Author: Jeannie Norris

They roll in to give what matters most When you’re away from home – and you can’t go home – a team of mother figures shows up at the door to give you some love. And you realize then, no matter what mistakes you made, someone is out there rooting for you.

Meet the Swansboro United Methodist Women.

From 45 minutes south, they drive caravan-style up Highway 17 to deliver comfort and encouragement to the boys at our Craven transitional living home: prize bags for field day, gift cards for Christmas, holiday comfort food, birthday cards, valentines, Easter lunch, pizza, wooly hats, homemade cookies.

And they want you to know something: They receive as much as they give.

“It’s not a matter of just giving,” says Marilyn Boyce. “Because when people give, it puts them in a superior position and, while we’re older than these children, this is a matter of
reciprocation. They give to us in ways they probably don’t really know.”

A couple of years ago, the Craven boys painted a serving platter with hearts and confetti colors; they glazed and fired it, and they gave it to the Swansboro women. That platter comes out at every single circle meeting – second Wednesday of the month – as a reminder of their friendship.

“We see so much hope in them,” says Gay Licko. “We get to share a little in the plans for their future. We are allowed to be part of it, and we feel welcomed.”

Alexis, age 6; Jamie, age 5

They had done this. Kevin and Susan had raised three children into their teens already, so a couple of toddlers couldn’t do anything to surprise them. Right?

On his first day alone with Alexis and Jamie, Kevin turned his back for just a moment while the kids were in the kitchen. When he looked again, he saw the 2- and 3-year-olds “showering” in the water dispenser on the refrigerator.

The last time Kevin had parented preschoolers, his refrigerator didn’t even have a water dispenser. Now he and Susan were discovering all that had changed since their own teenagers were young – and suddenly remembering how relentless young children can be.

“They were everywhere,” Susan says.

Susan and Kevin were new to foster care then, but they were ready to jump back into the preschool hustle of car seats, diapers, and potty-training. They knew the first days with Alexis and Jamie would be chaotic. They were prepared for the demands of parenting neglected children who’d lost everything. Alexis missed her birth mother, and both struggled to sleep.

Today Alexis and Jamie are bright, happy kids – still everywhere, eager to try new things. They were adopted this summer and live every day secure in the love of their parents, Susan and Kevin, and their siblings Jacob, Emily, and Sam.

When a 7 year old child says, “Mom, I want to spread joy at Christmas” … when churches, families, Army Reservists, hoteliers, restaurants, schools, foundations, fitness clubs, hospitals, car dealerships, house cleaning services, radio stations, book stores, and friends on Facebook ALL join together to make sure our children and families have joy at Christmas, we are thankful. Your giving brings more joy than you can imagine.

This is the face of resilience. This is Veronica.

Born one of 12 siblings, Veronica was raised to her early teen years in a housing community beset by poverty and crime. She was 13 when she was placed into foster care and, a year later, she came to Methodist Home for Children.

Today, Veronica is a college graduate – described by social workers as one of the most resourceful and resilient people they’ve ever met.

She was the first student to graduate from Wake Tech’s Fostering Bright Futures program in 2012, earning an associate degree in criminal justice, and she graduated from UNC-Greensboro in August with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable hospitality and tourism.

We are so very proud of Veronica and her drive to stay focused and positive. As a beneficiary of our Hackley Education & Learning Program – which helped her with tuition, housing, and transportation – she gives back now by encouraging kids in foster care to surround themselves with successful people and to earn their degrees. UNC-Greensboro, she tells them, introduced her to a world of diverse people, cultures, and thought that she treasured as a student and she continues to cultivate in her new career. She gets to meet colorful people every day as VIP host at Harrah’s Casino Cherokee – a job she loves – and she’s saving so she can help her family and see the world by traveling.

Congratulations to you, Veronica, for this latest achievement.

See what our other HELP students are doing this year –

Thank you for your prayers – we’re glad to report that the children and teens in our care are safe after Hurricane Florence.

We evacuated group homes in Craven, Chowan, Hertford, Wayne, Wake, and Onslow counties. Residents of five homes went to our crisis & assessment center in Butner; the others moved to a hotel in Raleigh.

To date, only one of our homes has been signficantly damaged by the storm. Our Wayne multipurpose home, above, has flooded and will need repairs before it can reopen to teens.

We ask for your continued prayers and support for the children in our care.