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Community Pitches in for kids in foster care
Phoenix (May 6, 2019)-
Everyone can lend a hand when it comes to helping children in foster care.
Last month, three separate events demonstrated how the community supports Arizona’s most vulnerable children.
Nurse celebrates 30th birthday by performing 30 acts of kindness
Jacque Weech is a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
“I’ve always felt a strong draw and love for foster children that only grew exponentially when I became a pediatric nurse eight years ago,” Weech said.
For her 30th birthday this year, she decided to celebrate by helping children in foster care by starting a project she called “30 Random Acts of Kindness.”
“With my 30th birthday approaching, I knew I wanted to make it memorable,” she said. “I wanted to do something that has significant meaning to me and to those I love.”
Weech solicited backpacks, birthday gifts, new clothes, and personal care items from her family and friends and then donated them to the Department of Child Safety to distribute to children in foster care.
“Although I’m not at a place to be a foster parent myself yet, I aim to make a bigger difference with these next ten years and wanted to start out with a bang,” she said. “I am abundantly blessed in my own life have not only a moral obligation, but also a desire to help those children suffering and without support.”
Corona Del Sol High School
For the second year in a row, this Tempe school’s Key Club held a donation drive to collect personal care items such as shampoo and body wash for children entering care.
The students collected enough supplies to fill 100 drawstring bags.
“We saw the need to help these foster children feel more comfortable and adjust quicker in their new home by providing them with a bag filled with their own toiletries and a card from our K-Kids Club reminding them that they matter to us and the community,” said Kellie Kim, Key Club president. “This project was very important to us and hit close to home because the people we sought to help were no different than our peers, friends, and siblings. They were children, just like us.”
Cactus High School’s Theatre Department donates Cinderella tickets
James and Heather Madsen have been foster parents for several years.
They were looking for a way to help support foster families after attending some DCS events sponsored by community partners.
“We thought it was really neat that members of the community would open up so many opportunities for kids in foster care,” Heather Madsen said.
Since James is the theatre director at Cactus High School in Glendale, they decided to donate 750 tickets to the school’s musical production of Cinderella.
“James is passionate about the arts and how it can change lives. The theatre arts offer a place for everyone and can be a home away from home for many kids,” Heather said. “The hope was to provide foster families a fun, magical evening while perhaps inspiring a child or two to love theatre as much as James and the cast of Cinderella love it.”
How you can help
DCS welcomes any and all support for children in foster care from the business or non-profit communities.
If you own a business or are part of an organization looking for ways to help children in foster care, consider holding an event for foster families to enjoy or reserve a few places at your event for foster families to attend.
For more information on how you can include foster families in your next event, contact the DCS Community Liaison at [email protected].
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