Category: 00 – System Categories

Mission

“A Family for Every Child is dedicated to finding loving, permanent families for every waiting foster child.”

Our Vision

To facilitate, encourage, and publicize the need for families to adopt special needs children. To inspire and educate families that otherwise would not have thought of becoming an adoptive family.

The Future

One of our primary focuses of the upcoming year is the “aging-out” group of teens. These are children ten years old and older who are at risk of “aging out” of the foster care system. Statistics tell us that only half of these youths will graduate from high school, and fewer than three percent will graduate from college.

Finding permanent parents for teens before they exit foster care, no matter what their age, is the single greatest positive youth-development program. The greatest need in the adoption field is to do special recruitment, retention, and support for adoption of children ages ten and older.

Our focus will be lifetime-committed parents, adoption and teen-permanency programs, which will include Family Finding, ten-and-older adoptions and mentoring.

It has been quite a year and we thank you for that! We hope to continue to have your involvement and support in the future, as it is evident through our successful programs that we ARE making a difference. We could never be doing such incredible work without you and the support of the very generous community.

In Kind Donations

We need a large variety of items that help our programs to be successful. These items range from office supplies and furniture to gift certificates at local businesses. Please take a moment to read through our wish list below and see if you can help!

Office items

  • Blank CD’s & Cases to be used to send photos of children to caseworkers.
  • Table Easels
  • Picture Frames: 8″x10″ & 12″x18″
  • Digital Picture Frames
  • Photo Albums 4″x6″
  • Computers/Laptops
  • Large red table cloths for events
  • Office Chairs

Gift Cards & Coupons

We are in need of gift cards/coupons to local and national businesses that our mentors can use when spending time with a child. This helps to offset the cost involved for the many mentors who donate large portions of their time and money to be involved in the lives of these children. Additionally, we have a small army of volunteers who work tirelessly to create/update the website, family matching assistance programs, heart gallery, training, data input, etc. and it goes a long ways to show our appreciation to them once in a while with a lunch or dinner.

So, gift cards/coupons to coffee houses, restuarants, laser tag, paintball, bowling, golfing, etc.

Books / Games

Many of the children that are adopted are through A Family For Every Child are above toddler age and many of the parents are first time parents. To help with this new experience, we are looking for books and games that can be given to families and the children to start things off right.

  • Small light weight games that can be shipped
  • Crafts for kids
  • Books

Resources

Become a Sponsor

Links

Links to other Sites

A Family for Every Child Links

Experience after adoption:

Eugene Activites

Prom Dresses for Foster Girls Josephine’s Closet is an Oregon non-profit created to collect and distribute gently-used and new prom and other formal dresses to girls in need in Lane County, Oregon.

For further information, contact Lisa Christon, lisa.christon@co.lane.or.us , or call 541-682-4702

Attending Social Workers

Presenting Families

Presenting Social Workers

Community Mentor

National Mentor Partnership Program

Would you like to change the life of a foster child?

Many of our organizations do wonderful things to help foster children. Are you looking for other ways that can make a huge impact on the youth in your area? Start a mentor program and we are here to help.

A Family for every child was started in 2006 and has developed many successful programs to help youth in foster care. One of our most successful programs is our mentor program. Our goal for our mentor program is to create meaningful mentoring relationships that will help increase the odds for future success for the young person. Studies show that surrounding foster care youth with positive role models will help increase their odds for future success.

Mentoring relationships can play a huge role in helping foster youth reach their potential and have healthy successful lives. Research shows that youth who are mentored are 45 percent less likely to use illicit drugs; 59 percent more likely to succeed in school; and 73 percent more likely to attain higher life achievement goals. Foster youth are moved from school to school and home to home. They lack stability and permanency. It is our responsibility to ensure that these youth have the opportunity to build lasting relationships. These youth can learn to thrive when someone gives them the time and energy to show they care.

Want to set up a mentor program in your area?

The mentor support system provides guidelines on how to build new mentor programs and/or successfully help strengthen your old program. It focuses on designing and planning the program, managing the program and sustaining the program. As Oprah Winfrey once said, "A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself."

We will provide the following assistance for agencies working with "at risk" youth.

  • Selecting the management team for your organization.
  • Developing a financial plan
  • Promoting the program
  • Building relationships with Department of Human Services, therapists, schools.
  • Building relationships with community partners.
  • Recruiting mentors.
  • Training, screening, background checks on mentors.
  • Matching process.
  • Monitoring and support of the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Closure
  • Evaluation of the program's success.
  • Sustaining the program.
1-541-343-2856