A Week of Arizonans for Children - Foster Care Awareness Month
It started off with us in the elevator.....
And in an office! Love Wacky Wednesday and reconnecting with beautiful people!
Midday break on the giant bear!
Andrea had a great idea to use some of the paper donation from Impact Printing as a conversation starter. We learned about what favorite foods the families have, what their favorite game is and what smells they like best.
With Mother's Day coming up we had a donation of tea cups beautifully wrapped and ready for the kids to choose one for their mom, foster mom, PA, case manager, therapist or who ever they want to gift the tea cups to.
We were even on Sonoran Living! Click the link below to watch:
Tom and Kristina were the first to donate for the annual Arizonans for Children Back 2 School Bash/Resource Fair for teens in foster care! And they brought in this amazing rainbow sloth!!
We will get about 100 teens in foster care at our Back 2 School Bash/Resource Fair. If you would like to hold a donation drive to help collect the necessary items that would be WONDERFUL!
If you have a company that hires entry level or a resource these kids that will age out at the age 18 can benefit from please contact Laura at az4chilren.laura@gmail.com
Our Mentor Program had some Match Meetings. Match Meetings are when the volunteer Mentor meets the child in foster care that they will mentor for the very first time!
From Mentor Coordinator Tim:
"As Foster Care Awareness Month rolls on another child comes off of our waiting list for mentors! Thank you Shelby for signing up to change this young girl's life for the better! Mentors serve 8 hours a month and set their own schedule. Not a high price to pay for changing the life of a child in foster care.
From Mentor Coordinator Monique:
"Even when a foster child is excited to meet their mentor, match meetings can start off a little slow. This didn't phase Viktoriya, though! She suggested they get out of the house and grab some ice cream and this young lady's face lit up. She even started talking about her favorite flavor! (It's cookie dough, by the way!)
Being patient is key to building trust with these children who have been through so much. Thank you, Viktoriya, for taking the time to get to know this sweet girl! I think you two will have a lot of fun together!
#FosterCareAwarenessMonth"
#FosterCareAwarenessMonth"
From Mentor Coordinator Monique:
"This is a long post, but I promise it's worth the read. This was definitely one of my favorite match meetings ever!
Children in foster care go through so much and have so many people come in and out of their lives. They tend to not only build walls, but push people away. They may come off very negative or uninterested. But, when you take the time to talk to them and show them you are interested in what they have to say, you can start to see through those walls very easily and realize that they just want someone in their life that they can rely on.
My interview with this young lady ("Jane") was a difficult one and I knew the match meeting might be hard, but Kristina was excited and up for the challenge. It started off slow and "Jane" wouldn't look at us or say much more than "I don't know". She was sitting sideways, almost with her back towards us. So, Kristina started talking about her interests and when she got to movies... scary movies, to be specific, "Jane" joined in. She described one of her favorite scary movies and next thing you know, she was facing and looking at Kristina, talking a lot!
I couldn't believe how much things changed in a matter of minutes and by the time I left, these two were sitting closer to each other, discussing their favorite Marvel movies!
Thank you, Kristina, for making this commitment to a child in foster care. You've already made such a difference for her and I can't wait to see what the future holds!
There were WONDERFUL Mentor updates and great visits!
From Mentor Coordinator Jeff:
"I talked with another mentor a few days ago. She was happy to report that her 9 year old mentee no longer has her shut down pouting moments and that things are much better. They are both happy going on their visits now, with no more pouting. The trick, she started asking her in advance what she wanted to do on the following week. She gave the child a voice and let her have "by in" by helping pick the activity. So many times these kids in care have no say or control of their life, and just giving them the opportunity to have some control of a small part of their life is valuable to them.
Carry on awesome mentors! #MakingADifference #MentorsNeeded#FosterCareAwarenessMonth #100KidsWaiting #8HoursAMonth#2HoursAWeek #HelpClearTheWaitingList"
Mentor Kathy has the BEST visit posts:
"Hubby John Williamson and I spent the day mentoring the Mentee Brothers. We all had a blast at indoor 3-D mini golf, lunch at McDonald’s, dessert at Bahama Bucks, then fun time at Freestone Park! It’s wonderful to see such an improvement in their behavior and hear good reports from the foster parents. Older mentee brother is no longer receiving behavior coach assistance. These young boys experienced trauma early in their lives and have made great progress towards healing. I am thankful to Arizonans for Children for allowing our paths to cross and a chance to make a difference. #Youcanmakeadifference #FosterCareAwareness #Volunteer #Bethechange#8hrsamonth "
We had fun Mentor Visit activities this week like Goat Yoga! Lil Goat Town graciously donates an evening once a month for children in foster care to go enjoy the beautiful farm setting while doing yoga surrounded by goats!
We recruited more volunteers at the Burton Barr Volunteer event! Thank you Belen and Jeff!
The Phoenix Visitation Center playground had some unexpected guests!
Sometimes home isn't a safe place and there is a need to 🐝 removed and placed in a temporary placement before being reunified.
The Arizonans for Children Phoenix Visitation Center had a family of 🐝's move into our playground wall. When they didn't move along on their own we called a 🐝 keeper
Now the 🐝's have been reunified in a safe location.
We launched a new Volunteer Opportunity!
The Arizonans for Children Sack Meal Program will help ensure the families on site have something to eat while they bond and work towards reunification. If you would like to get on the calendar to donate sack meals - email az4children.laura@gmail.com
Speaking of food, Community Connection - Food Donation Connection has been a fantastic blessing to the families we serve! This week saw an tremendous donation of fresh produce and dairy items. The center dining hall smelled like a farmers market!
The Phoenix Visitation Center was gifted a piano and the families are LOVING it! This little guy was dazzling us all while his sister danced to his concert. Music heals and this was a wonderful addition to the center.
A lovely woman names Eunice created these beautiful gratitude journals and book marks. Gratitude Journals started off as a seasonal volunteer project opportunity for the month of November as a way to remind folks there is always something to be grateful for. It was so special and well received that we have continued it throughout the year. Volunteers create journals and the families on site absolutely LOVE them!
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. This was just a glimpse into the goodness that happens at Arizonans for Children. None of this would be possible without our community support so thank you for enriching the lives of those touched by the child welfare system.
If you would like to volunteer we have opportunities for everyone!
Did you know you can find Arizonans for Children on:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/arizonansforchildren/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AZforChildren
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