As National Foster Care Month continues, our final organization to be highlighted is Koinonia Family Services. The beauty of this organziation is MASSIVE! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! They are who my husband and I hope to become foster parents with, we wouldn’t want to go anywhere else!! They are truly AMAZING!! Whether you are interested in Fostering, Adoption or donating this is THE place! They are so loving, compassionate, caring, supportive and KNOWLEDGEABLE!
Here are a few things about them….
Koinonia Family Services was founded on February 3, 1982 and is a state-licensed, non-profit public service organization. During its 36-year history, Koinonia’s caring and compassionate staff and families have helped thousands of needy children begin a new life.
Koinonia’s growth has expanded across California and Nevada to better serve the community. With 32 sub offices in 22 cities we are able to provide services to numerous counties. Over the years, Koinonia has grown and now offers many services to children.
Our current programs include our Therapeutic Foster Care, Adoption, Day Treatment, Medically Fragile, Residential Group Homes for chemically dependent adolescents and our Placer County Crisis Resolution Center.
The agency works in cooperation with county social service agencies who remove children from their homes due to neglect, abandonment, abuse, delinquency, guardian absence or voluntary placement. The county refers children to private agencies like Koinonia for placement in a program that will best meet their needs. When Koinonia receives a call for placement of a child, our staff and county placement worker assess their needs to determine the most appropriate home or program.
When a child is placed in a Koinonia certified home, the family receives monthly monetary reimbursement for the care of the child, 24-hour support services by master’s level social work staff, continuous specialized training and support for all the child’s emotional, physical and spiritual needs.
The duration of time a child is in a home is usually determined by the initial assessment of the child. The length of time children are in placement can vary from short-term, up to six months, to long term, up to several years, in addition to guardianship or adoption.
Koinonia works diligently to serve as the voice of and information source for our families, children, staff and counties. Koinonia strives to be better informed, managed, governed and represented at all levels of care with strong, vibrant and diverse programming.
Family is the cornerstone of society and our primary focus. Our commitment is exemplified by optimism, resilience, determination, hard work and unconditional love.
Compassion Planet
As we celebrate National Foster Care Month our second organization to be highlighted is Compassion Planet..
Oh my Lordy where to start!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this organization!! I remember a few years ago I was getting an oil change, it was going to be a bit of a wait and I noticed a super cute place to shop across the street, named Deer Creek Farm and underneath the name was Compassion Planet. I thought is this some kind of environmental organization? Nope. It’s an AMAZING organization that employs aged out Foster youth at their store Deer Creek Farm and their thrift store Compassion Thrift, but thats not all they do!
I remember walking into the store and a super nice young lady saying hi and helping me find the perfect birthday gift for one of my god kids who loves anything with pigs! The employee and I chatted and laughed, she was so professional with such a great personality and attitude, then I found out she used to be an at risk foster kid. My heart sank and I immediately wanted to cry as she told me how this organization literally changed her life. From that moment on I was a supporter of Compassion Planet.
I invite you to check out their website http://compassionplanet.org/home and see for yourself all the wonderful things they are doing for the youth in our communities, its amazing and inspiring. Here’s a little bit about their story…
“Beginning in 2011, Compassion Planet offers help, hope and practical tools to at-risk teens and aged out foster youth (ages 18+) in the greater Sacramento area. We are dedicated to enacting both proven and creative ways to address individual needs through multiple resources and “best fit” plans for our young people. Whether a participation trainee or volunteer, we highly value, respect and welcome all people. Our goat is to empower underserved young adults, by equipping them to reach their full potential.
From the onset, our programs have addressed a wide range of social challenges and holistic needs. The has allowed us to collaborate with local municipalities and area nonprofits to achieve our goals. Specifically, we address needs such as hunger, clothing, housing, life skills, mentoring, and employment, within a family-like structure. We also provide advocacy and awareness to the enormous obstacles faced by emancipated foster youth.”
It’s National Foster Care Month!!!
May is National Foster Care Month so I want to make sure that each Friday this month an organization will be featured that is making a HUGE difference and impact in the lives of Foster kiddos. Who knows maybe by reading about some of these folks you will be inspired to volunteer, donate or become a foster parent!
The first organization to be highlighted is Aging Up. I found out about them from Rob’s Lawyer, Kevin Hughey of the Hughey Law Group. He comes on our show every so often to answer y’alls law questions and he was telling us about Aging Up and what they are doing to help Foster Youth. They sounded so incredibly amazing to me I just had to reach out to co-founder April, who is just an awesome human and within the first few minutes of talking with her I could hear how much passion and commitment her and co-founder Kecia have for Foster kids. They have formed an organization that has been tremendously needed to help Foster Youth.
Aging UP’s mission is to empower youth with experience in foster care to successfully transition into adulthood. They do this through one-to-one mentoring, positive recreation, and independent living skills education.
If you’re interested in donating or becoming a mentor, please visit www.agingup.org.
Mentor Orientations are coming up on Thursday, June 7, Tuesday, June 12, and Wednesday, June 27. Attending an orientation is a no-obligation, first step toward becoming a mentor. Please email [email protected] for more info.
You can also support Aging UP on Thursday, May 17 by dining at California Pizza Kitchen on Arden Way. Just show this flyer (attached) and 20% of your bill will be donated to Aging UP – this includes all drinks!
