Relatives As Parent's Program

There will be a free Relatives as Parents Workshop on Saturday March 24th, 2012 at Trinity Lutheran Church (1600 Kanawha Blvd. East Charleston, WV). Topics include: Enrolling Children in Care in School presented by Frances Pack of Kanawha County Schools and An Overview of the IEP (Individual Education Plan) presented by Rhonda McCormich of Legal Aid.

Those who should attend include: Kinship Parents, Foster Parents, Social Workers, DHHR Staff, and any interested parties. The day starts at 9 a.m. with coffee and registration. The first workshop begins at 9:30 and the day concludes at 4:00 p.m.

A free lunch will be provided. Please register before the DEADLINE of March 16th, 2012. You can register by calling Mission WV at 866-CALL-MWV or by emailing Laura Lou Harbert at lharbert@missionwv.org

We hope to see you there!

Happy Holidays!

The FrameWorks staff of Mission WV wishes you a very Merry Holiday and a happy New Year! We thank everyone who frequents our blog, website and/or facebook page. We thank you for openings your lives to youth who are in foster care and need to know that the community cares about them. It is important that we remember children in foster care not only during the holiday season, but all year long.

Below is our list of ways to support foster care all year long!

January - Write a note to a child in foster care that provides encouragement and advice for the new year. We will give the note to one of the children we work. We can also work with you if you would like to provide a specific child with care packages throughout the year.

February - Bake Valentine cookies and donate them to a group home facility. We can connect you with the facility!

March - Send flowers to a social worker who goes above and beyond to find families for the children they serve. A group of people could chip in on this and a member of our staff will help you with finding a social worker to give to if you don't already have one in mind.

April - Put together a "rainy day" care package for a kid living at a group facility. We can provide gift ideas.

May - National Foster Care Month! Make or join a team for "Walk with Me...for Youth in Foster Care."

June - Time for another care package that could include summer fun items.

July - Send a thank you note or a note of encouragement to a foster or adoptive family. They would probably really appreciate a small gift certificate for a family activity like a visit to the ice cream store or a night out to the movies.

August - School will be starting and a little back-to-school care package would be a great gift to a child in foster care.

September - this is a time of year when a lot of kids get to go school shopping with their families. Children living in a group facility typically don't get to enjoy that type of experience. A gift card to a clothing store would come in handy and one of our adoption workers could take a child for a one on one shopping trip. This way, the child would get to have a fun day and feel extra special.

October - Halloween! Send a residential facility a bunch of candy or Halloween themed baked items.

November - November is National Adoption Month! This can be a difficult month for kids who don't have a family to eat Thanksgiving Dinner with. This month, you can help out by attending a National Adoption Month event and saying a special prayer for children in foster care who are waiting for a forever family.

December - The holidays are here! You know what you can do!

If you would like participate in one or more of these suggested ways to help both foster parents and children in foster care - call us! Our number is 866-CALL-MWV - ask for Carrie Robey.

Carry-On Campaign back to school drive

The Carry-On Campaign, launched in October of 2010 to eliminate garbage bags as luggage for youth in foster care, is organizing a back to school drive. Every kid deserves to start the school year with the appropriate tools they need for a quality education. We are reaching out to West Virginians and asking that you please donate a book bag filled with school supplies.

We've put together a flier with suggested items for the book bags. These are just suggested and all items are not required. To view this flier, please click HERE.

Once you have your donation ready for delivery, take it to one of the following drop-sites or call and talk to Carrie - our number is 866-call-MWV. We suggest, if a number is provided, that you call the drop-site first so they can expect you and your donation.

Thanks in advance for making a difference in the lives of youth in foster care. Again, if you have any questions at all, give us a ring.

FREE Camp Alert!

Yes, this has been posted on our e-newsletter and you'll see it again on our quarterly paper newsletter, but it is really important! This is a FREE camp that is AWESOME! Your foster and/or adopted kids will love it and did we mention it is FREE!?

Royal Family Kids Camp is a National Camp for children between the ages of 7 - 11, who are or have been in foster care. There will be a camp in Putnam County and another in Cabell County. The camps are August 1-5, 2011. There are still available spaces for the Putnam County Camp! Contact Carol Phipps for camp applications. Give us a ring at 304-562-0723 and ask to speak with Carol.

A Family's Adoption Story

Below is a story written by an adoptive mother. We hope that reading this story encourages you to open your life to adoption or foster care if it is something you've been thinking about. If you have already opened your life to fostering or adopting, we hope you enjoy reading about the experience of another parent. If you would like to share your story with us, we would love to hear from you.

A family's story:

In our family there is Jonathan, Cyndi (myself), Kinsington (Kiki), and Anthony. Everyone has been a foster/adopt child except for Jonathan- he is kind of the odd person out in our family.

I was very young when I was adopted. I was the only foster/adopt person ever in my family but I was never treated any differently. My parents have a biological child that is several years older than I am, my brother Christopher, who I am very close to.

When I became old enough I realized that I wanted to adopt children. I wanted to give someone a home just like I was given. In my work life as a therapist I saw several foster children that I realized their life would improve so much if they just had two things- consistent love and consistent guidance.

I completed the PRIDE classes and the home study and became a foster/adopt parent. I was blessed with Kiki who was turning 4 and Anthony who was turning 2. Here I was 24 years old single with 2 children who had very difficult past including abuse and neglect. When the kids were 9 and 7 Jonathan and I started dating he would come over every evening for dinner and leave at 9:00pm every night. Eventually Kiki said “ Can we just sign for him already he is here all the time anyhow and I pretty much already consider him my dad” So after a brief explanation to Kiki that we do not adopt him that would mean Jonathan and I would get married. “She said adoption- marriage what’s the difference you still become a family” Needless to say Jonathan and I were married 2 months later.

Kiki was scared of everyone at first hiding in corners, scared of having a bath, would get up in the middle of the night and hoard food. I thought how am I going to help her? Time truly was the answer she has blossomed into this wonderful full of life person that is willing to try anything. Kiki is a natural with younger children and loves to play with them and comfort them when they are upset. She is in every activity available it seems including, softball, basketball, pageants, volleyball, etc. Kiki is very passionate about the work Mission, WV does and realizes that there are several other children out there that need permanent homes. Kiki’s pageant platform is Mission, WV and every chance she gets she speaks about their mission and what others can do to help. Several people have stated they are surprised “a foster/ adopt kid participates in pageants”- her answer to them is simple “We are kids just like everyone else we just had a different path given to us than you to get to where we are today”

Anthony has the greatest laugh in the whole world and while Kiki and Anthony do not look much alike as biological siblings there bond is very strong. Anthony has epilepsy and developmental delays, but there is definitely something so wonderful about having a child like Anthony. I have learned to appreciate all the little accomplishments that I used to take for granted. When Anthony is happy for a full day, or a day with no seizures, a day was he learns to read a new word, or writes his name, a day where he is able to tell me how his feels- These days are the best days. I know several people have reservations about adopting a child with a medical problem or a learning disability but these children bring so much more to your life than you realize. Anthony has recently received approval from his doctors to go to Disney World. We had planned a Disney trip 3 times in the last 2 years but unfortunately due to Anthony’s health we were unable to go. So think about us in the third week of June as Anthony is going to accomplish one of his lifelong dreams- to see the castle at Disney World. You can bet that Jonathan, Kiki and I will be crying tears of joy as soon as we hit the parking lot.

We look forward to several more years working with Mission WV to help foster children across our state. We could think of no other organization that we would want to support more than this one.

Walk With Me....for Youth in Foster Care

We have a walk name! The walk name is "Walk With Me" and the tag line is "for Youth in Foster Care." The Recruitment and Retention Collaborative voted on the name after reviewing all submissions and we are all really happy with the name. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry - there were so many great ideas! The person who gets credit for the name of the walk is Julia Kessler from Children's Home Society - thanks Julia!

The date for this year's walk is officially set as May 21st! We will update soon with registration and start times for the day of the walk. Also, we will hopefully very soon have a website so that you can register your team or as an individual and start raising funds for youth in foster care!

A Home For the Holidays!

Don't miss this heartwarming holiday special that will air on CBS on Wednesday, December 22, 2010, featuring all-star talent. See the joy of having a family through the eyes of a child -- not just for the holidays, but forever.

Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, Ricky Martin, Nelly, Katy Perry and Jimmy Wayne will perform. Presenters include Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Mira Sorvino.