Meeting Needs and Granting Wishes

Counties are often limited in the resources they can provide. Funding is extremely limited and bureaucratic red tape keeps effective help grounded. Foster families often need therapy to process the trauma of the children. This type of service is rarely provided. Foster children often have sensory needs and would benefit from items often not covered such as weighted blankets and vests. Summer camps and classes abound for foster children, but often at too high of a cost for foster families. Foster Source uses donated and raised funds to meet needs of local foster families and children. Among the many needs recently met were a double jogging stroller for a family who had a new placement of siblings, a twin bed for a single foster mother with a new placement of a teen boy, and winter coats provided to local foster children before the winter months. Foster children have wishes like all children have. We received a wish from a local foster boy, age 10. His wish was to spend some time with other foster children so that he could be in an environment where he didn’t feel different. After meeting with his foster parents and learning more about his personality, we knew just what to do. We rented a 55 ft Video Game Truck, and invited several local foster children. We had over 20 players that day, and the children had a ball. We had pizza delivered half way through, and local businesses gave little treats for us to fill goodie bags for each child. While the children didn’t sit around and talk about how they were all in care, there was an immediate bond among them, knowing they were all living similar experiences. For one morning they didn’t have to feel different. They just had fun.