June, 2011

New Mentor Director!

Heather Smith is the mother of three children. Her background is in early childhood education. She spent the last 20+ years teaching preschool, kindergarten and specialized reading programs for early readers.

One of her goals is to try to find a mentor for every child in the foster care system. She feels every child deserves someone in their life that they can count on.

Heather is very excited to be part of the A Family For Every Child team!

NEW Adoption Material Giveaway!

Check out the front page of our website to see this new feature. There will be a new giveaway each month!

This month: Free Listing of Adoption Photolisting Websites!

Do you spend hours searching for adoption photolisting sites? In an effort to assist our families we will be offering different tools (monthly) to assist you in your foster and adoption journey.

This month our tool is a list of over 70 current photolisting sites. Take advantage of this great opportunity to find a child that would be a perfect fit in your family.

Mentor Volunteers Needed

We would like to recruit a volunteer for the Mentor Program that can go to different venues/businesses and attempt to get free tickets for activities for our mentors to use with their mentees. We would like that person to be able to find free family activities that are available this summer. Some of our mentors have expressed their concern about not having the funds to do extra things with the kids that they would like to do.

Do you speak Spanish and love kids? We are looking for male mentors to mentor children who speak fluent English but whose parents have limited English. Use your gifts of language to make a difference in a child's life.

Other mentor volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Family Adoption Specialists

We have a Matching Assistance Program that partners with families that are currently in the adoption process.This program is geared towards families who have not yet had a placement and have been in the process for a year or longer.

The goal of this program and the task of the Family Adoption Specialist is to walk alongside families in their journey. Give them feedback on their family profile page, perform child searches for them, correspond with caseworkers on their behalf and surround them with resources and encouragement.

While this may sound as a though it's a difficult position, please note that all training is provided by our organization and requires only that you are consistent and compassionate.

If you excel in communicating, following up and have the capacity to give 5 hours a week per family, we would love to have you. We ask for a 6 month commitment as families need as much consistency as possible. 

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!

Questions?

Feel free to call at 541-343-2856 or email: info@afamilyforeverychild.org

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Heart Gallery Mentor Program is to bring enthusiastic, dedicated, and caring adult members of our community and unite them with youth in foster care.

To provide someone who can be a friend, who will encourage and support them through their various transitions in life. To help instill independence, confidence and everyday life skills they will need.

Program Information

The Heart Gallery Mentor program was created to provide one-on-one mentoring relationships for youth who are living in foster care. Youth are matched with an adult volunteer mentor who has similar interests (which allows them to spend time together and form a friendship). We ask that the mentor spend approximately 10 hours a month with the youth doing things like: visiting parks, sports activities, watching a movie, doing homework, or talking about what life has to offer the child. These are just examples; many more options available.

The mentor and the mentee will decide what activities to do together to build a lasting bond. The mentoring program is designed to bring stable, long-term relational support to foster youth. Mentoring relationships can provide stable emotional support, increase self-sufficiency and expose foster youth to new cultures and experiences, thus broadening their vision of "what could be" in their lives.

Mentoring Kids from Foster Care to Success

By Tamar Abrams

Tamar Abrams is a strategic communications consultant based in Arlington, VA.
 

The more than half a million children being raised in foster care belong to all of us and deserve at least as much support, guidance and love as our biological kids. But the sad truth is that less than a third of the 25,000 young people who age out of the foster care system each year will obtain either a high school diploma or a GED. They are also much more likely than our biological children to suffer from depression as a result of childhood trauma, to become victims of crime or be incarcerated. 30% of them will become homeless at some point after leaving foster care.

This is not an indictment of foster care; in fact I am a foster parent myself. Rather it is a plea for more people to care about the needs and welfare of children who are in the foster care system. A big step in the right direction was taken this week when Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and President Obama added programs for mentoring foster youth to the list of national service programs through the Serve America Act.

Mentoring is a critical component in the success of teenagers, particularly for those who didn't have good role models in their childhood. The Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) is an amazing nonprofit organization with documented success in helping young people make the transition from foster care to success. OFA shared with me some letters from young people in their mentor program:

A young woman named Tina wrote to her mentor, "I never had a female role model to look up to. But then I got you and technically that's all I need. Over the last several years since you've been my mentor, life has had its purpose." Antonio wrote, "Having a mentor meant a lot of me. He not only acted as a big brother, but like a cane to help me walk through school. He gave me a better feel of how to be successful." And finally, Maria said of her mentor, "When things have gotten hard, my mentor has given me the strength to move forward. Even if other people were giving me negative responses, she would remind me that I can do it. She helped me make smart life choices. She's someone I will have in my life forever."

As a foster parent, I know the concept of "forever" can be a difficult one for children who are shuffled from one living situation to another. Impermanence can become the theme of their young lives and can shadow them as they become adults. That's why a mentor can be so critical -- offering advice, providing friendship and modeling a stable, successful life. Kudos to Senator Landrieu, President Obama, the Orphan Foundation of America, our nation's foster parents and mentors and all of those who hold our foster children close. You don't need to be a foster parent to have a positive impact on these children. You only need to care enough to mentor.

The President's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative

The goal of the President's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative is to encourage individuals, especially fathers, to be involved in the lives of their children, and to be positive role models and mentors for other children in their lives and communities. Join the President's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative by signing the Pledge.

Signing the Pledge is just one way to show that you will do your part to be a positive and supportive figure in the lives of children to help them reach their full potential. When you sign up, you get information on local and national events that support fatherhood and mentorship; links to exceptional fatherhood and mentoring resources; and, access to unique content.

English Version        Spanish Version

Papa's Pizza Fundraiser

Please join us at the Coburg Papa's Pizza on Monday, July 11th to raise money for A Family For Every Child. Print this flyer and take it with you and 50% of the cost from your purchase will go to help kids in foster care find forever families! You may also buy Fundraiser Bucks and 25% of that purchase will also go to this great cause. We will have brochures with more information about our organization and photos of kids awaiting their forever home.

Please help them and enjoy some great pizza while you're at it! See you Monday, July 11th at the Coburg Papa's Pizza in Eugene! Don't forget, just print out the flyer to remind yourself to bring it! 

AFFEC is the proud recipient of Bi-Mart's Willamette Country Music Festival's generosity!

Sign up NOW

They are making available to us 100 tickets for our Mentor/Mentee matches for a weekend of fun. Please submit your interest to christy@afamilyforeverychild.org.

Thank you Bi-Mart! 

The Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival is an exciting 3-day outdoor country music and camping event located near the historic community of Brownsville, Oregon. The 2011 dates are August 19, 20 and 21. This fantastic event is the Pacific Northwest's fastest growing concert and camping experience featuring more than a dozen of country music's biggest stars!

Besides star studded music, the Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival also offers RV and tent camping just steps from the grand stage. We are also excited to welcome Radio Disney, for the best in kids' entertainment and family fun! Make your summer concert and camping plans now. We look forward to seeing you in August!