel safe. These little ones are collectively our responsibility! That means everyone, not just someone else, but me and you. We are responsible to nurture and provide for them. Let me introduce you to a young man that needs our support and advocacy.

#FosterCare
#Love  
#Adoption  
#ForeverFamily
#Nuturing