There are many, many things that can be done to support those in the foster care community. We will be covering 31 of them today, in honor of #FosterCareMonth.
Many of these ideas require very little time or money, although some require considerably more time, effort, and financial resources. All of them will help fill you with a sense of the joy of giving back and helping those in need. We are including an idea for each day of the month, but please don't feel like you have to do them in order, or even do them all. Just pick and choose whatever suits your abilities, financial situation, availability, and resources.
The foster care community includes:
Biological Families - Grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc.
Biological Parents - Including step parents.
Child Welfare Professionals - Including social workers, CASA Workers, GAL's, Mentors, Counselors, Volunteers, etc.
Foster Care Advocates - Private Advocates, Bloggers, Speakers, etc
Foster Alumni - Those who have aged out of foster care (and still have many needs)
Foster Families - The extended family of foster parents, many of whom assist foster parents with caring for children
Foster Parents - Those who do the day-to-day work of caring for foster children
And, of course, Foster Youth - Most of whom are unable to share their needs with the general public.
So, what can you do if you aren't in one of the above groups? Well, the most obvious, of course, is to join one of the groups (more information below), but there are so many other ways you can help the foster care community that don't require degrees or training!
Contact elected officials and ask them to proclaim the month of May as Foster Care Month - This may not seem very important, but it is. Foster children learn their worth (or lack of worth) by watching the adults around them. If their community doesn't seem to think they're important, they'll start thinking they're not. So get as many high-powered people on board as possible.
Contact the media and ask them to do a story on foster care and National Foster Care Month - Again, as many as you can get on board. This month is the easiest month to get them on board, due to National Foster Care Month, but this can be done at any time if you convince them there's a great human interest piece for them to cover. Contact your local newspaper, TV, and radio stations and ask them to cover National Foster Care Month, including where to get more information about foster care, foster care events for the month of May, and maybe a few agencies that support the foster care community.
Sponsor or co-sponsor events to promote National Foster Care Month - If you can solicit donations for local agencies that support the foster care community, this would be even more beneficial.
Contact large companies and ask them to support National Foster Care Month - They could donate goods and services to foster parents and/or foster children, supply volunteers to agencies that need them, send out a bulletin encouraging employees to check into fostering/mentoring, create a training company for foster alumni, create internship programs for older foster youth, etc.
Contact your local child welfare agency to see about becoming a foster parent, mentor, or volunteer.
Contact your local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) agency to get more information about becoming a CASA worker - These workers are very valuable and sorely needed. They are advocates for children and can often be the only familiar face in their lives. Many CASA's are in a child's life from the time they enter care until they age out, which can be a decade or more in some cases.
Look into becoming a Guardian ad Litem, counselor, or social worker - if you already have training in these areas or are willing to go back to school, these are very important to foster children.
Support and encourage Biological Parents - Yes, this is contrary to everything most people believe is important, but it is SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT! Regardless of the reasons behind their children being in care, foster children deserve the best. If their birth parents aren't able to care for them, then of course that means adoption - if possible. There are so many children in care that adoption isn't always an option for some children, especially those needing specialized care. If their parents are able to provide a better alternative to living their childhood in foster care, don't we owe it to them to do our best to give them everything they need to be successful? In addition, even if a foster child doesn't hear how you feel about their biological parents, they will feel it. This causes them to internalize feelings of low self-worth and believe that if people think their parents are (insert whatever negative word you associate with biological parents here), they must be too. And this is not just a temporary thing when they're children - it can spill over into their own feelings about themselves as parents, even much, much later. In fact, many foster children go on to create foster children who create foster children. We have to stop this cycle somehow.
Support Foster Parents - Many people believe that foster parents are superheroes, but even though they do work hard and do what sometimes seems impossible, they ARE just people like you and me. They get discouraged, they get overwhelmed, and they DO need help sometimes, just like us. They need breaks, and they need support emotionally, physically, and financially. They put their all into caring for foster children, so let's care for them. Some things you can do include: praying for them, feeding them (meal trains, sending over frozen meals for nights where they're too exhausted to cook or a foster child is having a rough day and need all their attention, gift certificates to local restaurants, etc), passing along resources for places they can get clothing, counseling, services for their home/car/foster children/selves at low cost or free, providing respite care (contact your local foster care agency for more information), or even by donating clothing/furniture/bedding/toys/hygiene items and/or gift cards to provide immediate needs for emergency placements.
Help recruit foster parents - Contact your local child welfare or nonprofit foster care agency to get information you can share with prospective foster parents.
Host or support foster parent appreciation events - Let foster parents know the community appreciates their hard work and is here to support them.
Send a letter to a foster parent thanking them - If you are a member of the community, you could thank them for their care of foster children in their community, or if you are a former foster child, thank them for caring for you.
Collect toys for birthdays or Christmas - You can donate these directly to an agency or foster parent (especially for birthdays), or you can donate to local agencies that provide Christmas presents to children in care.
Provide care packages throughout the year - Foster children won't have all the comforts of family, and in many cases their foster parents aren't able to provide extras. So sending things like "spa kits" for teen girls, comfy pajamas, kid-friendly movies complete with popcorn and treats, stuffed animals, etc may just make their week. Please check with foster parents to be sure there are no allergies or special needs first.
Volunteer to tutor foster children - Often, foster children experience multiple moves, school semesters are disrupted, they may have days or weeks between school placements, they are placed across school systems... This results in lots of confusion during school years, and many kids fall behind. This can also lead to behavioral issues to cover up educational shortcomings. Offer to tutor a child and help them stay on track with their peers so they can have the best opportunities available to them.
Host a fun outing for a foster child or them and their foster family - A day at a local theme park, a movie outing, even a picnic in the park... These can all encourage foster children and their foster families. (Make sure to get permission from the foster parents first!)
Host a special party for foster kids - Foster parents can't always throw parties for each foster child's big events, but perhaps you can. Some events that are worth of parties include: their birthday, holidays (some children have never had Christmas or Easter), or if they do something extra-special such as get an all-A report card, improve their grades, or meet a goal, etc. Again, be sure to ask the foster parents if it's okay first!
Sponsor a foster child to improve natural talents (provide lessons or pay for lessons in music, dance, visual arts, sports, etc) - Many foster children don't have the same opportunities to cultivate talents as children living with their biological families. If you know of a foster child who has talent, why not support it? It could be the key to them being successful and being a responsible member of society as an adult.
Sponsor a child for summer camp - These camps can be great ways to make lasting friendships, and many children learn valuable skills, such as learning how to swim or survive in the wilderness (should they ever need it).
Provide luggage to foster children - Often foster children have to transport their belongings in trash bags or boxes. Aside from being demoralizing (sending the message that these children's belongings are no better than trash doesn't help their self-esteem any), it is a really easy way to lose belongings, either because bags get lost, mistaken for actual trash, or the bags rip and things fall out. Giving foster children luggage is a really special gift to them, especially if it is personalized in some way.
Teach older youth life skills - You would be surprised at how many foster children leave foster care not knowing how to drive a car (much less having a license), how to rent an apartment, how to do their taxes, or even how to cook, clean house, ride the bus, apply for a job, etc. Basic skills needed to survive, are sadly lacking for many young adults who have "aged out" of foster care.
Provide an older foster child with a job - Many foster youth find themselves without financial resources as they approach their entry to adulthood. They have always had child welfare there to provide for their needs, and will soon find themselves in really bad situations without enough money to survive. One of the best ways to help an older foster child, is to help them provide their own financial stability as they look forward to being on their own.
Get your church involved in helping foster children and foster parents - The church was originally called in the bible to "help widows and orphans", and some still fulfill that calling, but many churches have abandoned this practice. If your church isn't helping foster children, get them involved! This is a great way to recruit foster parents, but your church can also do fundraising, send volunteers, adopt children for Christmas, support youth who have aged out, sponsor current and former foster youth who are in college, and much, much more!
Volunteer at charities that support foster families and foster children - There are likely many in your area, you just have to know where to look. Are there places that provide clothing, school supplies or cars to children in care? Or even furniture and financial support for aging out foster children? What about counseling or resources to foster parents?
Perform acts of kindness and leave info about National Foster Care Month behind - Our current technology allows things to "go viral" constantly, and "acts of kindness" are one of the things that most often go viral. Why not create a card or letter about National Foster Care Month and leave it with people you perform an act of kindness for? (And please feel free to share it with us as inspiration!)
Write a thank you note to a foster care agency and thank them - Many agencies probably only get anger and sadness directed at them. It would be nice to get gratitude and love instead once in a while. Feel free to continue this after National Foster Care Month ;)
Make a display to honor foster children (IE paper dolls, blue ribbons, etc) - Many local governments do this, but if yours hasn't, find out how you can start one. Or find out how you can create one at your business, school, or church.
Volunteer to sit with foster children in the hospital who are alone - Sadly, many foster children have to be in the hospital due to severe injuries or illnesses, some even terminally ill. Not all of them have foster parents, or foster parents able to be with them the entire time they are in the hospital. Unfortunately nurses and doctors have too many patients to be able to focus on individual patients for long amounts of time, and social workers have too many cases to visit them very often or long. There are programs that do this, but they have many other patients needing support as well, so sadly can't provide sole support for one patient either. Contact your local child welfare agency and see if there's a program in your area for volunteers to sit with these children, and provide some loving care and a break from the pain and loneliness of the hospital and procedures.
Post flyers/posters about National Foster Care Month - Create flyers/posters, or use some made by foster care agencies, and post them any place you are able. Some great places to start are churches, schools, businesses, libraries, and community centers.
Host a fundraiser and donate funds to a charity (local or national) that supports the foster care community - Some ideas of fundraisers include creating t-shirts to sell, creating a GoFundMe or Facebook fundraiser, bake sales, change drives, collect soda cans, newspapers, or scrap metal and donate the proceeds from recycling, have a crafts sale, wash cars, sell candy or snacks, have a garage sale... There are so many fundraising ideas it would be impossible to list them all here.
Convince a business in a prominent location to host a Heart Gallery Exhibit and promote it - Heart Galleries are great ways to help foster children get adopted. Another way you could do this, if you aren't able to create a physical exhibit, is to host one on your website or have your business agree to create a page on their site for National Foster Care Month, and host one there.
Have an idea we didn't cover? Please post it in the comments!