S.M.I.L.E.S. (Scrapbook Memories Intended to Lift Esteem and Spirits)

S.M.I.L.E.S. is a project that I thought would be very important to foster kids in my community. As a former foster child, I know what it is like to be asked to bring in a baby picture for a yearbook, or a picture of when you were younger for a special project at school and not have one. When a foster child leaves their home, pictures and scrapbooks are not on any list to take. In fact, most kids who are being taken into custody do not bring anything with them at all. If they end up not being reunited with their biological family, there is no hope of having many pictures. Pictures as we know are important to any age as they help us build and form memories. I would like to continue to do a couple of more scrapbook workshops. I have conducted several workshops and the attendance continues to grow- mostly due to word of mouth. I send invitations to the social workers, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and to private agencies to pass along and to the foster children. This can be hard due to confidentiality clauses and the publicity a foster child might have while at a foster event. The workshop is usually a couple of hours long and the kids get free scrapbooks, supplies, and lots of cute paper along with some fancy scissors to take with them when they leave so they can continue their books in whatever home they might be in at the time. Sometimes we also have cameras that have been donated so they might take a camera with them too. Please help with this project so that S.M.I.L.E.S. can be on a lot of foster faces.