Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony B. Williams and his mother Virginia E. Hayes Williams joined Kidsave President Terry Baugh and DC Child and Family Services Agency Interim Director Uma Ahluwalia to announce a joint initiative, Kidsave Weekend Miracles, designed to give local individuals and families the opportunity to invite older kids, age 12 and up, into their homes and, through a series of weekend visits, work as partners with the children in finding them adoptive families. Ms. Baugh also announced that Kidsave was launching recruitment for a wide range of volunteers in support of the children through a new “Champions of Hope” campaign.
The Champions of Hope Campaign, an innovative way to engage more citizens in support of these children, was unveiled at a lunch today sponsored by Howard University and Sodexho. Kidsave President Terry Baugh also described opportunities for local businesses, community organizations and places of worship to help engage their employees and members in activities in support of the kids.
“Many children in the metro area are waiting to be adopted. In Washington, DC alone, there are close to 650 children with the goal of adoption, of whom more than 300 do not yet have an identified home,” Mayor Williams said. “Another 750 children ages 12 and older have non-family-based permanency plans. Waiting children are disproportionately older and they are children of color. This new initiative provides the opportunity for people in the metro area to be Champions of Hope for these wonderful older kids who need adoptive families. This is a very personal effort for me, because I started life in foster care. Without my own Champion of Hope, my mother, I cannot imagine what my life would have been like. This program provides a wonderful opportunity to meet some great kids whose talents will go unnoticed if we don’t help.”
“We want all our children to have permanent families,” said Uma Ahluwalia, Interim Director of CFSA. “We don’t like to see them grow up in foster care. But most people wishing to adopt don’t automatically think of older youths as an option. This program will expose some of our teens to new people and experiences while it also increases their chances of adoption. This program is one of many new initiatives we are undertaking to help find permanent adoptive homes for our children.”
Kidsave will screen and train volunteer families and match them with a youth in foster care whom they will accept as a guest in their homes for two weekends a month. They will get to know the teens and introduce them to their circle of friends. Additional volunteers will mentor, befriend, and help provide enriching experiences for older youth in foster care.
Kidsave expects to serve up to 40 teens in 2006.
“The children in our program have incredible strengths and a great potential to enrich the families they join”, said Terry Baugh, President of Kidsave. “We are offering citizens who care an opportunity to get to know these children. Volunteer opportunities are available for busy people and those who have more time. We are identifying families to help DC kids in foster care and hope to eventually serve children in care in surrounding counties too. Fairfax County Department of Family Services Foster Care and Adoption staff was instrumental in the program’s development. Weekend Miracles is a wonderful way to make a tangible difference in a young person’s life. Our new Champions of Hope Campaign gives local businesses and organizations the opportunity to financially donate to the program, receive visibility for their involvement, and involve their employees and members as volunteers. Monthly events will make it possible for people in the community to meet these kids. We look forward to collaborating with local businesses, places of worship and other organizations to sponsor these events.”
The Kidsave-CFSA partnership is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is sponsoring new ways to achieve permanence for older youth in foster care. It builds on District success in more than doubling adoptions of foster children from 168 in 1998 to 412 in 2004 and Kidsave’s 94% success rate moving older orphans from foreign orphanages into permanent families through visits with families. These successful family visits were the inspiration for building a local program to help older, local youth in foster care.
“The most exciting part of this campaign is that it engages the whole community in saving DC kids,” said Virginia E. Hayes Williams, mother of Mayor Anthony Williams and an Honorary member of Kidsave’s Board. “We invite citizens in all sectors of the Metro area to become Kidsave Champions of Hope. It is no longer okay just to read about the troubles of local kids without parents and do nothing. This program invites participation – you never know who you know, who knows someone, who is exactly the right parent for a particular child. Experienced parents, singles and individuals of all ethnicities are welcomed.”
Kidsave is taking applications for hosts, mentors and advocates. Orientations and training commence in February.
For more information or to volunteer, call 202-237-SAVE (7283) or visit www.kidsave.org |
