OK Foster Wishes Awareness T's

OK Foster Wishes is most known for our state-wide effort to connect the community with the opportunity to fulfill the Christmas wishes of children in foster care and so bring hope to a child, support to a family caring for the child and encouragement to a Caseworker by feeling appreciated by the community. We were told that this is the single largest volunteer effort in the state each year. We have personally seen hundreds of families who after buying a gift for a specific child in care were inspired to seek out their next step of serving in Oklahoma's foster crisis thru fostering, adopting, mentoring, volunteering, advocating, or giving. We also hold a graduation party for youth who complete High School (thru degree or GED) while "aging-out" of foster care to connect them with caring volunteers hoping to engage in a permanent connection as the youth makes their way thru the "FLUX" of becoming a contributing adult citizen of our community. We also support kinship family placements who are unpaid/unreimbursed but willing to care for a friend or family members children so that they do not have to live in a shelter by providing neccessary items that make a difference in placements being approved (ie. beds, cribs, carseats, fire extiquishers, safey gates). We are currently developing and piloting a privatized volunteer connection tool for caseworkers to find short term care for kids w/o placement or in need of transportation.