Fostering Leaders

4-H students lead workshop for children in foster care

The warm summer breeze blows on children’s faces. They stand next to their mentor. Filled with excitement, they wait for the action. Three, two, one, blastoff! A simple bottle rocket flies into the air. The children are filled with joy as their creations come to life.

Children in the Oklahoma foster care system had this experience in the fall of 2019 as they launched the bottle rockets several 4-H members helpedthem make.

These rockets were made through the Foster Family Support Ministry program, where 4-H members volunteer to present enrichment activities to children in the foster care system.

"It's important that foster families feel valued and supported," said Mary Richardson, the program's coordinator.

The Forster Family Support Ministry is through the United Methodist Church in Wewoka, Oklahoma. A part of this program is providing childcare while foster parents attend two-hour training sessions, Richardson said.

“We aren’t just providing child care,” Richardson said. “We’re really wanting to do our part to help children build relationships and have new experiences.”

The Foster Family Support Ministry’s volunteer and participation numbers have grown nearly 50% in the 16 months of its operation, Richardson said.

“We are very rural in our part of Oklahoma,” Richardson said. “Ourfamilies can come to a central location, receive required training, network, and have the security that their children are being well cared for by people who have credentials to do so.”

Richardson reached out to the local 4-H club to ask if members wanted to present an enrichment activity for the children, said Kacey Olivo, the Hughes and Seminole counties 4-H educator. Olivo said she thought of Bethany Foster, the Hughes County 4-H reporter, who Olivo believed would be a perfect fit for the program.

"Bethany is really positive, outgoing and very engaged in activities,” Olivo said. “She always tries to be involved.”

When Foster was 8 years old, she moved in with a family through the foster care system. Not long after moving to Hughes County, Foster became involved with 4-H. Four years later, she and her brother Evan were adopted by their foster family. Now, she is 16 years old and still involved with her local 4-H chapter.

“My mom was in 4-H for years so she really pushed me,” Foster said. “Before we were even adopted, I was enrolled in 4-H and started with speeches, community service and leadership activities.”

Within months of living with her family in Hughes County, Foster was participating in community service, she said.

“I went from no one helping me to helping others,” Foster said. “I was at a point where I needed someone to support me, push me, and show me what community service was.”

After Jamie Neal, Foster’s mom, received the call from Olivo about the child care program, Foster was excited to volunteer, Olivo said.

“I know where those kids are because I understand where they’re at in life,” Foster said. “Some of them might not have a strong connection with their foster parent. Maybe they’ve been there for years and still don’t have that connection, or maybe they’re just now getting in that home and don’t have someone who they can really go to and tell all their problems to.”

4-H members benefit from this program, too, because they have new experiences by volunteering and interacting with children younger than them, Richardson said.

The 4-H members came to a meeting in August and worked with a group of foster children ages 9 to 11, Richardson said.

“The 4-H members and leaders brought liter pop bottles,” Richardson said. “The kids decorated and made rockets out of them.”

The rockets were scheduled to launch in September during a camp for these foster families, but one child did not want to participate in building the rockets, Olivo said.

“She said she didn’t want to build a bottle rocket because she wasn’t going to be there when they launched them.” Olivo said. “She was getting moved to a different state.”

Foster said she noticed this girl and went to talk with her.

“I sat down to talk with this little girl who was so sweet and nice,” Foster said. “Within minutes of talking, she was attached to my hip. She was instantly connected to me, and this was before I told her I had been through foster care and that I was adopted.”

The little girl started opening up and shared she was getting adopted the next week, Foster said.

“As soon as I shared my story, it’s like something switched in her,” Foster said. “She had instant trust. She immediately started telling me about her mom, dad, brothers, sisters and new family. She was scared to move, and I told her it was going to be OK.”

Even though they were building bottle rockets, the children having someone around their own age to talk to had the biggest impact, Foster said. “Most of those kids, whether they are an only foster child in the home or one of multiple, may not have anyone to talk to or anyone to go to,” Foster said. “It’s important for them to have an outlet, and we are their outlet.”

The 4-H volunteers bring hope to the children in this program, she said.

“By getting to spend time with these 4-H’ers, the children get to see that the world isn’t as bad as it’s put out to be,” Foster said.

“It’s important for them to see the good in life,” she added, “and with me they see a positive outcome.”

SADIE RAASCH

Story by Sadie Raasch of Caddo County Oklahoma