You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Adopt

13th Annual Princess for a DayIt is important for children and youth to know how special they are, and AFFEC has put together many events to do just that, one of which has been put on for 12 years. Upcoming on August 15th is the 13th annual Princess for a Day event!This royal event will be hosted at the Valley River Inn in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday August 15th, 2021. A Family for Every Child will be providing this event as an opportunity for children from foster care and the community to be treated royally and make special lasting memories. It will be held from 10am to 5pm, with delightful royal activities including meet and greets with princesses, a red carpet photoshoot and a royal tea party. Princesses will have the opportunity to get their hair and makeup done, and get dressed up in a gown with a tiara and

    A Family For Every Child Image Source: UnsplashHow to Identify Signs of Trauma in ChildrenIt’s estimated that nearly 35 million children in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event in their lives. Children involved in adoption or the foster care system may make up a large percentage of that, as many of them come from traumatic circumstances. Some of those children might be struggling with symptoms of trauma without even realizing it. That’s why it’s so important to understand what those signs and symptoms are. The more you can recognize some of the physical and emotional “tells” of trauma, the sooner you can ensure a child receives the help and support they need. If you’re a parent or caretaker, you can be better equipped to take care of children, especially foster children, if you pay attention to the possible signs of trauma. With that in mind, let’s cover

Stephanie and Chris’s Adoption Success StoryHi, we are Stephanie and Chris, from just right outside of Houston, Texas. My husband and I have been married for eighteen years and have adopted three amazing children and are awaiting the finalization of our last two. Chris is an accountant by day and a grilling expert by night, and I have been blessed with a flexible job that allows me to work from home and walk the kids to the bus stop and pick them up every afternoon after school.Our two eldest boys were adopted as infants through private adoption, and we have been blessed to watch them grow into exceptional young men. Our first was a private international adoption when he was an infant, he is now sixteen and a joy to be around. Our first foster placement was about four years ago and lasted ten amazing months. While we were happy

Image Source: UnsplashHow to Make Your House More Welcoming to Foster KidsThere are currently over 400,000 kids in foster care, all looking for loving homes. As a foster parent, you’re doing something wonderful to provide a stable and caring environment for those kids as they wait to get adopted. So, if you’re looking into the foster care process, take pride in knowing you’re providing something truly special to children who need it most. Unfortunately, many kids in the foster care system have come from unstable environments. Some of them may have experienced traumatic events and have issues with separation anxiety, anger, or depression. Others have been in the system for years without finding a forever family. Therefore, it’s incredibly important to go above and beyond for your foster kids when you bring them into your home. Little changes can make a big difference.So, how can you make your house more welcoming to

National Foster Care Month Happy National Foster Care Month!  This May is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, honor and support everyone involved in helping find safe homes and forever families for foster youth around the world! Sometimes this means connecting foster kids with family members, and sometimes it means finding a new family for them. Children enter foster care for a variety of reasons, many of which are related to parents being unable to provide or take care of them due to challenges such as drug abuse, incarceration, death or illness.Thankfully, these kids still have a bright future ahead of them! A Family for Every Child is just one of many organizations and agencies that are working to find loving and supportive families for these children. National Foster Care Month is the perfect time to spread awareness and think about how to volunteer yourself! Be sure to take the time

Image Source: Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/people-woman-mother-child-kid-2566854/)How Foster Parents Can Help Ease Trauma ResponsesWhen you decide to open your home to a foster child, you are choosing to open your heart to a child who needs it most. The simple fact is that when children are taken into the foster care system, it is always already a traumatic event. Being separated from your parents, perhaps even from your siblings, and moving into a new home will almost inevitably trigger feelings of fear and loss. Children may suffer from guilt and shame in leaving their loved ones behind. They may even blame themselves for being removed from the home.However, the decision to place a child into foster care is never one to be taken lightly, and it typically follows a painful history of abuse and neglect. Being a foster parent, then, means more than simply loving a child. It also means learning to recognize the

AFFEC’s 2nd annual Art AuctionApril 19 – May 10, 2021 Spring is such a wonderful season, and this year it is the theme of AFFEC’s upcoming 2nd annual Art Auction. All of the artwork has been created by artists of all ages, from kids to adults! You can have a chance to participate in the auction when it opens the last week of April. Lasting for three weeks, this inspirational and artistic event raises money for A Family For Every Child’s many programs in order to support the amazing work that is being done for foster youth!Last year raised over $1,200. Would you be willing to help raise money for AFFEC and help us exceed our goal of $3,000?Learn more about our second annual Art Auction by visiting our website. For more information and to get answers to your questions, feel free to contact Alex Graham at: alex@afamilyforeverychild.org or 541-343-2856. Eugene MarathonApril

“Don’t forget, you are the hero of your own story.” – Greg Boyle   Although 2020 brought us many challenges, it is the hard times when heroes are able to make the best differences. From firefighters and medical workers to truck drivers and caring neighbors, people have been able to make a difference in the lives of those around them in many caring and heroic ways over the past year. A Family for Every Child wants to help children from the community and the foster care system know that they, too, can be heroes in the world today. A Family for Every Child is bringing you their virtual Hero for a Day event, premiering on Saturday, March 13th, 2021. These three hours of fun for kids ages 2 to 18 will begin at 12pm via Zoom so that you can participate wherever you are. Free registration is available now on the

 Introducing Responsibility at Appropriate AgesAs a parent, one of the most daunting tasks is preparing your child to be an adult. This requires a forward-thinking attitude, confidence, and an ability to trust and support your kids without doing so in a way that earns you that dreaded “helicopter parent” label.Here are a few common responsibilities that children are given as well as a suggested time and manner in which to introduce them.Getting Their First PhoneSmartphones are part of the modern lifestyle. They help with everything from receiving messages to keeping track of the time, the weather, and even your health. Tech titan Bill Gates waited until his kids were 14 years old to get their first smartphones. Even so, in 2016, the average age that a kid got their first smartphone was 10.3 years old. Why the discrepancy? Because the primary factor behind when to give your child a smartphone doesn’t

  One of A Family For Every Child’s many programs is the Lifebook Program, which provides special photo album scrapbooks that are put together for foster children. Life Books and Welcome Books A LifeBook is a meaningful collection of pictures and memorabilia designed for foster children. These scrapbooks are typically made of 8.5 x 11 pages that are compiled in an album or binder after being decorated with pictures and mementos from the child’s life. These scrapbooks are able to explain the story of the child’s birth, information about their birth parents, and the reason for their separation. The pages also include important moments of their life and adoption. A Welcome Book is a wonderful resource that helps introduce an adopted child to their new family. These scrapbooks, which are usually made of 8 x 8 pages, help the newly adopted child become familiar with the things they will encounter