May is Foster Parent Appreciation Month

“Alone, we can do so little; Together, we can do so much!”

Helen Keller

Dear Friend of Children,

As we celebrate MAY and FOSTER PARENT APPRECIATION MONTH, Helen Keller’s well-known quote affirms what The Villages high-quality Foster Care Program is known for … doing so much together! As she notes, MANY are working together so great results occur. Each and every day, Villages team members talk about our many dedicated foster families with awe and respect. Their tireless efforts, on behalf of the nearly 800 very special children entrusted to The Villages foster care in a single year, make a life-changing impact!

“Hats” worn by The Villages foster parents are varied and endless …. counselor, mentor, teacher, nurse, tutor, friend, role model, healer, helper, chauffer, nutritionist, comedian, coach and cheerleader. Many times, the most critical role is listening. Other times, it is to accept, hug and pray. Still other days foster parents are called to set boundaries, sometimes for the first time in a child’s life! But ALWAYS, Villages foster and adoptive parents create BRIGHTER FUTURES. Their relentless compassion helps children heal from the trauma of child abuse and neglect, and affirm, for EVERY child embraced, they will, indeed, enjoy a NEW DAY of hope and promise.

The MANY who help affirm those who have selflessly chosen the “journey” of becoming a foster parent include the devoted Villages Staff, Board and Advisory Committee members along with many volunteers. This also includes each person who supports The Villages on #FORMULA ONE DAY and #DIAPER DAY along with people who generously adopt a foster child or two at Christmas. It really does “take a village” to invest, nurture and embrace vulnerable children.

We thank each of you who are a part of that DEDICATED VILLAGE, and we salute, with endless gratitude, The Villages heroic FOSTER FAMILIES! All of you are truly “difference makers!”

Gratefully,