One Bright Star!

For the past three years OCJ has joined with the church I attend Fountain of Life International to provide a family Christmas Experience for the foster children we work with. It may be a busy time, the days approaching the event but it is totally worth the hours.  Hours of matching gifts with names and ages of young people.  Some we have met before and others we only know their age and gender.   The whole time while putting gifts together, I am praying that God shows me what they need and like.  My goal is for each young person to get something that fits with them.  This year was a bit easier with some of the gifts because I have met more of the kids we are giving gifts to. 
Sunday morning on the day of the event, I was finishing wrapping the gifts and getting things ready. As I was wrapping one of the boys homes presents, some of the items got a bit mixed up and I was not sure what I had done foe each boy.  So I fixed as best as I remembered and prayed that each got what they needed and wanted. 
the Christmas party was a fun event of bowling and fellowship with the kids.  Because we are working with group homes and things change all the time, we had to search and find the gifts of some of the kids that came with another house.  That part was a bit crazy, but part of working with group homes.  Everyone got their presents, and I started to mingle with the different homes. One of the boys in a home got a journal and pen and was almost in tears because that is what he is interested in and he couldn't believe that we knew what to give him.
Monday as we (the OCJ Staff) were discussing the event, it was told about a young man who lost his mp3 player a few days earlier.  At the party he received a new mp3 player and he started to cry.  I heard that I have to say that even though we may not know every one of the kids, God does and he cares for each one.  he knows their needs and if we listen we can help meet their needs.

Thanks for sharing these young people with me and have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

Living Without

Sometimes words fail me as I try to express what I see.
Today I had the opportunity to drop off a beautiful 9 ft Christmas tree to one of the shelters we work with.
I was not away of the how different a shelter was from a group home.  The shelter is supposed to be temporary until the child is placed with a family or in a group home. 
When a child arrives at the shelter, they have nothing, no family, no clothes, nothing, just what they are wearing at the time.  Their rooms are bare, just something else to tell them they have nothing.  Nothing that reminds them that there is hope, that they can dream.  Nothing but blank walls and no doors.

This just reminds me of the need.  These young people need people they can count on.  People to help change a house to a home. 
Is that person you? Not sure? Here are a few steps to see if this is a fit for you.

Volunteering

The first step requires in an honest self evaluation to determine the amount and depth of your involvement.  Ask yourself, “How do I want to get involved?” The answer to this question will assist you identifying the amount of time and effort you are able to provide within the time frame of your current work and personal life schedule.
–        What are your strengths?
 –        What are your passions?
–        What does your current schedule allow?
–        What can I do to make the most impact?
 An honest evaluation of these questions and your ability to identify these areas of involvement will be every foster care and every non-profit agency’s greatest ally. The goal is to match your passions and strength with the agency of your choice or individual child’s greatest corresponding need. This will also keep you from over committing, leaving a lack in services provided, resulting in a bad experience for everyone involved. The reality is that the need always outweighs the availability of caring adult volunteers, resulting in volunteers being stretched to thin or placed in an area you feel uncomfortable in or unqualified for. Be upfront in communicating, this is where I would like to get involved and the amount of time I have to volunteer. 

Sound like something you are interested contact us at ocj1@offcampusjams.org.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone.  This year I had the opportunity to attend 3 Thanksgiving dinners. 
The 1st dinner was held at my church with  wonderful group homes in attendance.  It was a great night of food and family game time.  The noise level was so high, you had to leave the room to hear yourself think :-).
It was a great night!

The 2nd Thanksgiving dinner was a little smaller at a club house with a group of friends wanting to get involved with our group home families.  We had a great time of movies, food, billiards, and fire pits. I met some amazing young ladies that are new the group home family. The evening was enjoyed by all.

The 3rd was with my family on Thanksgiving day.A fun time playing games and eating turkey :-)

How was your Thanksgiving?

Dealing with Loss

Last night as I go to pick up the young lady I have been working with, I notice that she is crying.
I find out that one of babies in the house has been placed with a foster family in Tuscon.  She will be leaving today.  Exciting news for this little one, hard news for those who have seen her grow and helped take care of her for the past year and a half.
This may not be the loss due to death , but it is loss do to separation.  It can have the same affect.
These kids deal with this continually.  One person moves in, they are there for a while then they are gone.
When this is all you know, some get numbed by the process and feel nothing, the lucky ones feel every hurt and learn  that loving people is okay even when we don't have them around.

hard stuff to deal with at a young age.

Looking Back

I have been looking back and have realized that I have been going to this particular home of young women, every week, for a year and a half now.  I have had the opportunity to speak into the lives of 13 young ladies and 19 young ones during this time.  It is amazing how fast time goes by.  In a year and a half there have been 32+ kids come thru this one house.  Some stay a few years until the age out, some are there for just a few weeks, some get transferred to other group homes for one reason or another.
These 13 young ladies, with their babies, have left an impression in my heart. Some I have maintained communication with as they have aged out of the system.  Some I can not find or do not have a way to communicate with.  They all have their stories and all are unique and special.  I can't wait to hear about the great things they do.
I hear from the staff at the house that the girls look forward to my coming.  They get their chores done so they can participate in whatever we do that night.  It doesn't matter what we do, color, play games, exercise, paint, create, talk, watch a movie, swim, carve pumpkins, decorate for the holidays, and the list goes on.  They just know I care enough to come and so they look forward to it.

What difference can you make?  What do you have to offer? Let me know I would love to hear.

Carving Pumpkins

Another exciting evening with the girls this past Monday!  I love holidays and making the most of them.
So over the past few weeks we have been getting ready for Halloween.  Last week we decorated masks, so the girls could were them on the 31st if they wanted, seeing that after the age of 13 they do not have the availablitiy to get a costume while they are in a group home.
This past Monday we carved pumpkins.  What an ooie gooie mess that was but a great time getting our hands dirty carving pumpkins.  While the seeds were baking we were carving.  Scary scenes, funny faces, one sided, oh wait some are two faced :-)  But the overall experience was enjoyable. 
Don't they look great?!

Do you have a favorite holiday tradition for Thanksgiving you would like to share?  How about Christmas? I would love to hear some and possibly use them with the girls.

Meeting the needs

One thing I like about what I do is the part where a need is connected with an answer. 
At the group home I meet at every week, 2 other volunteers have been coming to help with a need.
At first it was to help a young lady getting ready to turn 18 with a reading level of 4th grade.  This volunteer came and tutored this young lady until she went home.  Did that mean she stoppred coiming? Not at all, in fact she enjoyed coming so much that she helped with creative ideas of what to do when we are there every week.
recently, this volunteers' teaching skills and passions have been requested again by 2 new girls who have moved into the house.  The girls are excited to get help in the subjects they are struggling in and the teacher is excited because she is working with her passion.  It is a win win situation!!!

Do you have a skill you are passionate about and would like to share with a young person?
It is possible and I can help you get connected!  Just ask me how! shevaun@offcampusjams.org.

Is She Here Yet?

This past Monday, I was going to the same group home that I have been going to for over 2 years now. The girls have changed several times, as they age out of the system or get moved to a different house, or they leave.

But this Monday, I was reminded that my visits are important to those who are in the house.
They don't care what we do they just like that I come. It is something they can count on.

On this Monday, I arrive at the house a minute late and I ring the doorbell. On the other side I hear, "Shevaun is that you?", then "she's here" in anticipation.
As the door opens and I go thru the formalities of signing in, the girls share with me that "Sally" has been waiting and looking out the window waiting for me to arrive.
They have been waiting! They have no idea what we will be doing, but they are waiting.
Waiting for someone who cares for them. Who is there. "Sally" has only been in the house for 3 weeks and she already knows that I will be there!

These young people need more of us to stand up and just be there. We don't have to have all the answers, we just need to be there. Will you be one who can be there?

Want more information on how you can make a difference in a young persons life? contact me at shevaun@offcampusjams.org

Night on the Town

This week I had the opportunity to celebrate a birthday with a young lady from the group homes.
When I picked her up, I asked where she wanted to go. Her comment was, "I want spaghetti and meatballs". So the decision was made to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. It was yummy and she got her spaghetti and meatballs, plus the salad and bread and of course the spumoni for dessert. She also learned where spaghetti came from, from a spaghetti tree all the way from Napoli, Italy. :-)
After dinner we headed over to Crackerjax for miniature golf and most importantly, go karts!
We had a great time celebrating her birthday, which was 2 months before.

The birthday plans may have been delayed, but that didn't matter to this young lady. what mattered is that I didn't forget what I said I would do and we went out to celebrate.

I am into the building of memories, that hopefully will stay with the young people I work with over the years. Memories that will remind them that people do care and not all of our life stinks!

This is why I do what I do!!!

Hot Summer Sundays

Sunday I paid a visit to a group home that is classified as a shelter. This home has 13 kids ranging in ages from 1 month to 7th grade. Some of the kids have been there for a while and call it home. Others have just arrived and appear to be in adjustment mode.

I stopped by to drop of some diapers and study workbooks for the kids in the home. I also had the privilege to hold the 1 month old while sitting and talking with a few other kids in the house.
With 13 kids, they were busy. What I learned was that a weekly event happened on Sundays, playing in the water in the back yard or should I say the mud :-). Some of the kids just wanted to get wet while others came and asked permission to get dirty. They slid down the slide into a puddle (or mini lake) of mud and then slide across the yard, which reminded me of good old times playing in the sprinklers during the summer. No pool was needed! Then as they got wet and cold they start coming into the house wanting to get warm, but are told to go warm up in the sun :-) Kids are kids where ever you go.

Memories with My Other Family

This week was Memorial Day weekend. I know it is a day to remember the soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty. i take the time now to thank these men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. I also would like to thank the families of these lost heroes. My prayers are with all of you this week.

For me Memorial Day has become a day were my "family" gets together for a picnic or BBQ. This year, I spent it with a part of my new family, the teen moms in a group home. When I arrived at the house, my little friend came to the door and was excitedly calling my name, I think we all look forward for me coming on Monday's. On this Monday we had a great day, swimming, and hanging out. To continue our exercise time, when I come, we did water aerobics in the pool. After the exercise was done we continued having fun, spraying each other, or at least trying to, with the fun noodles and having a blast! All of the sudden the girls star getting out the pool, they heard the "corn man's" horn and were on their way for his delicious corn. One of the young ladies bought corn for the house. It was my first time to try it and it was yummy! a mix of parmesan cheese, chili powder and lemon on sweet corn. YUMMY! After we all had our corn or mango we hung around out front enjoying our food in our suits and towels. It reminded me of when we used to run for the ice cream truck. New experiences!

Soon after, it was time to start dinner. I was so excited about getting my orange chicken mix in the mail that I planned to make dinner for the girls this Memorial Day. I started preparing the meal, then one by one each girl came up and started to help get dinner ready. Wanting to learn something new, or just be apart of something. Everyone helped out doing something, cutting broccoli, preparing the sauce mix, cooking rice, making drinks and setting the table. When dinner was ready we all sat down at the table to eat dinner together. What a great day!

After dinner, the girls were reminded where they live by having to do their chores. they don't get a break just because it is a holiday. Daily they have to do the dishes, sweep and mop floors, clean the bathrooms and take out all the trash. they never know when there will be an inspection, so they have to always be ready.

Another memorable Monday, building family memories to last a long time, that is why I do what I do!

Decisions

There is a lot of different things going on in my head about a young lady, who I will call Beth, who lives at a teen mom group home that I visit on Mondays.

Beth is soon to turn 18 and she has some decisions to make. What does she want to do? Where does she want to live? Does she want to stay at the home she is now? Deep down she wants to finish her education and at the same time move back in with her mom and get her child back. What she doesn't realize that, if she takes advantage of the programs available to her, she might have a better chance making it in the world around her.

Right now the system has failed her. She is 17 and is struggling with reading and writing. Where do they have her in school, in a life skills class and job training. She is not receiving help with her reading and writing skills, which is one of the things she needs. She has a ways to go and needs a lot of help that I believe she will not get at home. she will one of those statistics that prove we are so needed.

I struggle with what needs to happen next. I can help with her reading and spelling skills on a limited basis. I can try and help her see long term consequences to her choices today. It is times like these that I wish I was able to get a hold of her when she first arrived in the system. It is because of young people like this that we are involved. this is why we do what we do!

Beth is one out of 10,000 foster kids here in Arizona. All needing attention, all needing some one who will care and try to make changes. Will you be one to help bring change?

Why We Do What We Do!

2 sisters 2 very different outcomes!

Last night I attended a high school graduation of a young lady who used to attend one of the drop in centers I ran 4 years ago. I have always said she was a bright young lady and she proved it. Thru her young life she has had to make some hard decisions. The first being to live with another family to get a better education away from the struggles of daily life amidst her family. Such a tough decision from one so young, but she did it for her future.
Now 4 years later, she is a high school graduate and next year going on to college.

Her sister on the other hand did not get out. She has been caught up in the turmoil that surrounds her environment. It is for this young lady we do what we do. To see her make changes, dream big and teach her how to achieve them. To bring her tools and hope that she is not alone. She is worth dreaming big. She is valuable. She is a vital part of our future. That the there is a bigger world out there and she can be apart of it.

There are so many young people out there like this young lady who need us to show them a different way of life and how to achieve it.