From:                              Christy Obie-Barrett [christy@afamilyforeverychild.ccsend.com] on behalf of Christy Obie-Barrett [cbobie@aol.com]

Sent:                               Friday, April 01, 2011 2:25 AM

To:                                   nancy.guardino@afamilyforeverychild.org

Subject:                          HG Child of the Month April AFFEC 2011

 

Heart Gallery

 Child of the Month

http://www.afamilyforeverychild.org (541-343-2856)

880 Beltline Rd. Springfield, OR 97477 

A Family For Every Child

April 2011

Casey 

Age 13

Casey 13 

 

''My name is Casey. I would like dogs and horses for pets. I like fishing, fishing and FISHING -- oh -- and playing catch [baseball], skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, and I really like cars. When I grow up I want to be a video game tester!

I would like a mom and dad that are nice and like to play with kids. I want my new parents to ride horses with me. I like playing my guitar and want to learn more songs. I need to be an only child, and I want a mom and dad who like to hug and spend time with me. I want a family of my own so I don't have to move anymore.''

Casey has loads of energy and needs a family who can help him expend his energy while setting firm rules an boundaries in all settings. He can focus on tasks that require fine motor skills. His caseworker describes him as an artistic child who loves one-on-one attention and lots of hugs. He is content when he is busy, especially with outdoor interests.

Casey's adoption team will be looking for a parent(s) who are able to access the professional resources needed for his continued growth. He would benefit from educational and behavioral supports in the classroom, home, and community settings. Casey's future adoptive parents will need to come equipped with lots of parenting savvy.

Casey needs a stable couple or single parent who could assist in teaching him more appropriate social and behavioral skills. A family where Casey can be the only child or with older children who can provide positive role models would be the best match for this dynamic young man. 

 

Bulletin ID117

 

 

Miguel 

Age 4

Miguel 4 

 

Miguel usually listens to his foster parent but needs a lot of structure and consistency. He acts out regularly and will be defiant almost knowingly. His behaviors escalate quickly and usually end in a tantrum. He can calm himself and does better if left alone in a safe place. He can move forward after a tantrum quickly and does not dwell on these outbursts.

He was assessed for counseling but due to his age the counseling would be with the caregiver. There are resources in place to help with the transition of Miguel into a home. He does much better if there is a stay at home parent. He cannot handle the day care setting at this time. 

 

Bulletin WA255

 

 

Tyler 

Age 16

Tyler 16 

 

''Hello, my name is Tyler. I've been waiting for a family for a very long time. I kind of gave up on getting a family for a while, but now that I'm older, I can see how important having a family is, even after I turn 18! I would like a mom and dad, but would be OK with a single parent, too. Older brothers and sisters would be great also. And pets and animals are a must!'

There are a few things you should know about me. First, I'm really good with horses. I've been living at a ranch for two years and get to ride horses every week. I can saddle and bridle a horse, and keep them clean and healthy. I REALLY want a family that has horses. I would love to be involved in rodeo, 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America). I would feel most comfortable living on a farm or ranch in a small town. I've moved around a lot, so I want a place to call home, and not move anymore. I would like to live with an LDS family that goes to church, or a family who would let me attend church even if they don't.

I like to watch and play sports, and I also enjoy playing video games and watching movies. But I would rather be cleaning out an animal stall than playing a video game or watching TV. People say that I'm a hard worker and a real farm boy. 

 
I started wrestling at school this year and did really well. I'm also excited to start track this spring and like both sprinting and long distance running. People tell me I was born to run! I have to say I agree with that."

Tyler has been through a lot in his 16 years, and he can tell you a lot about loss, rejection, and hurt. But if ever there was a resilient child, it is Tyler! He is full of life, energy, and hope, and he puts his heart and soul into the things that he cares about.

He needs a patient family who is skilled at guiding youth through the tumultuous teen years and beyond. A loving, accepting, patient, COMMITTED family is what Tyler needs. The adoption team is searching for an emotionally mature single parent or couple who can delay their need for outward displays of affection for a while. Tyler also needs a family who will use empathy, firm boundaries, established routines and provide lots of activities to shore up Tyler's self-esteem.

Because Tyler struggles with mild Asperger Syndrome traits, he needs a family that understands how to help him focus attention and optimize his intelligence at school and in social situations. He needs direction, supervision, opportunities, respect, and the chance to earn trust.

You don't have to be a super hero to be a part of Tyler's life--just a steady promise-keeper who will access and work with therapeutic professionals to help Tyler manage his emotions, operate within safe personal boundaries, and learn to trust again. Tyler is waiting for someone to believe in, and someone who will believe in him. Call the CareLine today if you think you could be Tyler's family. 

 

Bulletin ID147

 

 

Marvin 

Age 5

Marvin 5 

 

Four-year-old Marvin is a sweet and loving little boy, who will capture your heart with his smile and spirit. He has spent most of his life in medical foster care, where he had successfully recovered from open heart surgery and other serious health issues. Though he recently moved to another foster home, Marvin is not yet out of the woods, medically, and will continue to need on-going care from his treatment team, but, his upbeat, happy demeanor demonstrates this little boy's resiliency.

Due to physically injuries to his head, prior to entering foster care, Marvin is developmentally delayed, but since his move, he began to walk and now runs up to his foster Mom for a hug. He speaks a few words and is learning sign language, but his love of play is clearly communicated with laughter. He is captivated by toys that make noise, and he particularly loves playing catch with his foster Mom, who says Marvin is just beginning to blossom.

Marvin needs a loving and committed family, who can put his needs above their own. He needs a family with some knowledge of medically fragile children, who are willing to work with Marvin's treatment team to help him thrive. With a family, who can focus on his strengths and appreciate his capacity to love, Marvin will be a joy to raise. 

 

Bulletin 12773

 

 

 Volunteers


Web-Savvy volunteers needed.

Some onsite work is required to learn about the projects.

Ability to make useful contributions to ongoing projects is essential.

 

We are in the Gateway area of Springfield.

We have a website which needs help from people with the following skillset:

HTML/CSS/PHP

/MySQLi/Javascript.

 

If you have 8 to 20 hours a week in which you can lend a hand, please let us know.

 

Scott Corcoran

Web Coordinator

(541)-343-2856

 

 

 HG Volunteer


Heart Gallery volunteer needed to update the three West 11th venues.

Once a month required.

 

 

 New Search Tool

 

Overwhelmed by all the kids? Click Here 

 

 

 

 Donate to AFFEC

 

Would you like to contribute to AFFEC's cause for helping children? Any amount can have a lasting impact on a child. Click Below!

 

Donate Button

 

 Briana 9

Briana 

Age 9

 

Briana is a vibrant nine-year-old girl with short brown hair and bright blue eyes. She has a sweet smile and is generally cheerful and energetic. She has a playful personality and likes to laugh and be the focus of attention. Briana enjoys one-on-one time with adults. Briana loves playing with her Barbie's and enjoys going to watch movies in the theater. One of her favorite activities is jumping on the trampoline.

Briana has a short attention span. She also has difficulty internalizing and generalizing information given to her. This means she needs a lot of repetition and patience from adults in her life.

Briana is doing exceptionally well in school. She is in the third grade and attends a special needs classroom. Briana's teacher reports that she has made great progress over the last year. Academically, Briana retained many of the skills she learned last school year and had little regression over the summer. Briana is reading at a second grade level. She is well liked by school staff and participates in classroom activities. Briana has modified homework and is making academic gains. She recently received a "Caring Award" at school.

Briana has experienced much trauma in her life and will need continued mental health and special education services. She needs a family that will accept and love her the way she is. The right family will be able to provide structure and constructive activities where she can expend her energy and increase her life skills and self esteem. Briana needs a predictable home environment that has some understanding of children who have developmental delays and will be a strong advocate for her. Her adoptive parents will need to be open to working with service providers including mental health services and special education services. Briana is eligible for Adoption Assistance.  

 

Bulletin OR13185

 

 

 

 Kristina 15

 Kristina 

Age 15

 

Kristina is an adventurous girl who has always wanted to learn to ride off road motorcycles. According to Kristina she has ridden quads but does not have a motorcycle of her own. She has a good sense of humor and can be a very caring and sweet girl.

Pursuing a career in the Coast Guard is something she has thought about and would like to learn more when she graduates from high school. She likes school and does pretty weill in one-on-one learning situations.

Kristina needs an emotionally supportive, safe home environment and one where she feels that she is wanted and the caregivers are committed to her. While she is likely to get very upset and angry with rules and boundaries she doesn't like, she also calms down fairly quickly and will respond better to a clear and consistent structure than anything vague and unpredictable. She is an adolescent and is struggling to find her place in the world. This will be a challenging time for her and for those she is living with. 

 

Bulletin WA287

 

 

    

Christopher 11 

Christopher 

Age 11


Chris is searching to find the place where he belongs and is in need of a permanent family who can help him grow to his full potential. Chris has a medium build. He has short light blonde hair and light grey-blue eyes. Chris loves swimming, riding his bike, skateboarding, and anything Poke'mon. Chris is a huge fan of the L.A. Lakers basketball team and his favorite basketball player is Kobe Bryant. Chris has been through a lot of hardship in his early life and as a result, has some special needs. However, Chris is an intelligent, fun-loving, curious, and appealing little boy with the potential to grow into a wonderful young man if given the love and commitment that a permanent home can provide.

Chris has two younger half siblings, who are also in foster care. Chris lived with his younger brothers before they were removed from their mother's care. Chris has weekly therapeutic visits with his brothers in the therapist's office. Chris is bonded with his two brothers and it is very important to him that he continue this relationship once he is placed with his adoptive family. In addition to sibling contact, it would be beneficial to Chris if his adoptive family was open to maintaining some level of contact between Chris and his birth mother and maternal grandmother.

It will be important for Chris to have adoptive parents who have a good grasp of how past abuse, neglect and exposure to unsafe situations can impact a child's development, sense of well being, and trust. It will also be important for the family to have ongoing participation in therapeutic services to help Chris overcome emotional and behavioral hurdles. The family chosen to adopt this wonderful boy will need to be patient and capable of earning a child's trust, and will need to be able to allow Chris to bond and attach on his own individual timeline. A family that will reach out to Chris and express love and commitment, even when he is slow to express it back, will be able to help Chris the most. Parenting Christopher will be challenging, but will also be richly rewarding as he continues to grow and change. 

Bulletin 13069

 

 

    

Angel 14 

Angel 

Age 14


Angel is an amazing African-American teen with plenty of spunk and personality. Her favorite activities include swimming, gymnastics, dancing, reading and singing. Angel has shown her considerable talent by choreographing a dance performance with her peers for a talent show at school. The audience thought her performance was spectacular and full of energy. Angel has been part of a dance troupe that performs African dances for the public. She has loved it for several reasons, one being that she got paid! Angel exudes a confidence that allows her to express her needs, especially when it comes to her future.

Angel is described as tender-hearted. She will often ask what she can do to help when a peer is sad or upset. It is clear that Angel loves her family and eagerly looks forward to monthly visits with her brothers and her grandmother and great aunt. Her grandma, who lives out of state, keeps in contact with Angel through phone calls and some visits when she is in the area.

Angel has been clear that she wants to live near her brothers and has become accepting of being adopted and having a permanent home. It will be important for Angel's adoptive parents to take the time to understand her history and experiences, so that they can help her move forward in healthy ways. 

Bulletin WA307

 

 

Matching Assistance

Match

 

Adopting?

Have you had trouble searching for children and submitting your homestudy?

Have you found it difficult to obtain information and updates on children you are interested in or have submitted your homestudy on?

Matching Assistance could be for you!

  

Matching Assistance is a password protected site with additional child listings, helping support qualified, current home studied families during their journey to adoption. Each time you request we submit your homestudy on a child or children, your family biography(written in your own words), family photos, and a link to your family video is included for a caseworker to view. Caseworkers have found this to be helpful in deciding potential families for children on their caseloads. Please visit our Matching Assistance Program for additional information. We can help you! Ask me how to get a one-time login.

  

For more information on the program, click here  

  

Jennifer Hancock
Matching Assistance Director

 

 

Save the Date!

 

 

Winter Wonderland Nov. 3rd 2011

Valley River Inn

 

 

 

Other Volunteer Needs

 

Admin Volunteers

Administrative Assistants

-Flexible number of hours per week
Duties would include: filing, answering phone calls, sending and receiving faxes, data entries, mailings, making copies, scanning documents, creation of training packets, Reference checking

 

Phone Volunteer-Any number of hours a week

We are always in need of volunteers to help answer our phones, training will be provided.

 

Volunteer, Recruiting, Training Assistance

5-10 hours a week
Oversees the recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, and scheduling of volunteer workers. Ensures that the activities of the volunteer workers meet the needs of the organization. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. Leads and directs the work of others. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to a supervisor or manager.

 

Web Bio Writers

We are looking for volunteer Child web bio's.  It can be a skill taking the history and needs of a child and putting them in a form that gives the family as much appropriate information as possible. We have noticed a good writer can do a lot for these kids. This volunteer doesn't need to be local and could be handled through email. Little training is involved, but you will need to complete our volunteer and confidentiality forms.

 

 

Child Listing/Web Volunteers

Child Listing Specialists:
We are currently working to partner with several other states and their photo listing agencies to list more children on our public and non-public sites. We are in need of several volunteers who would be willing to help list children in our database and on our sites. While this may sound as though it's a difficult task, all training is provided and only requires an ability to pay attention to detail. Any number of hours would be great for this position. You will be doing an amazing service that will ultimately lead to children finding their Forever Families!

 

 

Heart Gallery Locations

 April 2011

 

Debbie


 

Applebee's

Arbor South Architecture - Eugene

Ben White, DDS

Chris Dental - Thurston/Pleasant Hill

 Clackamas Branch DHS

Cottage Grove Community Center

Creswell Library

Denny's - Glenwood

Dr. Barta - DDS

 Dr. Dave Matthews DMD - Eugene

Dr. Blatchford Dental Office - Milwaukie, Oregon

Elite Fitness & Education - Bend

Eugene Airport

Fifth Street Market - Eugene

Friendly Street Market - Eugene

Gateway Mall - Springfield

Heritage Mall - Albany

Holy Residential Center, Eugene, OR

Home Builders Association, Eugene

I - 5 Glass - Springfield

Iron Works Gym - Creswell

Kendall Auto Group - Eugene

Lakeside Clinic - Eugene

Market of Choice 29th Street - Eugene

Mercedes Benz of Eugene

Metro Perc - Beaverton

Michael J. Criscione DMD - Lake Oswego

Mike Bratland, DDS - Roseburg

Next Door, Inc. - Hood River

Oakmont Family Dental - Eugene

Overlake Christian Church - Washington

Pacific Auto Repair - Eugene

Pacific Source Health Plans - Tigard

Peace Health Cottage Grove Hospital

Precision Classics & Collision - Eugene

Prime Med Medical Clinic - Cottage Grove

Ray's Food Center - Creswell

Reflections Hair Salon - Coburg

Roseburg Christian Fellowship

Siuslaw Valley Bank - Creswell

Siuslaw Valley Bank - Oakridge

Siuslaw Valley Bank - Pleasant Hill

Summit Bank

Sweet Life - Eugene

  The Bookmine - Cottage Grove

The Dalles and Hermiston Movie Theatres

The Rivers Church - Ellensburg, Washington

The Inn - Portland

US Bank - Chambers & 7th - Eugene

Wells Fargo Bank - W. Broadway - Eugene

 

 

 

How can you contact A Family For Every Child?
Call, email, or visit us online or in person!


contactus880 Beltline Rd.
Springfield Oregon 97477

office - 541-343-2856
toll free - 877-343-2856
fax - 541-343-2866


Executive Director--Christy Obie-Barrett
info@afamilyforeverychild.org

 

 

A Family For Every Child | 880 Beltline Rd. | Springfield | OR | 97477