You feel the pull in your heart to help vulnerable children in the world. Where do you start? What can you do to help? In 2015 there were over 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. If that number is not shocking to you let me share another. Around the world, it is estimated that there are over 140 million orphans. There are so many things that you can do to make an impact.
Open Your Home
One of the most common things we think of is fostering. Fostering is an opportunity for you to allow children in your home. These children are placed in your home by the Department of Child Services (or your state’s equivalent) They have been removed from their homes for a multitude of reasons. The goal is often for these children to be reunified with their biological parents. This can be a short process or can take a couple of years. There are also children in foster care that are waiting to be adopted. Possibly they are orphans or their biological parents have had their parental rights terminated.
There is an organization called Safe Families. This organization helps families before they enter the DCS system. Becoming a safe family is similar to becoming a foster family. The children have not been removed from the home by the court system. Parents that are going through a hard time and need help with caring for their child can seek out safe families.
Adoption is another way to help vulnerable children in the United States and around the world. This is an opportunity to give a child a forever home. There is often a lot of help and grants for people who are adopting out of foster care, adopting older children, and children that have special needs. Adoption from other countries can sometimes be more difficult as you need to work with the United States government and the foreign government to get all of your adoption papers in alignment.
Use Your Time
Maybe you are thinking that all of that is great but you are currently not in a position to bring a child into your home at this time. Have no fear, there is plenty that you can do to help vulnerable children!
Consider volunteering to be a mentor for a child in foster care. Children are often moved from place to place and need someone consistent in their lives. As the old sang goes, it takes a village to raise a child. This is a great opportunity to support them as they grow up and give them someone to lean on.
If volunteering is in your heart another way to volunteer is to become a court-appointed advocate. A child’s life can be messy. There are many people involved in a child’s case. There are the foster parents, the biological parents, the DCS worker, and the judge all making decisions for the child. A court-appointed advocate is someone that fights for what is best for the child. Child advocates visit the child and are involved with their case.
Help a foster family for a day if you don’t have time to get involved on a consistent basis. Foster parents are often overworked and exhausted. Bring them dinner one evening, volunteer to do some laundry, or mow the gross. You could also offer to run errands for the parents one day or just come over and give them company.
Consider volunteering with an organization. You might be doing things such as paperwork, preparing for a charity event, volunteering at an event, going to another country to build an orphanage, or working in one. There are many organizations that help both here and abroad.
Give Your Money
Our time is a valuable commodity. There are so many things that we can do if we just put a little of our time into the effort. Another way that you can help is with your pocketbook. The needs are limitless. Do something small such as providing a foster family with an item that they need for the new child that is placed with them. You could bring them a box of diapers or dinner for the family. Looking a little broader you could donate to a foster agency or DCS. These funds could go towards getting children things that they need or even helping to send them to camp in the summer. There are also opportunities to donate to help someone cover the fees of an adoption. Other opportunities might include donating to an organization that builds and runs orphanages in other countries.
This is just a small list of ideas to help support vulnerable children. The opportunities are endless to help support children of the world. Whether you open your home to one of these little lives or you support them in other ways you are more than needed. Open your heart to the little ones in this world that are vulnerable and alone.
