by Kari Stewart on March 22, 2023
It’s hard to imagine not having anyone in your life that you can count on to be there for you, yet that is how so many of the children and youth in foster care feel. We have amazing foster families in our community (we always need more!!!), but they can’t stand in the gap alone.
Statistics show that when an at-risk child or teen has a consistent mentor in their lives, regardless of life changes, they will grow in self-confidence and experience higher rates of success academically, socially, and emotionally.
I saw firsthand the impact that a mentor can have through the experiences our children had as they were growing up. My husband and I have nine children, six of which joined our family through adoption. Our family is multi-ethnic, which can be challenging for young people growing up in a predominantly white community. It was important to them to have people in their life that either shared their ethnicity or had a similar life experience that they could relate to.
There was an amazing coach/mentor in one of our son’s life that challenged him to set goals and then take the hard steps to reach those goals. He not only encouraged him to be in the gym every morning at 6 a.m., but he also picked him up and drove him to the gym five mornings a week. The next year our son accomplished one of his goals of becoming a State Champion long jumper. When it came time for our son to graduate from high school, he gave him his diploma and a couple of months later drove him to the airport when he left for college. He invested in him – he gave of his time! He didn’t have to do any of that, but if he hadn’t, I don’t know where our son would be today. Not only was our son blessed, but our entire family was blessed by the sacrifice he made to help him set goals and help him reach those goals!
Former foster youth Josh Shipp stated, “Every child is one caring adult away from being a success story.” I believe that is true!
This year for Orphan Care Weekend, we are partnering with Royal Family KIDS and Partners to provide opportunities for people like you to find out how they can be part of standing in the gap with a child or teen in our community.
