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I am on a mission; a mission to change the lives of children who are suffering. I am on a mission to change your life, as well.
There is only one way to do it.
I need you to join me and care for a child in need. These children need you to become a foster parent.
When a child from foster care comes into my family, and into my home, they become a part of my family, they become an important part of my home. In my house, there is no difference between one of my biological, adoptive and foster children. In truth, there are no labels. They are indeed all my children. Each child is loved with as much love and compassion as I can possibly give. I am like that mamma bear who fights for her cubs. I fight for my foster children with all that I have. It doesn’t always make me popular with the case workers. It doesn’t always make me popular with the birth parents, or the court systems. Yet, that is no matter. These are my children, and I will fight with all I have to protect them and keep them safe. I will do all I can to make sure they are safe, they have all they need, and that they are loved.
I have learned to love deeper, more openly, and without abandon. I have learned to love each child that comes into my home in an unconditional manner, and without reservations. I am no longer ashamed to tell people that I love them. I cry openly now, and am no longer embarrassed when it happens. The saying that “real men don’t cry” is rubbish to me. I have become an emotional cripple in that manner, yet in a healthy way. In a way that I embrace.
For a foster child who may have been abused, beaten, or neglected, this type of love is most important. Without this type of love, a foster child will not form necessary and healthy attachment with others, resulting in a number of attachment disorders. Emotional difficulties such as a lack of self-worth, trust, and the need to be in control often result in the lack of unconditional and healthy parental love. As anyone who has worked with foster children will tell you, most foster children face an enormous amount of emotional issues, many times stemming from the lack of healthy love.
We need to help these children. If you and I do not, who will?
America’s foster care system is at a crisis level, as there are not enough foster parents to care for these children in need.
It’s time we change that. It’s time you and I work together to bring hope, to bring healing, and to bring love to children in need.
I am on a mission. The mission is F10k.
A mission to recruit 10,000 new foster parents by the year 2019.
It will be the greatest gift you can give a child, and the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Join me. Change the world one child at a time. You CAN make a difference. You CAN make the world a better place.
Dr. John DeGarmo is an international expert on foster care. He has been a foster parent for 15 years, now, and he and his wife have had over 50 children come through their home. He is a consultant to foster care agencies, child welfare organizations, and legal firms, as well as a speaker and trainer on many topics about the foster care system. He is the author of several foster care books, including Faith and Foster Care, and writes for several publications. He can be contacted at [email protected], through his Facebook page, Dr. John DeGarmo, or at The Foster Care Institute.
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America’s foster care system is at a crisis level, as there are not enough foster parents to care for these children in need.
Photo courtesy of author.