Foster Fridays: First Responders

At Foster Love Ministries we’ve come up with a very effective way to serve local foster families and the children placed with them. We have groups- the First Responders- that come alongside of us to help supply the needs of those who’ve said “yes” to children in crisis.

Who are the First Responders? Currently, the groups we’re working with are local churches and small groups. We’d love to speak with any group- your business, your scout troop, etc.- who’s interested in helping!

What are the responsibilities?

A group of First Responders will be “on call” throughout a specific, predetermined month. When a child is placed into foster care through our local DSS, the family is given contact information for Foster Love Ministries. FLM will contact the First Responders and let them know of any immediate needs the family has informed us of. FLM will help the First Responders with things like communication with the foster family, and with securing Journey Bags.

Here’s an example: When my husband and I were licensed to be foster parents we fully expected to be placed with an older child. We had our spare room set up with a Twin XL. We were very surprised- and unprepared- when we were asked to take a baby! The first responders blessed us with our immediate needs- a crib and a Journey Bag with “first night” supplies like diapers and pajamas. We are forever grateful for all the help provided during that transition time!

Logistically, what would this look like?

Present this idea to your group, see if anyone else is interested. The next step would be to set a budget as a group. Different sized groups have different budgets- this is completely fine! The group I am a part of set our budget in October, then asked to be the First Responders for December so we’d have enough time to save the money. Right now FLM is looking for groups to respond in March, April, May and June of this year.

If you’re looking for a way to share love with children in hard places, this is a great way to do so! Contact us if you’d like more information about becoming a First Responder!