EVENTS

Safe Harbors has a Vision for Foster Children and Foster Parents

It is almost time again for Safe Harbors’ Annual Christmas Party and those who were there last year, can’t wait. It is fast becoming a favorite holiday tradition for foster families in King County.  What makes this amazing is that Safe Harbors has only been in existence since last year, though the founder of Safe Harbors, Brian Tomisser, recounts that the vision for this ministry was actually given to him 18 months prior. At that time, he believes God placed into his heart the idea of a ministry that would help local orphans and foster children. Over the next 18 months, Brian spent a lot of time in prayer working through a variety of questions and eventually developed a clear vision for a church-based program. On September 14, 2008, "Safe Harbors" was officially launched.

A  handful of church members commited to this ministry, and a series of several team meetings were held.  It was decided to use the first year to focus on two large events for families and several smaller outreaches that would focus on foster families in need of help with home maintenace projects.

The first big event was the Safe Harbor Christmas Party in December 2008. Almost 150 foster families participated that afternoon in a variety of games, bouncers and crafts. Seasonal food was served and donated presents were distributed to all of the children present.

Then, in July, Safe Harbors sponsored the Fostering Together family BBQ at Salt Water State park. Foster families relaxed in the sun and spent time with other families while their children participated in a variety of games.  They also selected school supplies for the upcoming school year and filled up on a delicious barbeque lunch. A toy raffle was also held for the children so each child was able to go home with a brand new gift.

In addition to these community events, Safe Harbors also completed a series of service projects throughout the spring of 2009.  Church members came together to perform a variety of tasks ranging from yard work to repairing stairs for several local foster families in need.  Due to the success of this program, they plan to expand it in 2010.

Brian Tomisser shares that the most rewarding part of this ministry is their ability to respond to needs brought to them by foster parents in their community.  Safe Harbors has done everything from finding a crib for a home getting licensed  to spending a day organizing a storage unit full of donated items. Their partnership with Fostering Together has been very positive and has helped them to develop relationships with foster families.

Responding to these needs really fulfilled the vision Brian had for this ministry and has ensured that the ministry is not just about fun, but also about doing work and helping families right where they are. Even though they are a small church, they have believe that with God's blessing, they can accomplish some pretty big things.
 
 

Fostering Together helps distribute donated school supplies to local foster children.

Stephanie Swallow of Fostering Together and Chris Hoyt, Donations Specialist for Sleep Country load a bag of donations

 Sleep Country’s familiar refrain “Not everyone can be a foster parent, but everyone can help a foster child” has once again been sounding on the local airwaves, but have you ever stopped to wonder just where do all these solicited donations go?  Sleep Country has recently wrapped up their school supply drive with their clarion call for donations bringing in thousands of items intended for local foster children.
With schools requiring more and more supplies from their students, there is an ever increasing financial cost to equipping children for school. Gone are the days when all a child needed for school was glue, pencils, paper and a ruler. Now it is not uncommon for school supply lists for children as young as Kindergarten to include requests for such items as reams of copy paper, Ziploc storage bags, tissue, hand sanitizer and dry erase markers.

In fact, this year the average household will spend over $50 on school supplies for elementary aged children with that figure going up for middle and high school students. For some foster families this could total well up into the hundreds of dollars and the nominal compensation that they receive for the children in their care does not increase at this time of year to cover these extra costs.
 
This is where Sleep County steps in. Well known in the Pacific Northwest for their wide selection of mattresses, they are equally as passionate in their desire to make sure that foster children receive warm coats, shoes, pajamas, toys and school supplies. Sleep Country understands that foster parenting is not something that everyone can do, but that supporting foster children is something that everyone should do.
 
So five times a year, Sleep Country uses media resources and their stores to advertise their current donation drive. Donations are brought to their Kent based warehouse and local groups who work with foster care and have been approved by Sleep County are able to pick up their share of the donations.
 
One such group who regularly benefits from Sleep Country’s donation drives is Fostering Together, a program of Olive Crest. In King County, Fostering Together promotes foster care, recruits foster parents, assists them through the licensing process and acts as a support for licensed foster parents by offering liaison services and support groups in their communities. When Fostering Together receives the call from Sleep Country, volunteers pick-up the donations which come in large plastic bags and helps organizes them in a local storage unit.
 
This summer Fostering Together provided school supplies to local foster children at their support groups and will continue to make supplies available to foster children throughout the school year. For those children who come into foster care during the school year, it is not uncommon for them to arrive not only with very few personal possessions, but also without anything for school. To these children, a gift of a backpack and school supplies can help make the transition to a new school a little less scary. It is also a great relief to a foster parent to not have to do school supply shopping at a time when back to school deals are no longer available.
 
A local foster family who receives some of these donations is the Hutsons. Carol Hutson has been a foster parent for the past 15 years and in that time she has had many foster children come through the doors of her home in Burien. When asked what she thought about Sleep Country’s donation drives she responded, “I am grateful that so many people in our community open their hearts and wallets to reach out to children that they don't even know.” She feels that in doing so, they are helping to foster these children.
 
Carol also wanted people who donate to know that “through your donations you bring smiles, excitement, acceptance and joy to all of the foster children who are then able to attend school with the same supplies as their peers.” Having a new backpack can do a lot to help these children fit in at a time when they are struggling with feelings of fear, anxiety and isolation.
 
Since Carol has had older foster children in her care, she also wanted people to know that more mature backpacks and supplies required by upper grade levels would be greatly appreciated. She notes that sometimes this age group gets overlooked in that donations tend to be geared towards younger age groups.
 
All over King County, foster children are heading back to school with backpacks and school supplies donated by their community. Thanks to these donations, these children are heading back well equipped and ready for another year of learning.
 
For more information on Sleep Country’s Donations Program, please visit www.sleepcountry.com. For more information on Fostering Together, please visit www.fosteringtogether.org.
 
 

 Second Annual Fostering Together Support Group Picnic

On July 18th, families of the South King County Fostering Together Support Groups met together at Salt Water State Park for the Second Annual Fostering Together Support Group Picnic. A festive party decor and tantalizing smells of grilled hamburgers permeated the shelter area situated alongside of the creek. Families were warmly greeted by volunteers from Safe Harbors, a foster care ministry of LifePoint Foursquare Church in Des Moines. The director of Safe Harbors, Brian Tomisser, believes strongly in the message of foster care and wanted to offer this picnic as a way of supporting foster families and the children in their care.

Safe Harbors provided all of the food, entertainment and decorations, while Fostering Together brought donations of school suppllies, clothing, shoes and toys. Children eagerly danced around the piles of backpacks, crayons and other items while their parents dug through the boxes lookinjg for just the right supplies to make sure their children would be as excited about the idea of back to school as they were!

With plates piled full of burgers, chips and salads, families sat in the cool shade of the picnic shelter or on blankets set out in the sun. The air buzzed with the sounds of voices as parents shared stories of foster care struggles and successes. Then with stomachs full, the parents relaxed during a much needed time of respite, while their children participated in a variety of picnic games. From "bobbing for cherries" in a plate of flour (Don't breathe through your nose on that one!) to the classic water balloon toss, children's laughter rang out.

Following the games, Stephanie Swallow conducted a raffle drawing with toys donated by Fostering Together. As each child's name was called, they were able to select a toy to take home. From little toddlers cuddling their prized dolls to boys with their eyes fixed on the large remote control jeep waiting anxiously for their name to be called, each child went home with something to call their own.

As the hot summer day progressed, some families wandered down to the beach for some fun in the sand, while others lingered at the tables getting caught up with one another. Families were grateful for this picnic and expressed much apprecciation to both Safe Harbors and Fostering Together for putting such a great day together. We are all looking forward to next summer's picnic. Hope to see you there next year!