Supporting Families from Day One: How Foster Village Makes an Impact through Tangible Support
From the moment a child in care enters into a new home, our goal is to provide the support, tools, and resources families need, so caregivers can focus on connection during those critical times. Here’s a closer look at some of the ways we step in to meet the immediate needs of children and caregivers.
Welcome Packs: Comfort and Dignity from the Start
Welcome Packs are the root of Foster Village, being the first program we launched. When children enter care, it often happens suddenly, and they arrive with very few belongings. Our Welcome Packs are designed to meet the immediate needs of caregivers as they welcome a new child into their home.
Each pack, valued at around $500, contains 40–50 brand-new items, carefully selected and tailored to the child receiving it. Inside, you’ll find books, clothing, shoes, toys, hygiene products, and more. From the very beginning, we’ve prioritized providing high-quality, new items to help children feel dignity and care from day one. To date, we’ve provided over 1,500 Welcome Packs, and that number continues to grow every day.
Each Welcome Pack is paired with a home-cooked meal prepared by our amazing volunteers. It’s a small but meaningful reminder that families are not alone and that a supportive village is right there with them.
Larger Tangible Support: Helping Caregivers Say “Yes”
Kinship caregivers, or relatives stepping in to care for children in foster care, often receive little warning before a child arrives. Many are grandparents or adults who have already raised children, so their homes may not have the essentials a little one needs.
Foster Village steps in to meet these tangible needs, helping caregivers feel prepared and supported from day one. Some of the larger items we provide include car seats, strollers, toddler beds, bedding, and more. And when we don’t have a specific item on hand, we connect caregivers with partner organizations that can help.
Our goal is simple: remove barriers so that saying yes to a child in need of a temporary home is as easy as possible.
Project SOOTHe: Supporting Sensory Needs
Many children in foster care have sensory needs, and entering care can be an overwhelming and confusing experience. Navigating new routines, homes, and caregivers can add to the stress. Through Project SOOTHe (sensory opportunities offering therapeutic help), families receive sensory support designed to help children feel more grounded and secure.
Caregivers meet with an occupational therapist who provides guidance tailored to their child’s specific sensory needs. This support is especially valuable while waiting for other therapy services, which often have long waitlists. Foster Village also provides the sensory tools recommended for these sessions at no cost. To date, we’ve provided nearly 900 sensory tools to children who need immediate support, helping them develop self-soothing strategies and feel more comfortable during a challenging time.
Community Support
At Foster Village, every Welcome Pack, larger item, and sensory tool is a message to families: you are not alone. None of this would be possible without the incredible community that rallies around our mission. Now through December 2nd, we are running our annual Foster the Movement campaign, raising crucial funds to support our programs. See how you can support:
Donate. Every gift brings us closer to reaching our goal and ensuring families experiencing foster care are met with connection and dignity.
Share. Spread the word about this important campaign on social media and advocate for our mission. Download our fundraising kit below for graphics and resources to make sharing easy!
Your support helps us provide care, comfort, and a sense of community for children and families when they need it most.
