We Would Have Given Up
Jamie personally understands the needs of foster families. Before moving overseas, Jamie and her family fostered children in Oklahoma for three years. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Struggles that I would have never imagined came up.” Because of these struggles, Jamie relied heavily on her community to support her. Even the simplest needs such as car rides to appointments, meal preps, and tutoring made all the difference to Jamie. “If it wasn’t for our friends who stepped in to help us… we would have given up for sure.” During that time, CarePortal was just getting started. Jamie encouraged her church to be aware of the needs of children and foster care families. The community support of foster and biological families is just as important as the need for more foster care families. Without the support of a community, many of these needs go unmet. Unsupported families are more likely to give up, leaving children yet again without a family. “I know this from experience,” Jamie said, “because I wanted to quit so many times.”
CarePortal has now grown to meet the needs of hundreds of children across the nation. After returning to the States, Jamie’s family has been supporting the needs of children and families through their church’s connection with the 111Project. “CarePortal is a great way to support people like I was supported.” Jamie knows how important support from a community can be in a child’s future. She says that is why she has been involved with the 111Project along with other people from her church.
Jamie shared one of her recent experiences meeting a need through CarePortal. As the new year began, Jamie was quarantined because of COVID, but she was still able to fill a request through CarePortal. Jamie saw a request made for a new mom who needed help with an electric bill. Jamie thought this was the perfect request to meet since she wouldn’t need to leave quarantine, and she could still help a new mom feel supported. “It can feel like a big commitment, but the beauty of CarePortal is you do it when you can,” Jamie explained. Many other families like this new mom have needs posted to CarePortal. Churches all over Oklahoma have begun to meet those needs so every child has a family and those families feel cared for and supported. Jamie understands the importance of community support to foster and biological families; “it’s such a blessing to be able to be a small part of a kid’s future.”
If you or your church want to be involved with meeting needs of children and families through CarePortal, visit us at 111project.