We are living out a chapter of a future history book. It’s interesting to think about and helps me reframe current events. I’m a mama holding on to hope over here.
And I’m sure I’m not alone.
We are all walking parallel paths during this crisis. A friend of mine is a working mom facing an abrupt pause in her career. Another is a small business owner who has been hit hard. Still another a single foster mom to 5 who is working from home, now homeschooling, while also trying to practice necessary self-care which is tough when she can’t even find the diapers she needs.
I have the privilege of being the director of Foster Village Waco, a 501c3 nonprofit in McLennan County whose mission is to be a community of support to McLennan County families involved in the child welfare system. I get to work alongside dedicated team members, selfless volunteers, and generous community parters and business that are working hard at linking arms to weave a net of support for underserved families on the front lines of caring for vulnerable children.
I wish the #toiletpapercrisisof2020 was the main thing on my mind. Heck, I wish it was the virus. The thoughts running through my mind like an awful carousel are about kids who are at home with parents that were already on the edge. The hope I’m holding to is that in the absence of time at work with kids at school, and with the additional stress of social distancing and potential lost wages, that this season won’t be a contributing factor to the abuse of a child. Hope.
Our team at Foster Village Waco has been brainstorming ways we can help children and families in practical ways during this crisis. Sitting on the sidelines is not how we do this thing. We hope you’ll join us.
- Thanks to a generous community member we have access to toilet paper. If you know a foster/kinship/reunifying family who is in need of this critical necessity, please contact us at: Amanda@fostervillagewaco.org
- Online Welcome Pack training (coming soon)! The perfect volunteer opportunity right now. Complete our training online and be able to go to our Care Closet to build a Welcome Pack for a child(ren) recently involved in the foster care system and then leave it on the doorstep of the family caring for the child(ren)
- Families Helping Families- This is an invitation to members of the community to buy a meal for a local foster family from local businesses- my deepest hope is that this will be a way to lighten the load of this season for foster fams and small business owners’ families. A sign up will be announced on our social media and via email the week of March 23-27.
- Teaming up with Foster Village affiliates nation-wide to offer families involved in foster care a safe place to connect, process, and gain practical tools from experts in trauma-informed care, child development, mental health, and social work as well as seasoned foster parents who have seen it all. If you are a foster family, please search “Virtual Village for Foster and Kinship Caregivers” on Facebook and answer a few questions to be added.
We are feeling big feelings about not being able to offer our usual monthly Support Gatherings and hug the families we serve in person as they navigate this difficult time with little notice or time to adjust. We hope the programs we are putting in place will lead to stronger families, a deeper community, and that the bridges built will stand strong even as this virus vanishes.