Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Foster Village Charlotte Impact Report 2023 by Becky Santoro

foster village charlotte

Helping foster families and children by creating a village of support in the Charlotte area. You pick up a phone call in the middle of a work day to learn that a child needs you to open your home. You must quickly evaluate your life and decide whether to accept the placement with limited information about the child and the trauma they’ve experienced. You’re asked to come get the child immediately, unsure of whether the child will be with you 2 hours, 2 days, or 2 years. Even with the limited information, you say yes and go to meet the child. You’re rooting for the parents, but also knowing you’re next in line.

Get to Know: Foster Village Charlotte's Sloan Crawford and Jamie Doyle

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro.Try a low commitment monthly plan today. Volunteers put the “Village” in Foster Village, and we’d love to help you find your fit in this village of support. “We have a lot of needs we have to meet, and so foster and adoptive parents can always use extra support in the community,” Diana said. Well, imagine you are a child that has been taken out of the only home and family you’ve ever known.

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Foster Village operates on an annual budget of about $350,000, 70% of which comes from individual donations. It occupies a small house in the Oakhurst neighborhood in southeast Charlotte, but Santoro hopes she can raise enough money for a new resource center by the end of 2023. A new center would allow for more comfortable interactions between children and caregivers at sensitive and emotionally charged times, like when foster children reunite with their birth families. It is this ‘village,’ alongside a real community need that has fueled Foster Village’s momentum.

foster village charlotte

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Our volunteer program offers a variety of practical opportunities to get involved and support families in practical ways that make a tangible difference in their foster care journey. Imagine you are the child again and you have a birthday coming up. It's been almost a year since you've been living with your foster family and although you are bonding with them you are struggling with your longing to be with your parents. It's been almost a year since you've been in a home environment and you ache for being in "limbo." But then you learn your party is at the FVC Resource Center and the invitation includes both families.

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All kids experience some trauma when they enter the foster care system. And people don’t always realize that even though we “sign up for this” as foster parents, it’s hard. As Foster Village Charlotte continues to evolve, our commitment to these children and families remains unwavering. We are dedicated to expanding our services, refining our programs, and continuing our advocacy to ensure every child and caregiver in the foster care system receives the support and dignity they deserve.

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Get to Know: Foster Village Charlotte's Sloan Crawford and Jamie Doyle - Charlotte Parent

Get to Know: Foster Village Charlotte's Sloan Crawford and Jamie Doyle.

Posted: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

So I created a website, wrote up my story, and asked family and friends to give me 18 months to dedicate myself to Foster Village. I needed $2,500 per month to make day care payments. The social worker brought me to the hospital where the child was, and I met with police officers, doctors, and the father—a very out-of-body experience.

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NC failing to provide adequate funding to care for foster children - WSOC Charlotte

NC failing to provide adequate funding to care for foster children.

Posted: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Become a monthly donor and help fuel our mission, every donation helps and everyone can make a difference. Foster and adoptive parents Heather, Peter and Diana all credit their families’ success in part to help from others. The median household income in Charlotte, North Carolina is$67,385.The median household income for the surrounding county is $71,482compared to the national median of $66,222.The median age of people living in Charlotte is37.1 years.

We found that grassroots fundraising was really aligned with who we are and what we are about – this picture of everyone coming together for the good of all,” said Santoro. In June 2018, we launched Foster Village and opened Tony’s new coffee shop. We also found out our new daughter’s brother, then 16 months old, had not been adopted after all. We took him into our family, and he fit right away. I went to Michigan State to be a special education teacher. We graduated and moved to Charlotte in 2007 to teach in Title I schools.

When Foster Village Charlotte joined Cultivate in 2020, they were an emerging organization that had a groundswell of grassroots support, an ambitious vision and deep passion for local children and families. The FVC team had recently moved into a Center that would serve as a home for their support groups, Welcome Pack storage and space for foster families and biological families to work together to support the children in their care. At Foster Village Charlotte (FVC), the commitment to providing a supportive space for children and foster families goes beyond the ordinary. FVC facilitates connections, offers educational and emotional support, and equips caregivers with essential advocacy tools. My vision has always been for Foster Village to be a safe haven for kids to come back to over and over again, one that’s comfortable and dignifying for their families.

But when I left teaching, a piece of me ached to be near children and families in crisis, if only to be a safe person for a small period of time. I was a new mom of two with a simple life, but I was feeling removed from thinking about hard things, and I didn’t like that feeling. Recognizing the profound impact of isolation on foster parents, we’ve actively worked to bridge the gap between caregivers and support systems. By fostering a community where foster and kinship parents can connect and share experiences, we've significantly reduced feelings of solitude and burnout. The efforts culminated in establishing a resource center in 2019, funded by a SEED20 Funding pitch competition, which now serves as a hub for gatherings, support groups, and resource distribution. If you’re not fostering, it can be hard to understand all the grief, loss, love, heartache, and anger that go with it.

After Maeve was born, Tony started roasting coffee in the backyard and selling it to friends and family for fun. This went on for a couple of years, through the birth of our second daughter, Raeya. Create professional content with Canva, including presentations, catalogs, and more. Transform any piece of content into a page-turning experience.

Understandably, almost half of foster parents choose to not accept another placement, citing lack of support as a strong contributing factor. Foster Village Charlotte plays a critical role in supporting and maintaining a family’s ability to foster a child. They show up in real, tangible ways, so the families feel seen, understood, and supported.

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