FOSTERING COMMUNITY BLOG
We couldn’t provide quality support to our foster care community without the local businesses and people who join us along the way. Our Supporter Spotlight series continues with: DeAnna Atkinson. DeAnna reached out to us about partnering with her employer, @ubs, which ultimately played a HUGE role in Houston Angels’ back to school service projects. DeAnna says: “I have a heart for Foster Care because my mother (now deceased) grew up in foster care and didn't get the same loving support that Houston Angels gives. Foster care is difficult, especially if children never get adopted (my mother was in a foster home until she graduated high school and married my father) and it makes them always feel as though they will be abandoned. Fight or flight runs deep in their veins. My mom struggled with this her entire life, and it left its emotional damage on our family for sure. I was incredibly touched by the [National Angels] story about the young boy whose mentor introduced him to boxing and it changed his family dynamics, it changed his grades, and ultimately made a difference. I think if my mother had an organization and a mentor while growing up, she would have been much happier and could have seen the world through a different, more loving lens. UBS does a ‘season of service’ every year and looks for amazing organizations to support. My thought was to partner with Houston Angels so we could actually see the impact we are having as an organization with these children. I mentioned it to several of our offices so we could help as many people as possible and they came to the rescue. I personally donated supplies for 17 of the backpacks UBS provided, and our downtown office also provided backpacks and supplies. I hope that this partnership is just beginning, and that we eventually participate in the Love Box program and make a huge difference. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the [Back to School] event, but I hope to attend more in the future and my goal is to become a mentor as well.” Thank you for your continued support, DeAnna!
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New parents typically spend roughly 9 months preparing for the arrival of their baby. American culture has developed many different ways to celebrate the upcoming birth of a child, including: pregnancy announcements, gender reveal parties, maternity photo-shoots, and fun apps that illustrate a baby's current size and stage of development. Many first-time parents are thrown a baby shower to honor this new chapter, offer love and advice for the parents-to-be, and offset the heavy costs of all the items needed to care for the baby. Additionally, most working parents are able to alert their workplace of their needs ahead of time, and plan for their upcoming maternity or paternity leave.
Welcoming a new foster placement is not as predictable an experience... September 10 is recognized as World Suicide Prevention Day. According to youth.gov, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth ages 15-24 in the United States. And studies show that children in foster care are more likely to consider and attempt suicide than those who have never been in foster care. A history of trauma, abuse, and loss, as well as feelings of hopelessness surround children and youth in foster care, and these are also all major risk factors for suicide.
National Angels founder and CEO, Susan Ramirez, retells the story she once heard a judge share at a foster and adoption conference years ago... We’re kicking off a Supporter Spotlight series! We couldn’t provide quality support to our foster care community without the local businesses and people who join us along the way - by donating, volunteering, partnering, or simply spreading the word. And we’d love to shine a light on those who have impacted our mission in some way. Let’s start with our friends at Ivory Boutique. Ivory first opened in League City back in 2015. At first, Ivory was meant to be a home decor store - but girl boss, Jesse, soon realized that what League City was missing was a clothing boutique with a fresh vibe. Ivory believes all women are beautiful, and they want Ivory's clothing to take their customers’ style to the next level - but without breaking the bank! Check out their Instagram and Facebook to follow along as all of their new arrivals are posted, and visit shopivory.com for more info. In honor of Jesse’s birthday, she kindly donated a portion of the day’s sales to Houston Angels! We are so grateful that she chose our organization and spread word of our mission - Thank you for your continued support, Jesse and Ivory Boutique! Check out our recap video of last month’s Back to School event! This was a pivotal first for Houston Angels, but a beautiful extension of all of the good being spread by our National Angels family. Thank you to Main Event Entertainment in Stafford for hosting our Back to School Bash. Not only did Main Event donate a free hour of bowling and arcade games for every single child to enjoy, they also donated to us a large private party room so that we could set up all of our things, eat and chat together. Thank you to UBS (Downtown and River Oaks offices) our corporate partner who donated tons of backpacks completely filled with school supplies for all 54 children with Circles of Care foster agency. Thank you to Sole Loved, our amazing partner who provided every child with a brand new pair of shoes to go back to school in style. You guys - these shoes were amazing. The looks on these kids’ faces as they tried on shoes with glitter, light ups, super heroes and tv characters, or a cool new pair of Nikes - and even got to choose their favorite from a few options - we will never forget. It was an absolute joy to work with such a hardworking, giving organization. Thank you to the kind staff at Circles of Care who worked with us these past few months as we prepared to host these amazing families and children, and even joined us at the event. We can’t wait to continue working with you all. And thank you to our two volunteer photographers, John LaRose and Mayra Rincon, who bounced around the entire event to capture the day for us. We believe all children, no matter their start in life, should be empowered to pursue their dreams and reach their fullest potential. We believe in the power of love, community and positive role models to speak truth and life into kids in foster care. We believe in hope for every child to find healing, so that they can become who they were meant to be and share their gifts with the world. Thank you to Clean Harbors for hosting our team at their bi-annual Fleet Maintenance Summit & Expo here in Houston. Clean Harbors is North America’s leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services. Their staff kindly blocked time out of their busy conference schedule to have our team come and share our organization’s mission, as well as accept a HUGE gift - 25 bicycles to be given to children in foster care! What makes this gift even more special is the fact that each and every bike was built by members of the Clean Harbors team. All thanks to our partner Bikes For Goodness Sake - a national nonprofit that has helped donate thousands of bicycles to underprivileged children all over the country for 8 years, through sponsored corporate charity bike build events. When a company sponsors a bike build, they provide all of the tools and materials for employees to build together in small groups. Their aim is to create a cycling culture in North America by connecting kids to new, bike-shop-quality bicycles and helmets. Our Austin and Dallas chapters have worked with their org in the past, and we were so fortunate to be the next chapter to team up with them. Also thanks to Velofix (North America’s largest fleet of mobile bike shops) whose Houston bike mechanics were there to assist and test for safety. |
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May 2023
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