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Author: Jeannie Norris

An Experience to Remember

Travel Raffle | A $100 ticket buys your chance to win one of six incredible experiences

Set Sail in Bar Habor

Airfare not included | Bar Harbor is known as the gateway to Acadia National Park, one of America’s favorite parks, and is situated on Mount Desert Island right on the gorgeous Frenchman’s Bay. Enjoy three nights for two at The Inn on Mount Desert, breakfasts included, and a two-hour windjammer sailing trip. Get the details: Set Sail in Bar Harbor

Fairmont Scottsdale Golf and Spa

Airfare not included | Enjoy this breathtaking resort in the Valley of the Sun. Three nights and daily breakfasts for two at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, plus $500 toward golf at TPC Scottsdale and Fairmont Princess Spa treatments. Championship golf courses challenge your skills and unique spa retreats offer personalized programs. The AAA Five Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess offers world-class hospitality and unparalleled luxury. Get the details: Fairmont Scottsdale Golf and Spa

Southern Charm

Airfare not included | Savannah is one of the most romantic cities in the United States. Enjoy three nights for two at select Savannah hotels, plus a private horse-drawn carriage ride and a culinary-cultural walking tour. The historic downtown district is filled with towering oak trees, horse-drawn carriages, and dramatic antebellum mansions that survived General Sherman’s fiery march to the sea during the Civil War. Get the details: Southern Charm

Tennessee Whiskey Adventure

Airfare not included | Enjoy an immersive small-group tour for two and learn the story of Jack Daniel, his hometown, and his world famous whiskey. This trip includes three nights for two at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville and a guided transportation tour with a whiskey expert, an exclusive salute to Jack Daniel at his grave, elevated tasting of premium whiskeys at Jack Daniel Distillery, and lunch in Lynchburg. Get the details: Tennessee Whiskey Adventure

Pro Sports Fan Getaway

Airfare *is* included | Enjoy two weekend nights for two plus tickets of your choice to an exciting Friday, Saturday, or Sunday MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL regular season game, or a non-major PGA golf tournament. That’s up to 5,000 games a year to choose from, among 50 markets nationwide. Get the details: Ultimate Pro Sports Fan Getaway

Samuel Adams Brewery Tour

Airfare not included | Enjoy an unique brewery experience at Samuel Adams Brewery and see the process used to brew this craft beer. This package includes three nights and daily breakfasts for two at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. You can choose the Beyond the Brewhouse Tour or enjoy three exclusive brewery-only barrel aged beers paired with local cheese on the Bierkeller Barrel Aged Experience. Dinner at Oak Long Bar + Kitchen also included. Get the details: Samuel Adams Brewery Tour

 

Taisean

Give Taisean some encouragement! Use the Leave a Reply field at the bottom of this page.

This is your life

Three weeks ago, he helped clear the land. It was his first time on a job site, but he came ready to learn.

“He’s like a sponge,” the foreman tells us. “He absorbs everything. And he wants to learn how to do things the right way. If he was 18, I’d offer him a job right now. That’s how good he is.”

Taisean still has a couple of years before he’s 18, so there’s time to decide if construction is in his future. Right now his focus is on completing high school, earning money at a part-time job, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself this year,” he says. “I’ve learned I can do this [construction] and I’ve learned I can be part of a team. When people meet me, I hope they can see that I’m a hard worker.”

Maria

Maria loves animals. All animals.
Creatures with fur, fleece, feathers, scales, shells – they’re all good.
But one is her favorite.
His name is Rusty, and he is the bearded dragon her parents bought for her 11th birthday.
“She loves this thing,” Desta, her mom, laughs. He walks on a leash and sits in her lap to watch movies. “She
talks to him – she’s really attached to him.”
Desta got the idea for Rusty after watching Maria chase lizards all summer at The Refuge, a camp her family runs in rural Greene County.
Maria wants to be a zoological veterinarian, a caretaker of animals unfamiliar and undomesticated, and she’s found her home with a family that sees her passions and strengths.
Every day with Desta and Sammy, living at The Refuge, she is discovering her capacity to learn, love, and grow.

Kaydin

Give Kaydin some encouragement! Use the Leave a Reply field at the bottom of this page.

When I look at you, I see I have a family to go to whenever.
When I hold you, I feel that I am safe and I don’t have to worry if I can eat or sleep that day.
When I smell you, I smell the cupcakes we were eating that day at the celebration of our adoption.
When I first saw you I knew that it was finally true.

When I think about you, I think of all the years that I felt sad but now that I have you I’m happier.
When I imagine my life without you, I picture a place I would feel unsafe.
When I hear others say you are a ring*, I say you are way more to me.
When others see you they think of you as jewelry, I think [of] you as new mom.

When I feel cold on my skin you remind me that I don’t have to worry.
When others say I’m the girl that was in foster care and then adopted, you say I’m that girl that is safe now.

*On the day of her adoption, Kayden was gifted a ring by her new mother, Tina

Trent

we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found —Luke 15:3

Every child deserves a chance – we believe that to our core. But sometimes a chance isn’t enough.

Sometimes a child has been neglected or abused to the point he needs more than just a chance.

He needs multiple chances. He needs grace.

Meet Trent.

Trent was just 11 when he entered the juvenile justice system, and nobody was surprised. His parents were in and out of jail. His older brother is the one who taught him to break into houses and steal cars. There was no hope for him at home.

By the time he was 13, Trent was in youth prison.

That’s a lot of trouble for someone so young. And while it might be tempting to see Trent in those terms only – we see something else.

We train our eyes to see with compassion, as Christ teaches us in the parable of the prodigal son, and we ask this –

If God’s grace for us is infinite, what is the limit of ours for children who are lost?

You know the answer.

You made a place for Trent when he had nowhere else to go. Because you care, Trent came to us.

Trent is in one of our transitional living homes, learning how to be a responsible adult. When we look at him we see a teenager who’s playful, gangly, and a little goofy. He wants what other teens want – to learn to drive, to have a phone. He wants to have friends and good influences in his life.

Trent knows God has a better plan for his life, and he is trying to figure it out. He is taking classes at a local community college, working his first job at KFC. He volunteers at the animal shelter and Meals on Wheels. He has opened a bank account.

And for this, we celebrate. Trent is not a lost cause. He’s more alive now than he’s ever been.

All that is gold does not glitter;
Not all who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither.
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.— J.R.R. Tolkien

She was a full-time mom; he was a youth director. They were married, had two girls, and were happy and content. Then an idea got into their heads and would not go away. For 10 years they prayed. At last a door opened and their prayer – to
start a summer camp in eastern North Carolina – became a reality.

Starting a camp led Desta and Sammy to the heretofore unimaginable idea of becoming foster parents. Foster parenting
led them to Maria. And Maria is the spirited, big-hearted, animal-loving daughter at the center of their lives today.

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.— Jeremiah 29:11

You probably know this beloved verse by heart. It was originally spoken by Jeremiah to offer hope to God’s people in exile; today we read it at baby baptisms. It is also appropriate for this story about Desta and Sammy. Becoming adoptive parents by way of starting a camp may seem a bit circuitous, but wandering down this path prepared them for a higher calling, one they had never imagined.

Desta and Sammy wandered, but they were never lost. Instead, deeply rooted in faith, they were open and receptive to God’s plan, a plan that fills us all with great hope for the future.

— Rev. Bruce E. Stanley, President / CEO

A family stays together

Foster care can be traumatic. Carla knows from experience – she was placed into foster care at age 10, and she remembers how frightening it was to be pulled apart from her family.

So she does not want this for her three children. And she especially doesn’t want it for her youngest, who has autism.

When we met Carla, the department of social services was working already with her family, and she was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her kids under her roof.

83% of families in our family preservation programs stay together. Thanks to you.

Your gifts give Carla and her husband, Alex, the tools they need to parent better and to advocate for their kids – and keep everyone together. Thank you for all you do to help children and their families.