Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition

Earlier this month, Coalition staff were invited by the Missouri Alliance for Children & Families to provide a training on the services and supports offered by the Coalition to their new case managers. Pictured from left to right: : Carlos Lopez, Shonetta Reed, Tierney Rhone, Connie Christman, Amanda Denning, and Joel Friesen.

??? Holiday Little Wishes is LIVE! ??? You can make the holidays brighter for children impacted by foster care! We’ve received a record-breaking 4,593 wish requests for gifts like dolls, books, games, and more. Every child deserves to feel special this holiday season, and you can make it happen! Choose a wish and be a part of spreading joy—one gift at a time. ?? Visit our website to start shopping and donating today! https://lnkd.in/gCaMWkf2

We're #hiring! We have new openings for the following roles: - Family Connections Specialist - Treatment Foster Care Specialist - Respite Coordinator - Family Support Specialist Please share these exciting new opportunities with your networks and visit our website at https://lnkd.in/gAeCXbBZ to apply!

Today is Adoption Saturday, and we couldn’t be any more thrilled for Kevon and his new family! ???? Kevon is an energetic three-year-old who has spent his entire life in foster care. Our team at the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition worked diligently to find family members who would be interested in fostering or adopting him. In their search, they discovered that Kevon had family who didn’t know he existed – and they wanted to adopt him! Michelle and Keith adopted Kevon this morning, officially becoming a family of six. “Kevon’s story is the perfect example of why family finding is so important,” said Amanda Denning, LMSW, Director of Extreme Recruitment. “Being able to place Kevon in this wonderful new home, with family members, felt like fate.” Kevon was featured on KSDKs A Place to Call Home earlier this year and is the 555th child to be adopted! We are grateful to KSDK for their partnership and ceaseless efforts to connect kids like Kevon to their forever homes. Family is an innate feeling of knowing you belong and are loved. Please join us in celebrating Kevon as he enters this next beautiful chapter! KSDK - 5 On Your Side St. Louis County Circuit Court #transforminglivesat35

Help us fulfill thousands of Holiday Little Wish requests for area foster, adoptive, and guardianship children! ?? Show Me St. Louis hosted our team members as they explained how our community can come together to make holiday dreams come true. See the clip: https://conta.cc/3V1M7DR Holiday Little Wishes will go live on our website on November 25.

Thank you to the Assistance League of St. Louis for your generous donation of beds, bedding, blankets, towels, books, toys, and hygiene items to our CareLine and Families United programs. Are you interested in holding a donation or item drive for the Coalition? Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gvbsFeJA

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to our new employees: Emily Baumann, our new Strategic Communications Manager, Alisiana Peters, our new Brand Manager, and Janelle Knox, our new ReFresh Associate. Welcome to the Coalition! ????

THANK YOU for an incredible #fosterhopeday! We exceeded our goal with $2.06M raised! We’re simply blown away by the incredible generosity of our donors. Plus, we'd like to say one more huge thank you to the Berges Family Foundation for tripling all Foster Hope Day gifts. Thank you for believing in us, our work, and our mission. Here’s to the next 35 years of transforming the lives of children impacted by foster care.

?? GOAL MET! ?? That's right... #fosterhopeday has officially raised $2M! This milestone marks the completion of our two-year, $10M capital campaign. We're so excited for what the future holds and the many ways we will be able to expand our programs and services: ?? Serve 100% of children entering foster care ?? Quadruple the number of new foster parents ?? Expand training to 1,250 local professionals, a 400% increase ?? Grow income from our resale store, ReFresh, to $1M, helping underwrite our mission All this and more will be possible because of you and your generosity. From all of us at the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition: thank you. If you haven't gotten in on the fun yet, don't worry! There's still time to donate at https://lnkd.in/gSUWJWTq!

We're adding to the excitement of Foster Hope Day with an hourly raffle! Give every hour from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM to enter for your chance to win tickets to see your favorite sports teams, fun themed gift baskets, incredible weekend getaways, and much more! Don't let this opportunity pass you by. Check out our raffle items and donate today for your chance to win https://lnkd.in/gSUWJWTq. Your gift will be TRIPLED thanks to the generosity of the Berges Family Foundation. Help us spread the word: tag a colleague or peer who needs to take a fun break today and enter to win some of these great prizes!