Jennifer is in the process of adopting two young children whom she has been fostering for a little less than a month. The children are two of four involved in a dependency case in which the parental rights were terminated because of a history of abuse. With the Christmas holiday around the corner, she wanted to pick up new clothing for the children who came with so little to wear. She was worrying if she would be able to provide the Christmas that they deserved with what she saved from the funds she is receiving from the dependency system and what she makes at work. Luckily, she received a call from her Guardian ad Litem (GAL) volunteer that made her concerns disappear.
The GAL volunteer explained that she would be registering her two foster kids for a special Christmas shopping spree that Voices For Children Foundation and Old Navy at the Shoppes at Dadeland were organizing for Miami-Dade’s foster children.
On Saturday, December 17th, Jennifer hurried to the store to participate in the event. While she shopped, the kids received a remarkable surprise; their two other siblings involved in the case were also at the event! They hurried to say hello and hug their other two siblings. Without planning it, the two foster moms had been invited to the event and randomly found each other.
“It was a surprise, while we were here the kids found the other foster mom [Liz]. They recognized their siblings. It was really beautiful, to see them play. They see each other every Wednesday, but I never met the children and their foster mother” says Jennifer.
Following the emotional moment, Jennifer and Liz got to meet each other, share stories about the kids, their case, and even think of ways to keep the kids in contact after they go through the process of adoption.
Liz says: “I am glad to get to know Jennifer because I am hoping to keep this family in each other’s lives. After the adoption goes through, I am really going to push for constant visitations and play dates because I don’t want them to grow without each other.”
During the event, more than 100 kids received $100 gift cards to shop for clothing at Old Navy at the Shoppes at Dadeland. But thanks to Voices For Children and the Guardian ad Litem Program, this family received so much more.
For more information about our events or to donate, please visit BeAVoice.org
Photographs from the event can be viewed online here
* Foster mother names were changed to protect their privacy