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Whether you are a parent who comes to learn, one who entrusts us with your child, a volunteer who works with a family or alongside our staff, or a donor who gives much-needed support ~ you give us cause to celebrate!

This past year we continued to serve over 400 foster, fost-adopt and relative care families and added 100 new families to our network. We know the services we offer are meeting a need by the ever-increasing number of parents and children we serve. We could not do this work without you!

It is our wish that you celebrate with us by investing in one of our unique programs. Click on any of our 16 birthday wishes ~ each one lovingly cared for by our staff ~ to find out how you can help make our wishes come true!

We are all so grateful for your support!

Recruiting a Foster Family - $2,500 or a $210/Month Pledge

Help One Child promotes permanency for each foster child, recruiting foster and adoptive homes throughout the faith community. Susan Kammerer, our Executive Director, works diligently to introduce the ministry to the many layers of each church community: pastors, elders, and staff - finally appealing to families to commit to one child or sibling set at a time. Orientations, special events, bulletin notices, and in-service appeals are held year-round throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Check out our calendar.

Cost of Deploying a Volunteer - $300 or a $25/Month Pledge

Volunteers are recruited, oriented to our services, screened for gifts and interests and, finally a security clearance is performed. Individuals and small groups are made available to parents for support services ranging from an occasional break to home improvement projects or special services. This volunteer support has been rated as the most significant service that our ministry has to offer to families. Volunteer!

Training for Parents - $180 or a $15/Month Pledge

Help One Child network families are trained to help each child meet the expectation that they become respectful, responsible and able to sustain healthy relationships. Our ministry offers educational events throughout the year, featuring respected professionals in a broad range of topics meaningful to the parent of an at-risk child. Educational seminars, CPR & 1st Aid Trainings and Parent Child Connection Meetings are offered at-cost or for free to foster parents. Check out our calendar.

Children's Life Skills Training - $4,800 or a $400/Month Pledge

Growing up in today's world can be confusing and challenging for children in the best of scenarios. When life brings unexpected challenges early on it can take extra energy and attention to learn life skills to cope and thrive. The M-Power series is aimed at children age 6 to 13 who have experienced a disruption in early childhood development. Two-part sessions facilitate growth in communication, self-esteem, relationships, reciprocity, building character and values, handling emotions and following social cues. Each of 8 sessions serves up to 40 children and includes dinner, crafts and team building exercises.

Parent Child Connection Support Group - $480 or a $40/Month Pledge

The Parent Child Connection trains and encourages parents and relative caregivers who are trying to help foster and adopted children establish healthy attachments within the family. The program's mission is to provide peer support and educational and therapeutic resources for families who have children with attachment challenges, so that families can be preserved and children can heal.

Trained Child Care Provider - $540 or a $45/Month Pledge

Childcare is provided at each monthly Help One Child event or training by specially trained caregivers. Their care gives the parents a break, freeing them to focus on the teaching and get the support and refreshment they need to continue parenting with renewed strength. Our trained provider supervises a team of volunteers monthly to insure a safe and structured environment for the most challenging of children. Volunteer!

Camp Connection - $720 or a $60/Month Pledge

Camp Connection unites foster and adoptive families. Many parents arrive at camp in "survival mode" because their child's oppositional and manipulative behavior successfully keeps the child, rather than the parents, in control. Children affected by Reactive Attachment Disorder feel threatened by parental love and authority because they have been hurt in the past. They push away, which often causes divisions and misunderstandings between the parents. The serene redwood forest, parent training seminars, therapeutically trained volunteers and family bonding exercises help develop a healthy parenting paradigm that by the end of the week families say has made a significant difference in their family's dynamics.

"My daughter and I gained a more secure sense of connection, I learned skills to prevent her from undermining my love and she learned skills that allow her to let my love in." Fost-Adopt Mom

One Edition of the Newsletter - $1,400 or a $120/Month Pledge

Dividends is Help One Child's quarterly newsletter. It's packed with information about upcoming events and resources, ministry opportunities and information about the foster care system. With your help, we are "going green" and hope to offer our news via e-letter sometime soon!

Parent's Night Out - $2,250 or a $190/Month Pledge

Caring for the caregivers is at the heart of our mission. At Help One Child's Parents' Night Out event, foster and fost-adopt parents are free to take a night for themselves. Meanwhile, their children are cared for by staff who work alongside trained volunteer teams to provide a safe, structured, and fun environment that includes dinner, crafts, and games galore. Volunteer!

Mother's Day Brunch for One Mom - $60 or a $5/Month Pledge

Motherhood, with its special challenges and rewards, is a bond that only other mothers understand. And foster and adoptive mothers share an even more unique set of experiences. Help One Child celebrates mothers at an annual Mother's Day Brunch. It is a time for reflection, inspiration and renewal as moms share written prayer requests and praises that are prayed for by the "angels" on the Help One Child prayer team. Volunteer!

Christmas Party for A Foster Child - $75 or a $6/Month Pledge

Help One Child transforms Union Presbyterian Church into a child's Christmas Wonderland with decked out halls and rooms of carnival games and intricate arts and crafts. When the families arrive, live music and carols greet them. Santa brings presents and poses with foster families for a Christmas photo. The kitchen is filled with the smell of roast turkey as volunteers lay out a seasonal feast. Foster children dress in Christmas pageant costumes and present the story of Christ's coming to an auditorium of families and volunteers. Sponsoring churches host "Giving Trees" so that every child's wish is fulfilled. Volunteer!

"We all had a great time, especially the kids. Everyone was so kind, helpful and happy it was contagious." Foster and Adoptive Dad

Nuts & Bolts: New Copy Machine - $600 or a $50/Month Pledge

Tirelessly working to duplicate materials for foster parents, perspective foster parents and volunteers our copier is in desperate need of replacement! This tool is essential to our educational and support efforts. This is a sound investment that will pay immediate and potentially significant dividends across our organization.

Nuts & Bolts: New Computer - $1,200 or a $100/Month Pledge

It has been several years since a surplus budget has allowed for technological investment and our aging computers are evidence of a tight budget. These essential tools are now in need of replacement! Factoring in security risks, high maintenance costs and reduced productivity, refreshing our aging computers could actually save time and money ~ important goals in any economic climate.

Giveaways and Special Offerings - $8,400 or a $700/Month Pledge

Every week, we receive amazing donations varying in value from cars to toys, appliances to gently-used clothing. Offerings of tickets to special events and other wonderful opportunities that would otherwise be beyond their reach are made available to our network families. It takes time for our office manager, Cari Michel, to sort, inventory, email our families, and arrange for the pick-up / delivery amongst the parties. This is one of our most appreciated services!

Tuesday Night Supper Club - $4,500 or a $375/Month Pledge

A home-cooked meal can mean a lot to a child that has been removed from their home. Each Tuesday night, Help One Child's Cathy Lewis and volunteer leader Annette Caves host volunteers who cook a scrumptious meal for the children in residence at the San Mateo County Receiving Home. Children work along side loving adults and enjoy the fruits (or tacos) of their labor! Dessert and simple companionship included. Volunteer!

Parent Hot Line - $15,000 or a $1,250/Month Pledge

The heart of the ministry of Help One Child lies in its meeting each family's special need. Sometimes it is as simple as the referral of a resource to better understand a child's behavior or the name of a specialist who can help. Often it is a cry for support that warrants the search for a volunteer who can dedicate their time and attention. In each case, it is the compassionate listening of Judy Holmes, our Parent/Volunteer Coordinator, that makes the difference. Value? PRICELESS! E-mail Judy for more information.