Ever thought that you would love to be able to help a kid in foster care, but didn’t know how? Would you like to help, but you can not become a foster family right now? Well here are 4 simple ways that you can make a difference today.

• Get involved as a mentor
• Support a foster family
• Donate to a support agency
• Become a CASA

Get involved as a mentor

Mentorship programs are only a google search away. In just one quick search I found A Family for Every Child’s Program, there is always Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Bringing Families Together. These are a few that popped up with a single search. 

There are certainly more programs that you can find by searching for mentoring programs in your specific area that may give even better results!

I heard Josh Shipp tell his story on a podcast and one line that really stood out for me is “Every child is ONE caring adult away from being a success story”. You can be that caring adult, whether you are suited to be a foster family or a mentor!

Support a foster family

If you know a foster family, you may have noticed that they seem busy a lot of the time. You can help share the burden by simply being a good friend. Talk to them. Ask how you can help. 

Even if you aren’t ready to be a foster family you can provide an afternoon for them to have a kid-free date. You may need to have a background check, depending on your local laws and regulations, but it is an easy way to support a couple that could probably use a little time without kids to connect as partners.

A respite provider can take kids for an overnight stay while foster parents have a much-needed break for a night. A lot of people can offer their home for a night even if they can’t do it full-time.

Offer to run a few errands for them. Life is full of mundane tasks that are much simpler if you do not need to drag kids along with you. Especially if those kids are a new placement in your home and you are not familiar with their triggers and behaviors yet. 

You could just run to WalMart to grab a few things for them. New payment apps like Venmo, Cash App, Google Pay, or Paypal allow them to send you the money and they don’t need to stand in line with a frightened sibling group of 5!

Invite a family over for dinner. The stress of life can become overwhelming and something as simple as taking care of dinner and offering your friendship to a foster family might be just what they needed for a stress-free evening!

Donate to a support agency

Whether it is a local foster support group or a national sized organization like the Annie E. Casey Foundation, your support can go a long way to helping kids in need.

Even if you do not have the time to donate your time to a specific family, a few dollars to help an organization that can do the work might be your way to join us in providing strength to the weakest among us!

Certain times of the year donations are crucial. Christmas programs are run every year to be certain that kids who come into care can have the opportunity to feel loved by those in their community – even if they haven’t been loved at “home”.

Become a CASA

A CASA is a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Your state may have specific rules around joining the program and a quick online search will yield all the information you need to begin your own journey. 

Kids need a voice! You can be that voice if you are willing to donate a little bit of yourself to their safety and well-being.