Welcome Home USA Gives Children in the Foster System the Opportunity to Shine
This summer four families participated in Welcome Home USA. The program provides children in the foster system the opportunity to stay with a host family for one week. In that week they participate in activities, learn new skills, and interact with host families. This year, three boys and two girls were able to be a part of Welcome Home.
During the week they were with host families, they attended daily meetings where they participated in ice-breaking activities, like the M&M game. This game gave the children the opportunity to become more comfortable with speaking out loud through the answer of questions associated with the color of M&M’s. Games like Nose Dive provided many giggles, as children used Vaseline on their nose to transport cotton balls. In addition to meeting and game times, the children attended a pool party at a host family’s home, and had their first bowling experience. They also got to spend a day riding an ATV, petting goats, feeding chickens, and admiring bunnies at a day camp put on by Mountainside Ministries. Each weekday, the children worked on personal Lifebooks. The Lifebook gave them the opportunity to document their likes, dislikes, feelings, as well as the story of their journey from past to present, and their hopes of what they would like to do when they grow up.
The week long program gave many of these children in the foster system the opportunity to shine. One participant, a young lady, was extremely shy at the beginning of the week. She spoke very little, and would not look anyone in the eyes. As the week progressed, she connected with a volunteer and quickly began to blossom. As her comfort level increased, she began to smile, laugh, and display confidence. This was demonstrated […]
