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We taught together at Merry Oaks Elementary for a couple of years. It wasn’t easy—we worked 80-hour weeks—but we loved those kids and families so much. Visit fostervillagecharlotte.org or facebook.com/fostervillagecharlotte for more information and ways to get involved. If you are already a full-access volunteer (background check, training, childcare webinar training completed) the portal is a great way to have all up-to-date information in one place! Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities?
Johnson C. Smith University has big plans for an historic house - WBTV
Johnson C. Smith University has big plans for an historic house.
Posted: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Q2 Connect Pillar Program Highlights
It will be imperative for us to set healthy guidelines for eligibility and liability. Creating pathways for earned revenue including curriculum design and the use of the FVC Resource Centers on off-hours for like minded individuals and organizations. FVC is interested in developing earned revenue pathways that diversify funding and allow us to be an expert in the field. Knowledge of copywriting curriculum, becoming accredited to provide CEU credits to educators and therapists, and setting up facility terms and agreements are all areas of future growth within the organization. Over the next several months, this family comes back to the FVC Resource Center for trauma-informed trainings, foster family gatherings, family attachment and connection classes, and therapy-led support groups.
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I knew I could have a tangible, meaningful, and positive impact through the beauty of my artful designs. When you purchase any items from our House Collection, we donate 100% of the purchase price to Foster Village Charlotte. Your purchase supports the work of Foster Village Charlotte, which ultimately impacts those who need it the most. My hope is the Safety Pin House serves as a reminder that when we all come together, children can have a safe place to call home.
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Become a monthly donor and help fuel our mission, every donation helps and everyone can make a difference. Foster and adoptive parents Heather, Peter and Diana all credit their families’ success in part to help from others. The median household income in Charlotte, North Carolina is$67,385.The median household income for the surrounding county is $71,482compared to the national median of $66,222.The median age of people living in Charlotte is37.1 years.
Abused and neglected children lingered in bad situations. But Becky Santoro and her team at Foster Village Charlotte, a nonprofit that provides support for foster families, were prepared to act. In just the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region there are currently close to 600 kids in the foster care system. Over six months, they ramped up support groups, hosted meetings with the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, and doubled the number of first-time donors. Seventy percent of our organization is run by individual donations. We’re trying to show that everybody can impact foster care, not just foster parents.
Together, we can untangle the complexities of foster care and create a community of support and hope.
Work to grow part-time staff roles into full-time roles, increasing FVC's capacity for program implementation, fund development and operational fidelity. FVC recognizes that capacity-building requires leadership at the helm. We have operated on a small scale team with limited compensation for co-directors so that we could increase the number of staff on our team in the future.
They provide resources such as welcome packs, funded trainings, support groups, and classes to help ensure a healthy transition for children in crisis. This is why we are proud to support Foster Village Charlotte and their mission. Part of their success, Santoro believes, comes from Foster Village’s reliance on its five staff members, all of whom have fostered children themselves. Santoro has four children, ages 10, 8, 6, and 4; she adopted the younger two.
One hour after that call, we got another call about a child who needed a home. Your support gives vulnerable children and families the village of support they need to thrive. Foster Village bridges this gap between foster families and caregivers and those who want to help, meeting practical needs and providing holistic support beyond the system. As children and caregivers navigate a messy child welfare system, our volunteers help bridge gaps and remind families that they are not alone through the ups and downs of foster care.
They stop by the Resource Center and are greeted by FVC’s Program Coordinator. The child plays in the trauma-informed playroom and assists their new caregiver in choosing the items they want to go into their Welcome Pack. The foster family learns of additional trainings and events that will help them adjust to their new reality and engage further in the village of the foster community. Most families foster for less than a year, citing burnout and lack of support as the reason they stop. At the same time, 85% of people who are not foster parents say they care about vulnerable children and want to help. With the launch of Project SOOTHe in 2020, we addressed the critical lack of services and long therapy waitlists.
To achieve program goals, we will need a continued strong partnership with Mecklenburg County DSS which may also include a court program that will help us pilot phase 2 of the program. In addition, we also need strong leadership with lived experience as a birth family to ensure we are being intentional and thoughtful in our program design. This program expansion would also include the need for a new staff member and additional oversight and navigating to community resources that extend beyond the mission of FVC to help families sustain permanency. Reunifying families is a vulnerable population but there are risks involved including safety for our team and the children we serve.
Five years ago, shortly after she welcomed her first foster child, Santoro began to regularly meet three other foster parents at a playground. They told her they lacked resources and felt overwhelmed. Santoro envisioned an organization to support foster caregivers, and by the time she welcomed her second foster child, Santoro and the three other parents—Molly Zalewski, Sloan Crawford, and Traci Prillaman—had co-founded Foster Village.
Foster Village Charlotte’s mission is to make that transition easier and provide resources and support for children and families. The journey is often lonely and emotionally exhausting for everyone involved. It was this challenge that prompted four Charlotte-based foster moms to seek out support during their own foster care journeys. After finding each other, they quickly realized the need for a community of support that would ensure every foster parent had the resources they needed to continue offering a safe place for children. Today, even with the disruption of the pandemic, Foster Village thrives.
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