Module 3: Our Approach

Section 1: How to Help

At this point, you might be wondering, what can I do to help foster care children?

1.1: Donations

Donations of all kinds are generally the easiest and most direct way to help these children. Keep in mind that donations aren’t always money. You can donate anything from school supplies, to new or gently used toys and clothes. If you’re able, monetary donations are also helpful. Make sure to properly and carefully research charities and foundations to donate to, making sure you’re directly helping the kids in need.

1.2: Volunteer Work

Another way to help is by donating your time and effort through volunteering. There are many different ways of volunteer work you can participate in to accommodate yourself. Some examples are volunteering directly at a foster care center, educating others about the problems in the foster care system, or even providing respite care. Look for ways you can help in your local community because different organizations can have vastly different guidelines for volunteers. Volunteering is one of the most direct ways you can help improve the overall welfare of the children in foster care.

1.3: Education

Many people are misinformed about the foster care system. Through various media and exposure, a certain stigma has grown around it. Along with the higher likelihood of poverty and mental illness, many foster children struggle with feelings of isolation, betrayal, and self-blame. By properly educating yourself and others about the foster care system and its flaws, you can break down the stigma and encourage more people to help. Foster children are in no way inherently bad or hopeless, and education and awareness will let them know that. Educating yourself and others is one of the simplest ways to combat prejudice and better the lives of those in the foster care system.

Section 2: How we Help

2.1: Workshops

Youth4Ward organizes workshops to educate individuals about foster care and the child welfare system. We conduct these for both adults and children. This is one of the most direct ways to help spread awareness about the issues and inequalities in the child welfare system, which means more people who are willing to actively help us in changing it.

2.2: Drives

Youth4Ward also participates in many different kinds of donation drives to both directly and indirectly serve foster children. We have done school supply, food, and toy drives that are given to foster children in our community. We also organize monetary donation fundraisers and donate to relevant charities. These drives let us actively contribute to helping foster care children while also being sustainable. We hope to conduct many more in the future to further our mission.

2.3: Journalism

Lastly, we regularly publish writing pieces on our website, www.youth4ward.org, which lets us spread the word about our mission, and help others understand it, in a very accessible way online. We write case stories and blog posts about every event that we do to record our journey as we continue to improve the lives of those in the foster care system. Everything we write is publicly available and we make sure to write accurately and comprehensively, while also including various other forms of media such as pictures and videos.