When They Are Giving Back

Foster care is a concept that has been around since the beginning of times. Orphaned children during the Bible times were placed with widows, who were paid by the church to care for the child. Since then, this practice has been passed along from country to culture to governments. In 1853, the Children's Aid Society and the orphan train system was formed. There are now several different agencies that help place foster children and encourage adults to help care for them, as well as three ways children in the foster system can be cared for.  These ways include single foster family, group home, or kinship care. The world has continued to develop and brainstorm ways to improve the system and better care for children who have been orphaned or are just unwanted.

However, the same attention and diligence is not given to the very same kids once they exit the system, which happens on their 18th birthday. They are legally adults and sent out into the world with nothing more than what they have collected over the years. Some live on the streets and struggle to survive each and every day. Others manage to improve their lives. Some handle their new found freedom with care, nurturing their ability to finally make decisions for themselves. Amy and Amber Haskill are two such individuals. Twin sisters, they spent years separated as they were moved around from foster home to foster home. They often left their previous "home" with just the clothes on their backs. When they were reunited through adoption, the twins found they wanted to help foster kids who had suffered through the system.

Closet2Closet began two years ago. It is a program started by the Haskill sisters with the help of their adoptive family. It gives donated clothes to foster kids, age 10-18, for free. They are currently doing quarterly shopping days. Case workers, foster parents, and foster kids come to receive clothing as well as care packages. The care packages include toiletry items, socks and underwear, and other personal items. All of the clothes are given to the girls and they are laundered before they present the items to children in need. Recently, they have begun reaching past their community by sending out care packages to other parts of the state through the Center for Youth and Family Solutions.

It is not uncommon for past foster kids to reach out and try to make a difference in the system that shaped their life. If they can move past the obstacles that are placed in their lives, what more can we do? What more could we provide with the fortunes that come with privileged lives? When they are giving back, we should be too.