Monday, November 21, 2011

Monday #45- Get Involved with Foster Kids!

Make Today Matter...
Facts:
  •  Over 500,000 children are in foster care and their average age is 10.
  • Approximately 46% of children are in non-relative foster family homes, 24% are in relative foster homes, 18% are in group homes or institutions, and 7% are in other placement types.
  • 41% of these children are white, 32% are black, and 18% are Hispanic.
  • The average length of stay for all children currently in foster care is 2.4 years.
  • 14% of the children in foster care have been there for more than 5 years.
  • Over 51,000 children are adopted annually through the foster care system.
A house doesn't always mean a home...
Take action today!
  1. Find a foster care facility near you. Contact them and ask how you can help.
  2. Sign up as a volunteer and get your family and friends involved.
  3. Be prepared. Volunteers at a foster care facility can be involved in everything from outside physical activities to arts and crafts.
  4. Become a foster parent or adopt a child.
You matter!
Children in foster care have been abused, abandoned, and/or neglected.
Many will not return to live with their parents or even a relative. While we wish the statistics were different, it is up to us to provide the love and support these children need.
They didn't choose to be placed in foster care, but we can choose to step into the gap and make a difference.
Who taught you how to ride a bike? Swim? Or prepare for a math test?
Whether you remember or not, those people cared...and so can you.

(Adapted from Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make a Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza)

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