Fall for Orphans Festival

Today BAANK participated in Harvest Christian Life Center's first annual Fall for Orphans Festival in Englewood, FL to mark the beginning of Adoption Awareness Month this November. Hosted by the adoption assistance organization Angels Appear, a number of organizations and vendors were present, including Safe Children Coalition, Bethany Christian Services, Thirty-One, and Tastefully Simple.

BAANK's table. Behind us is a van selling gumbo!

The event, hosted by Maggie Shaw of Angels Appear, featured BINGO games with jewelry prizes, and an apple pie and cake making contest.

Playing BINGO at the main tent

For the kids, there were games and animals, all with a fall flair.

Maggie Shaw (left) showing the little boy how to pet the horse

This sweet, tail-wagging baby goat Tiberius was quite possibly the cutest goat in the 12th District. Wouldn't you say so?

He loves the horse...

...and he loves food!

We met some friends and partners there as well—people with the same heart for kids and families as us. It's a blessing to be able to work together with these wonderful people!

Jill Steiner with the Safe Children Coalition

Angels Appear

Thank you, Maggie, for hosting the event. We look forward to next year.

Have you ever thought about adopting? The Florida Department of Children and Families is looking to recruit 1,200 foster parents this year to meet the needs of kids in our state. Adopting through foster care is one way to adopt, and it has the benefit of meeting the immediate needs of the kids.

If you're thinking about fostering or adopting a child, resources like Angels Appear and Bethany Christian Services are there to help you. Maggie, who spoke of her adoption experience at the event, says don't give up because you think it's too daunting and definitely don't go at it alone—seek assistance from these organizations that know the legal details and want to help.

FFAPA Mini-Conference: Kids Having Fun!

On Saturday October 20th, the Florida Foster/Adoptive Parent Association hosted its annual mini-conference in Sarasota. BAANK took care of childcare at Sarasota Christian Church while their parents were at the conference, and boy did we have fun!

Operation Relaxation coordinator Judy Betts (right) with some volunteers

The kids loved the fire truck that came. A special thanks to the firemen who came and explained what all the instruments on the fire truck did and let each kid "drive" the truck!

The fireman explaining the fire truck to the kids

Wendy from Central Church of Christ came equipped with her Bricks4Kidz program, wherein kids do organized Lego activities. For the younger kids, she taped a paper plate on top of a motorized spinning Lego helicopter and let them create spin art!

Preschooler spin art created with a Lego helicopter

And the older kids got to build cool stuff.

Lego station for the older kids

Thank you, Wendy!

Randy from Dogs of Courage came and gave the kids a presentation with his dog, Top. He demonstrated for the kids that Top can resist temptation and obey his master, and the master can bring out his full potential and make him a champion dog. It's the same between us and God: God can train us to resist temptation and obey him, and he can make us into all we were meant to be! He also talked about how important it is to listen to our parents when they are trying to teach us right from wrong.

Dog trainer Randy with his dogs

The kids had a great time with us, and we with them. Thanks to Judy who organized it, and to all the volunteers who came out. See you next time!

Educate Your Children About Adoption

Kristen over at Rage Against the Minivan has a story to tell.

She is the mom of two biological children and two adopted children of another race. She describes how kids at her children's school don't understand why their mom has a different skin color, and how she and her children deal with these very candid questions from confused kids on the playground.

Sadly, kids without exposure to this simply have no idea how to respond and tend to think it's "weird," which is why these are such important conversations to have with kids. Kristen recommends that parents talk to their kids about adoption and what it means so that they're not so surprised when they meet someone who is adopted (and avoid offending people when they don't understand why a family is comprised of people who don't look like each other).

I like this because it's something that everyone can do. Even if you don't have kids of your own, you are bound to have conversations with other kids (in Sunday School or in your extended family, perhaps) where the subject comes up. Explain that God has adopted all of us into his family—the church—and that adoption is a wonderful thing, not something to be ashamed of or laughed about. Adopted kids can be deeply hurt by the words of kids who do not yet understand the concept because it's never been explained to them.

Conversely, if you are an adoptive parent in a bi-racial family, how do you cope with people who don't seem to understand that you're really family? How do you teach your kids to respond to these questions? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Big Foster Event: Need Volunteers!

On Saturday October 20th the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association is hosting a Sarasota Mini-Conference/Quarterly Meeting. Foster and adoptive parents from around the Suncoast will attend, and an estimated 100-125 children will need childcare. We have two churches that have gathered some volunteers for that day, but we could really use some extra hands!

BAANK regularly hosts Operation Relaxation for up to 50-60 children, but we want to offer services to more so that all can attend this important conference. If you are interested, please call. No training is necessary, but there will be a couple of minor hoops to jump through to get ready for that day.

You can read more on our website about the fun things we do with the kids at Operation Relaxation: puppets, crafts, and games!

Contact Rod Myers: (941) 374-1818

Why Not Become a Foster Parent?

The worst thought in a child's mind is not belonging anywhere. Foster care was an early 20th century solution to forgotten children in orphan institutions, and it has since become the primary vehicle for caring for children in need. Although it is not a perfect system, a family is still the best environment for a child.

Here in Florida, the need for foster parents is constant. The Florida Department of Children and Families hopes to recruit more than 1,200 foster parents this year to meet the needs of children in the system.

“Our need is to recruit foster homes for teens, infants, sibling groups, and of course we're always looking for homes for our adoptive children who are ten and older who are sometimes harder to adopt," Andrea Mertyris of the Safe Children Coalition told ABC News 7 in June.

MySuncoast.com ran an article in June highlighting the need for foster and adoptive parents in Florida.

Officials with the Department of Children and Families say finding foster parents isn't an easy task. It takes a very special person with a true calling to open their home to a child in need, but they say by raising awareness about fostering, maybe more people will realize they have what it takes.

Although hundreds of foster parents are recruited each year, DCF says that there are always more children in need than these homes can accomodate. Foster homes sometimes try to take in more children with a special waiver from the state, but that means we end up with a problem with few foster homes shouldering the burden of many children. The only thing that will solve this problem is more foster homes.

Why not become a foster parent?