DONATE
Many children arrive in foster care with only the clothes on their backs or their belongings in a trash bag they lug around as they transition from place to place. Donating clothes, luggage, school supplies, etc. can go a long way.
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VOLUNTEER
Help your local agency's fundraisers, help with agency events, or tutor children in the system. These are just a few methods of volunteer work.
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PROVIDE RESPITE CARE
Since foster parents have to follow strict regulations, babysitters or emergency contacts often have to licensed by the government. Respite care can also be more of a short-term commitment, taking care of children while they are in transition, etc.
OTHER RESOURCES
The Purple Project (advocates for children aging out of the system)
Foster Care to Success (ways to interact and help in the foster community)
All You Need
Brother Ali
It's the Hard Knock Life
Annie (musical 2014)
Home is Where I Make It
We Will Rise Nashville
Nobody's Child
Amanda Williams
Reagan, Student
Virginia Tech
I am an English major with a passion for children's and women's rights to the basic need for security. This website was made as a project in a Writing and Social Justice course.
Moving Forward
I have not determined whether I want to focus on children who have aged out of foster care or children who have experienced sexual abuse during their time in the system.
While I feel passionately towards all children in the system and their multitude of experiences, my blood boils when I hear stories of rape or other kinds of sexual abuse, particularly in group homes. The people supposedly protecting these children say that those experiences are simply what happen in places like group homes. Often, they don't even bother calling the police.
Those who age out of the system face a multitude of problems that society has failed to address in an influential manner. With such a focus on people's contributions to society, one might expect someone to take action to ensure the children they placed in a failing system at least leave with options. These children did not have a choice in what happened to them, but most often they have to deal with them on their own.