By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
To be “all in” is to commit or be intensely involved in something fully. The “All In” Foster Care Summit was “all about” the scope of need for foster and kinship families locally and the great need for support systems for those families.
Although The Defender could not stay for the entire Summit, the speakers heard brought tears and joy as stories were shared and testimonies were given.
Summit organizer Veronica Grooms said, “I am overwhelmed with joy! I have heard so many comments about how a certain speaker moved attendees and that every speaker had a different life experience, each deserved their place on stage. If this night inspired just one of the 200 in attendance to foster, advocate, mentor, or at the least pray for a child, the night was a success! The last Summit resulted in so much progress and change in our system, from increased foster training, donations, and successful reunifications with the help of the Family Court to newly established Care Communities. I can’t wait to see what this one does!”
We are all broken image-bearers. As Sarah Burns so poignantly expressed in her speech, “there are many ways to be a positive catalyst of change for a struggling child. Show up! Give a child a safe space and let them know they belong. Let’s face us – none of us fit it – but we all belong. Let us be birds of “different” feathers who work and play together. We may not all fit into the role of foster or kinship parents and families, but we are all called to kindness, encouragement, and love.”
The Summit brought folks together from various agencies, backgrounds, and walks of life. Life is messy, and everyone has a story to share and ideas to present. We can all be “all in” with our unique talents and gifts.
Foster parent Kevin Walters summed it up beautifully, “I assure you once you do this, it will bring you a level of joy and happiness that can never be matched by anything else.”
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