Calling all volunteers!!!!

It's been a good 2012 so far, as our Family Finding program is rapidly growing! However, with such quick expansion, we are finding ourselves stretched rather thin because of our lack of available volunteers.  Our wonderful volunteers provide us with the tools and assistance we need to connect children with loved ones, but people of compassion often find themselves busy with many things.  If you are ready and willing to volunteer with a great organization, gain some experience in the realm of child welfare, and help a kiddo in need please go to our website, www.afamilyforeverychild.org, and fill out a volunteer application, or email me at caitlin@afamilyforeverychil.org for more information!  I look forward to hearing from all of you fabulous people!

"Family Finding" for Every Child!

The month of February is off to a great start: our Family Finding program is working to reconnect children with lost loved ones in Lane County, and we're trying to expand our reach! We are ready to take on more cases and help more foster children through Family Finding.  If you know of any social workers, foster children, CASAs, or any advocates for foster children (that's you!) spread the word about Family Finding and the benefits it provides for foster kiddos!

We need volunteers!

It's a new year, and we all have resolutions we are looking to keep.  One resolution I make and build upon every year can be described with simple language, but takes a lot of hard work.  That resolution is "do good."  This means helping others, and bettering the world around us, even through small actions.  One way you can "do good" and make serious, visible change in the life of a foster child is by volunteering with A Family For Every Child's "Family Finding" program!  We encourage all individuals to volunteer for any position they like, which includes file mining, internet searching, calling/engagement, family tree building, and even clerical support such as creating training booklets and informative pamphlets.  We are in need of more calling and engagement volunteers!  This role requires you to contact found family members, calling them and discovering new connections, and being an integral team member in deciding who is a good contact for the child.  You get to work closely with AFFEC staff as well as caseworkers working with foster children.  While this role requires diligent work, it is very rewarding and allows you to see the kind of "good" that can be accomplished!  If you have any questions, please email the Family Finding Director at caitlin@afamilyforeverychild.org.  It's a new year, let's make it a good one!

In the spirit of the season...

I find that around this time of year, as it gets a litter colder and much much darker, people's hearts seem to become warmer and bigger for those who are less fortunate.  More individuals volunteer at soup kitchens, give to the needy, and donate toys for children in need.  Unfortunately, even with all the "good-heartedness" that goes around, there are still many who find the holidays to be especially lonely.  This can be particularly true for foster children for whom the holiday season is a "trigger" for sadness.  This is why, even through the season where many of us are already giving, but time is sparse, giving some time to volunteer (or even just spread the word) for Family Finding can make an important difference in a foster child's life.  There are a number of kids whom AFFEC has reconnected to some of their biological family members, and I am thankful we were able to help them for the holidays.  There are still many who wish to find their biological family, and have a life long support system that will last them through the holidays to come.  By visiting our website, www.afamilyforeverychild.org, you can sign up to volunteer for one of our many programs.

Happy Holidays, and may your life be filled with warmth and joy.

A Family for the Holidays

In regards to the holiday tomorrow, I am thankful for being so lucky as to have such an amazing family, friends, partner, co-workers, and to be connecting foster children with their lost loved ones for the holidays.  So many foster children spend the holidays alone, and I am thankful for the opportunity to change that.  I am even more hopeful that every foster child will have a family, not just for Thanksgiving, but forever.

What are you thankful for?

So, what is Family Finding?

A Family for Every Child (AFFEC) is a non-profit organization based in Springfield, Oregon that offers a number of different services to support foster children.  Such services include our adoption agency, matching assistance program, family building program, mentoring, family finding, and our heart gallery.

Family Finding is a program that began with innovator Kevin Campbell, who recognized the need of foster children to know their biological family.  Family Finding utilizes current files, internet searches, calling, and personal connections to find loving individuals from a foster child's past.  Once such people are found, we are able to reconnect foster children with their lost family members and friends.  This builds a strong, lasting support network for children in foster care.

AFFEC's Family Finding program is different in the sense that we are almost entirely volunteer based.  Our file miners, internet searchers, and callers are all volunteers.  We recruit individuals who have big hearts and an appetite for work.  They have done amazing work helping us reconnect children with their biological family members, past friends, teachers, and former foster parents.  Our volunteers are remarkable people who dedicate their time and energy to helping make others' lives better - and isn't that what life is all about?