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Mission West Virginia, Focusing on Children

By Sarah Cooper

Services for Real Estate Pros with Real Estate Shows

June 15, 2007 11:38 PM

West Virginia currently has 3.412 children in our foster care system. Mission West Virginia is a Putnam County based organization that helps find temporary and permanent homes for these children.

Many of the children available for adoption are considered "special needs" children. It may be challenging to find adoptive homes for these children. These children may have been removed from their biological families because of abuse or neglect and may have serious emotional issues. Every child deserves a loving, stable home. Mission West Virginia works to find good homes for these especially deserving kids.

Their programs include:

One Church, One Child. This statewide initiative asks each place of worship to find a home within their congregation for a child in need. The support from the family's church helps the new families thrive!
AdoptUsKids. This is a national program to find homes for children in the United States.
Wendy's Wonderful Kids. Wendy's founder Dave Thomas was adopted. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption seeks to place foster children into adoptive homes. *Special Note -- order a Frosty from Wendy's on Father's Day and they'll make a donation!*
Kinship Support helps relative caregivers who are raising family member's children.
The Heart Gallery is an interactive photo exhibit featuring children available for adoption here in West Virginia. The Gallery brings awareness of the need for adoptive families while showcasing specific children.
Family Recruiters are experienced adoptive families that will meet and share with others to help them through adoptions of their own.

How can you help?

Place a change jar in your establishment
Host the Heart Gallery in your business
Donate or offer special discounts to foster/adoptive families
Sponsor advertising on local radio or TV stations. (Or on your website!)
Encourage friends, family and friends who may be interested in helping.

Also, pay attention and pay a visit to their next event in our community. Their projects are interesting and informative, and this is a very friendly group of people.

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Lysa Napolitano

Daytona Beach, FL

Sarah, What a wonderful way to get the community invovled! Thank you for helping the kids!

Jun 16, 2007 12:04 AM

Jason Sardi

Auto & Home & Life Insurance throughout North Carolina - Charlotte, NC

Your Agent for Life

Admirable post for a just cause, not only for our humanity, but for our future. Nicely done Sarah. This kind of stuff is so important and needs an abundance of exposure all over the world.

Jun 16, 2007 12:16 AM

Desiree Daniels

RE/MAX Tri County - Robbinsville, NJ

Sarah - Another inspiring post. You and I have alot in common its seems with a passion for helping others with all we can from the furry little ones to the children left behind. Keep up the good work... wealth comes in many forms. Have a good day!!

Jun 16, 2007 02:03 AM

Sarah Cooper

Real Estate Shows - Hurricane, WV

Lysa - I'm trying to see if Dad's old business partner would be willing to sponsor The Heart Gallery. He's got a great spot for it, and I'd be sure to give him a little promotion here in my blog! :o)

Jason - I'd love to take in a foster child. My husband is fine as things are. Maybe I can get him to warm to the idea.

Desiree - :o) I feel very wealthy indeed, no matter what my net worth might be. I have a good family, good friends and an abundance of pets. What more could I want? (Except maybe to share it some more ... which is way I'm waiting for my husband to come around.)

Jun 16, 2007 05:02 AM

Carol Spengel

Prudential Rubloff - Wheaton, IL

Wheaton IL

Sarah, I don't really know you at all, but I'm sure you would be a wonderful foster mom! Have you ever thought about that? There are not only little kids, but teens who need help. I've done both and they are rewarding in different ways. I'm sure you would be a great mentor. Just a thought.

Have your husband call Kevin - he's a HUGE advocate with lots of passion for this subject. Send your husband our way. Then, when you get the call, we will send you some of the stuff you need to get you started (cloths, furniture, etc.) Sherry

Jun 16, 2007 02:14 PM

Mary Warren

Las Vegas, NV

The state of our children is soooooooo sad. Las Vegas is in DESPERATE need of good foster parents too. I don't understand why people have children and then just dump them. I wish I was young enough to do the foster parenting...I'd have them all! My husband works at a large department store here and the other day 2 small children were caught shoplifting....2 girls ages NINE and SIX! Now that's sick...where were the parents? The police had to contact them at HOME to come and get the girls. They were in the store unsupervised. Something needs to be done to protect our greatest resource....our children.

Jun 16, 2007 05:20 PM

Sherry - My husband is nearly dead-set against it, and I won't force him. We had an exchnage student and eventually we'll do that again, but that's so very different. He worries about what a child with problems might do to the family, but our Tall One already has challenges and I think we've done well with her.

And that is SO SWEET of you to offer to talk to him. (I just might 'refer' him ... !) We'd be fine on furniture unless we had a baby or toddler, we have a furnished guest room that might as well just be someone's room. Clothes might be appreciated, though. Honestly, I just can't see him wanting to do it. But I can help in other ways. I'm going to ask a local business if they can host The Heart Gallery, and then I'll talk about it. Free "press", right?

Mary - We used to live in Charlotte, NC and in our neighborhood sometime we would see kids younger than that walking around, sometimes in groups, with no older kids or adult supervision. I asked a cop one day if he could do anything. He said he knew it was wrong, but he had to wait for a crime to be able to do anything. I thought that in itself was enough of a crime! I'm a strict parent and that always bothered me.

We DO need more foster parents, everywhere. I'm sure it's a REALLY tough job. I'm sure it also has amazing rewards.

Jun 16, 2007 10:21 PM

Julie Ferenzi

john greene Realtor - Plainfield, IL

Sarah, this was such an informative post. I love the Real Estate Show you made of the event you attended.

My best friend is an attorney and social worker in Chicago. She worked as an advocate for the kids in the foster care system in and around Chicago. She has recently decided to stay home to raise her family, and I know she had a very tough job.

I think Mary Warren hit the nail on the head when she said "good" foster parents are needed. Too many people in this country do it for the wrong reasons and the kids are the ones who end up losing again.

I think The Heart Gallery would be an excellent addition to Mothers Fighting for Others. I'll let you know when I can get it up on the site.

Jun 21, 2007 03:53 AM

Hi, Julie! I'm glad you liked the Show, I couldn't wait to do it after I heard they'd be doing this. Mothers Fighting for Others would be a perfect fit for something like this! Thank you for thinking of it!

Jun 21, 2007 12:28 PM

Mission West Virginia, Focusing on Children

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