Project Description

Blankies For Babies is a non-profit charity organization started in 2006 to gather new and lightly used blankies as well as make new blankies for infants, toddlers, and small children who need them. Blankies For Babies has reached infants and small children throughout Oahu, Hawaii and Albuquerque, New Mexico and is spreading throughout Oklahoma, Maryland, Idaho, and several other states.

Our Red, White, and Blue Blankie Party will be held in June 2008 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. We will be taking donations of any blankies of those colors and of patriotic themes as well as making no-sew fleece blankies. These blankies will be collected and donated to Tripler Army Medical Center as well as various Family Support Organizations around Oahu and across the country.

For more information, please visit our website: www.blankiesforbabies.com!

Mahalo (Thank you) and God bless,
Christina Borden
Founder/Director
Blankies For Babies

Project Description

Are you interested in helping children in the foster care system? If so, Hudson County CASA is currently recruiting volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. CASA works through trained community volunteers to insure that needed services and assistance are made available to children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and its volunteers speak for children in court, serve as fact finders for the judges and safeguard the interests of the children while they are in the foster care system. There will be an information session about the program and the role of its volunteers on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 6 p.m. in Room 901 of the Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City. Please utilize the rear entrance as the front doors are locked after 5 p.m. Hudson County has over 700 children in foster care; most have been removed from their homes for abuse or neglect. For further information, please call [edited out by DS Staff], visit our webpage at www.hudsoncountycasa.org, or email us at: [edited out by DS Staff]

Project Description

In the United Sates alone, an estimated 2.7 million animals in shelters are euthanized each year. Many of these animals are killed due to minor problems that include age, weight, and treatable ailments. For my Senior Project, I was a foster parent to these animals, where I not only helped save their lives, but also made them eligible for adoption.

To start my project, I met with the Foster Coordinator, Katie Black, and had an interview with her and my mother to become a foster parent. I started bringing home animals in need the same day. Katie agreed to be my mentor, and helped teach me how to care for each animal’s special needs. Thus far, I have taken in eleven kittens, three cats and one dog.

Upon bring each animal home I had to adapt my house to fit their needs. For the kittens and cats, I set up litter boxes, blankets, boxes with pillows, baby gates, newspaper, and removed just about every loose object. For the dog I had to develop a system of baby gates to ensure that the dog did not have much contact with my other animals. I also adapted my room with food and water dishes as well as a kennel with all of his blankets and toys.

The first set of animals I received was a litter of four kittens, they were under weight, under age, and not litter trained. Following them I fostered two cats that had an upper respiratory infection and needed a syringe full of medicine twice a day. The infection was spread to many other animals in the shelter including the four kittens that I first fostered for while the where waiting to be spayed/neutered. I took back the four kittens and gave them the medical attention they needed. I then took in one kitten with the same infection, which was also suffering from losing its siblings and being under weight. Following that kitten, I took in two feral kittens that were under age and weight and in need of socializing. Theses kittens were very difficult because they were not used to humans and untrusting of them. I took in a dog that had heart worms, tick bites and a weak leg. So far, he requires the most attention. In addition to fostering animals, I donated supplies and my time to Safe Harbor after they experienced a devastating fire. In two days, I was able to raise over $1,800 for their cause. The most recent animals I have taken in is a cat and her litter of four kittens, they were in need of special care and flea treatment. The mother cat had a litter of nine but while at the shelter five died. I got them at three days old, they are now almost a month old and doing very well.

My mentor has been a huge help and an inspiration. She has prepared me for all of the difficulties I have faced with each animal. Upon deciding to become a foster parent, I had no idea how much work it really was. I never took into consideration all of the cleaning, attention and adaptations that I would have to make in my life to help the lives of these animals. Though each day that I take care of these animals, meant waking up early and putting their needs before mine, it was more than enough of a reward to know that I helped these animals find forever homes and helped an owner find the pet they love.

I will be continuing to do the foster program throughout the school year, summer, and when I return home on breaks. If awarded this scholarship i will uses the money to continue my research in order to make a difference for the lives of these animals. I have also encouraged, friends, family and people that I have met to help the cause and become foster parents as well. One day I hope enough people realize how just a few moments of their time, will mean a lifetime to these animals and will help out local shelters near them. I hope this will encourage you to share my story, and further communicate the message of animal abuse and how just a few moments of your time can mean a life time to theses animals.

Project Description

Yellow Brick Road, Inc. is a new nonprofit agency in the startup phase. It will serve to enhance the lives of children and adolescents, particularly those in out-of-home care. Youth involved in the child welfare system experience many adverse events, including frequent home and school transfers, being separated from many or all family members, and the lack of adequate support and preparation needed for success in adulthood. Yellow Brick Road, Inc. seeks to enhance the lives of youth involved in the child welfare system. It will do this by providing care packages to youth who enter into shelters or residential facilities. Training seminars on new research and best practices will be provided to child care providers, foster parents, and agency directors and staff. Volunteers will be recruited from the community to mentor youth involved in the child welfare system. Finally, Yellow Brick Road, Inc. aims to open an innovative residential facility for youth in care ages 15-18 which will focus on permanency, furthering education, job training and sustaining employment, social connections within the community, and life skills so that youth involved in the child welfare system are empowered to reach their full potential as adults.

Project Description

elevate is a group of young people ages 13 and up who seek to inspire others to new levels of understanding and compassion to the life connection needs of foster care and adoptive teens by sharing their personal stories of hope.

elevate has created “elevate our youth to adulthood day” that will be held on April 26,2008. elevate will do outreach and take applications from youth who have transitioned from foster care to their own apartment and will select 10 individuals in 8 communities in Iowa to receive apartment makeovers. elevate will work with business, schools and other community groups to “adopt” an apartment. These groups will fundraise, purchase items to complete the makeover. Each makeover group will be paired up with youth from elevate to makeover the apartments on April 26th. The goal is to enhance the living spaces and build a connection between the youth, elevateÔ and the community.

Project Description

The Bear Hug Project is a project that I came up with I came up with to donate teddy bears, as well as a load of other things, to children in childrens hospitals and in foster care in the state of Florida. I came up with the idea for this project because I want these children not to feel as if they are neglected. I want to make them feel as if they are special because they ARE in fact special in every way. I would like to expand to hospitals and centers in the other 49 states as well. Besides donating teddy bears I plan on doing different projects and fundraisers with the help of others.

Project Description

Ashley Rhodes-Courter was born in North Carolina in 1985 and entered foster care in 1989. Over the next nine years, she lived in 14 placements before being adopted at age 12 by Phil and Gay Courter of Crystal River, Florida. By law, she had all the rights and privileges of any other American child, but her circumstances put her in a position where she had no parents, no home, and no voice for almost ten years. Many of her 14 foster homes were illegally overcrowded, one was extremely abusive, and two were modern orphanages serving troubled and dangerous children. When she was seven, she landed in a very abusive foster home where 16 children shared a three-bedroom trailer. They were underfed, beaten, forced to swallow hot sauce, run laps in the blistering sun, and crouch in painful stress positions—similar to the ones used on the prisoners in Iraq.
Since she was 14, her speeches have encouraged children still waiting for permanent homes, inspired more parents to adopt older children, and helped change the hearts and minds of those in power so today’s foster children won’t get lost in a system that is failing them. Ashley has made it her mission to be a voice for the thousands of children who are neglected in foster care each day. Ashley gives inspiration to troubled youth who feel like their lives, actions, and ideas don’t matter.
From kindergarten to the third grade, she changed schools at least twice a year. Yet for her, academic institutions were sanctuaries where she was rewarded for her hard work and given the encouragement and support to succeed despite the horrors that were happening in her “home” life. Even when she was stripped of family and possessions, she knew that she would have a safe place to spend the day and ultimately gain an education she would have for the rest of her life.
Because of this, Ashley gives thanks and a wide variety of motivational speeches to schools and colleges, educators, administrators, volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA’s, Guardians ad Litem, and other foster care and adoption organizations. Ashley will make you laugh, cry, but most importantly, will motivate you to overcome your adversities and make the world a better place for yourself and others.
In recent years Ashley has broadened her messages to support a wider range of motivational applications, including overcoming personal challenges and succeeding with educational goals.