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Posted on November 1, 2021 by Tiffany Kraker

Christmas magic For Michigan Fosters.

We’re THRILLED to partner with Wellness Co. for our first-annual Christmas Magic for Michigan Fosters initiative to support foster families. This November, for 5 weeks we’ll give you 5 ways to make Christmas Magic.

While November is the month for Thanksgiving, we want to work ahead to show foster families how thankful we are for their daily sacrifices with a gift at Christmas time. We’ll use all 5 weeks in November to work together with our community by collecting family presents, gift wrapping supplies, restaurant gift cards, and monetary donations.

Dr. Kelsey Prince and her team at Wellness Co. are helping to launch this initiative by opening their doors for donations and encouraging the community to stand alongside foster families in Ottawa County. Read below ways for you can become a part of this initiative.

5 ways in 5 weeks

Family Presents – board games, science kits, smores maker, snow cone machine, badminton set
Gift Wrapping Supplies – wrapping paper, gift boxes, tissue paper, tape, bows, ribbon
Local Restaurant Gift Cards – Holland, Zeeland, Grand Haven, Allendale, Hudsonville, Coopersville, Springlake locally-owned restaurants
Monetary Donations – to create Christmas gifts equally for foster families
Volunteer – to help wrap presents and deliver family gifts

All items can be dropped off at Wellness Co., 400 South State Street, Suite 250, Zeeland.

Faces of Foster Care

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Tiffany Kraker

These people – the ones who have stepped into foster care, not by bringing in fosters of their own, but by choosing to circle around us are too the faces of foster care.

Texts keep coming. “What do the kids need?” “What do you need?” “How can we help?” “How are you holding up?” “You’ve got this!” Toys are on their way and art supplies should be here by week’s end. Voicemails are left to remind us who we are lest we forget somewhere in the midst of the sadness and struggle.

These people – the ones who have stepped into foster care, not by bringing in fosters of their own, but by choosing to circle around us. The ones who have opened up room in their hearts – these generous, dependable, necessary people will not let us down. Most importantly, they will not let these kiddos down, because they too are the faces of foster care.

Our foster community is fortified through these individuals. No matter their role, a single act of showing up is a pledge of support for the vulnerable child and a foster family exhausting their resources to ensure the stability and healing of those children from hard places.

The faces of foster care are varied and vast, and we are grateful for every single one of them.

The faces of foster care are varied and vast, they range from our closest family and friends to organizations who understand and support our vision, and we are grateful for every single one of them. They keep us from drowning during the tumultuous first days of a placement. They keep us afloat until we can start to paddle on our own again, and they race right back should we start to sink. This is how a foster family is built – with love and late-night texts, freezer meals dropped off, respite on standby, cartons of goldfish and Amazon box surprises. Contrary to popular belief, a foster family is never just one family. It is a web of hearts and hands and helpers all tuned in to the same frequency, all answering the call to foster in their own way.

This May for Foster Care Month, we aren’t asking you to consider fostering a child. Instead, we’re thanking those who foster love and support for our foster community right here in West Michigan.

Have you always wanted to do something for the foster community, but aren’t sure where to start? Here are a few ideas:

Start here:

Become curious about the foster care system and connect with us

Sign-up to make freezer meals

Donate to Michigan Fosters 21-22 Program Funding Campaign

Offer to provide respite to a foster family

Ask your church what they can do to better support the foster community

Take steps to become trauma-informed to better understand the life of a foster child & family

Pray for children in care

Pray for parents with children in care

Sponsor a Michigan Fosters program or event

Encourage your coworkers and neighbors to learn about the foster community

Send a note of encouragement to a foster family

Do you have unique ways that you help support the foster care community? Comment below!

Faces io

Bringing Black History Home: Books & Movies to Explore as a Family

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Tiffany Kraker

Reserve time to gather around a good book or settle in for a movie night honoring the Black experience.

As foster parents, we are often provided the unique opportunity to care for children outside our own race or cultural heritage. This opportunity also brings huge responsibility as we must prepare ourselves to better understand the challenges and successes of people whose lives look different from our own. Black History Month offers a more intentional way for us to bring this education to the forefront and celebrate the contributions Black Americans have made and continue to make every day.

Reserve time to gather around a good book or settle in for a movie night honoring the Black experience. We have a great list of recommendations meant to both educate and entertain, so go pop some popcorn and get ready for the powerful conversations that are sure to follow.

February is dedicated to Black History, but books and films like these need space in our lives throughout the year. Commit to furthering your understanding by tuning in to the resources suggested below and dedicating some time for them each month going forward. Kiddos of all colors can benefit from these inspirational stories, and after the year we’ve all just had, who couldn’t use a little inspiration?

Our favorites:

10 Black History Books to Read as a Family

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History / Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History both by Vashti Harrison

A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon by Suzanne Slade

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport

Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasha Shabazz

My Name is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes (with illustrations by Bryan Collier)

The Who Was Series including books such as Who Was Rosa Parks, Who Was Ida B. Wells, Who Was Frederick Douglass, Who Is Barack Obama written by various authors

*A huge assortment of books focused on Black History and Black voices are available via YouTube as read alouds, as well.

10 Family-Friendly Movies Highlighting Black History in America

A Ballerina’s Tale (NR) Documentary, 2015

Hidden Figures (PG) Drama, Historical Drama, 2016

Remember the Titans (PG) Sports/Drama, 2000

Loving (PG-13) Romance/Drama, 2016

Selma (PG-13) Drama, Historical Drama, 2014

The Help (PG-13) Drama/Romance, 2011

42 (PG-13) Sports/Drama, 2013

Harriet (PG-13) Drama/Action, 2019

Red Tails (PG-13) War/Drama, 2012

The Great Debaters (PG-13) Drama/Historical Drama, 2007

*Many of the films with the PG-13 rating are more suitable for older children and teens as they may contain strong and/or offensive language, violence, and other adult content.

Do you have the Black History resources you would like to share? Comment below!

15 Ways to Support Foster Families

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Tiffany Kraker

“If it’s not too much trouble for you… “

– all foster parents

Imagine going from 2 to 4 children overnight. Or from 5 kiddos to 8 between lunch and dinner time.

This is what many of our foster parents experience every day. They wake up in the morning completely unaware that later that day, they will say “yes” to a placement call, expanding their family by bedtime with little notice or preparation. True, they signed up for this. These situations are ones they have agreed to with every licensing paperwork completion, but it doesn’t make each addition, however temporary, any less of an adjustment.

Any small kindness you can provide throughout a placement makes the transition that much smoother for everyone. Those hours the foster family doesn’t have to spend making dinner or picking up diapers allows extra time for them to help their foster children feel welcomed and comfortable in their new surroundings. Every text sent to check-in or listening ear offered helps our foster families feel seen and appreciated for their work that often goes unnoticed.

We know not all families are called to adopt, but we do believe everybody can do something. Below is a list of very helpful (and easy!) ways you can support a foster family. Pick just one task or all of them! Either way, that family will be forever grateful.

15 ways to help support foster families

Learn each foster child’s name and take time to get to know them
Drop off a freezer meal with every new placement
Offer to wash winter coats & boots at the end of the season
Lend bikes if you have unused ones in the right size
Drop off a stack of disposable items to make life easier (paper plates, silverware, toilet paper, paper towels)
Text when you are at the store to see if they need anything
Be understanding when they don’t text back (they totally meant to!)
Drop off lunch just because
Offer to come and entertain the kids so foster parents can catch up on daily tasks like cleaning (or showering!)
On hard days, leave muffins or donuts on the doorstep
Help transport kids to activities or school
Listen & validate the foster family’s feelings – there are seriously so many feelings
Encourage your church to support local agencies and nonprofits
Complete the paperwork to be a substitute caregiver for them
Ask what they need, pushing past replies of “Nothing” or “I’m not sure” (accepting help is hard, even for foster parents)

Do you have the capacity to help foster families but don’t personally know of any? Simply contact our team. We know plenty and would love for you to join our circle of friends!