Community Sports
8 - Edmonds Beacon
www.edmondsbeacon.com
March 28, 2019
Opening their home and hearts Jim and Wendy Shapiro of Edmonds have fostered 24 kids in the last 15 years
Wendy noted that some children actually feel more comfortable in a chaotic environment and it can be difficult for them to transition to a quieter home. “I think kids are pretty resilient too,” she added. “So when they come from a background that’s not so great, they learn to adapt to it.” Lovely, a 5-year-old girl, was the first child to come live with the Shapiros. Jim remembers her as an anxious and angry girl, who swore a lot. Lovely stayed with the Shapiros for about four months and by the time she left, she was a different girl. “She turned out to really be lovely,” Jim said. “You really could see her demeanor change. She stopped swearing. We like to pray before we eat dinner. … Early on she was like – whatever. By the end, she was blessing the food before dinner. It was pretty cool to see her just soften up.” Lovely was returned to her grandmother’s care, but did not remain there on a permanent basis. “We don’t know where she ended up,” Jim said. Foster parents have few rights when it comes to following up with the children. But several of the Shapiros’ foster children, by their own choice, have stayed in touch with them. Jim and Wendy understand the goal of the foster care system – reunification. “It’s designed to be a temporary relief, so that mom and dad can get their life back in order,” Jim said.
BY DAVID PAN REPORTER @ YOURBEACON . NET
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No babies, no teenagers
EDMONDS-WOODWAY
Jim and Wendy had definite ideas on the ages of the children they felt they could best help. “When we started doing it, we said we don’t want babies. We don’t want teenagers,” Wendy said. The Shapiros soon discovered that children of all ages needed them. In the last 15 years, Jim and Wendy have taken 24 children into their home in Edmonds. “We’ve had four days. We’ve had five years old. We’ve had 14-year-olds,” said Jim, co-owner of the Better Fundraising Company, a consulting firm that works with nonprofits. “We’ve had
New friends, hard goodbyes Beacon photo by David Pan As foster parents, Jim and Wendy Shapiro have taken care of 24 children in the last 15 years. The Shapiros later adopted one of those children, Kai, 8, who came to them when he was a baby. boys. We’ve had girls. Different races. You name it, we’ve seen a lot.” Some children have stayed for only a couple of days. If another foster family needed a break, the Shapiros might take in a child for the weekend. Other children have lived with them for weeks and months. Jim and Wendy fostered one child for a year and a half. The reasons children are removed from a home vary and often the exact details are not always shared with foster families. The top five reasons children are placed into foster care are neglect, parent drug abuse, physical abuse, inadequate housing and caregiver inability to cope, according to 2017 data provided by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. The common thread is that the state has determined the child needs to be in a safe environment. The foster care system gives the
Athlete of the Week This week’s Edmonds-Woodway Athlete of the Week is senior Alyssa Hershey. An outstanding runner on both the Track and Cross Country teams at EW, Alyssa is off to a great start this spring. In last week’s meet at the Shoreline Stadium, she finished 1st in the 1600m and took 2nd in the 800m. Her favorite experience as a high school athlete was running with her Distance Medley Relay team last season, and she has her sights set on doing whatever it takes to help her team win Wesco this year. Alyssa is most inspired by her teammates who push her to reach her limits as an athlete and provide unconditional encouragement. Alyssa is a full International Baccalaureate Candidate; and outside of school works at the Move 60! Summer Camps. Next fall Alyssa plans to attend the University of Pacific where she will continue her running career.
Alyssa Hershey
Track & Cross Country
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parent or guardian an opportunity to work on the issues that resulted in the removal of the child from the home, Jim said. The state placed 6,444 children into the foster care system in 2017. Of those children, 56 percent were reunited with a parent or guardian. The child was adopted in 21 percent of the cases and was placed in a guardianship in 7 percent of the cases. Other exits accounted for 9 percent of the outcomes and 7 percent of the children remained in the foster care system. The Shapiros have noticed that sometimes the children who come to live with them experience a wide range of emotions. They may have a sense of relief that they are out of a dangerous or unhealthy environment. But at the same time, they may feel some anxiety because they are moving into an unfamiliar environment.
KING’S SCHOOL
he numbers were startling to hear. Jim and Wendy Shapiro were listening to a sermon by their pastor at church. He was talking about the foster care system and how 2,000 children in Washington were in need of a home. If every church in the state had just one family willing to step up and adopt a child, the pastor said, there would be no more children in the system. The pastor’s words resonated with the Shapiros. “Part of my personal motivation was just to respond to that,” said Jim, who is entering his 23rd year as head football coach at King’s High School. “We need to do something to help these kids. We have one family that can do one thing. We can take care of kids.” The Shapiros also had some firsthand experience with an orphanage in Mexico. As part of a church mission, Jim and Wendy, along with their two young children – son Atley and daughter Gracia – spent a week to 10 days for five summers volunteering at the orphanage. “I think that started to help us see the need out there,” Wendy said. The Shapiros’ church later started an adoption ministry and on one Sunday, a 12-year-old boy was introduced. The congregation was told he had six more years to figure out what family looks like. “We looked at each other and said we could do that,” Wendy recalled. The Shapiros started on the paperwork to become a foster family, but before the process was completed, the boy was placed with a different family. “We said we’re already halfway done with the paperwork. Let’s just keep going and see what happens,” Wendy said. “So we did.”
Atley grew up living with foster children in his home for much of his life, Looking back, the Shapiros’ 19-year-old son appreciates his unique upbringing. “It was kind of just like having different friends come in,” said Atley, a freshman at Biola University in La Mirada, California. “I really enjoyed just the different experiences that I had, especially with the younger children, as well.” The hard part for Atley and his parents was when it came time to say goodbye to a child they had grown to love. “It’s definitely difficult after they’ve been a part of the family for a while,” Atley said. “After a couple of months, I’ve created that bond with them. It’s hard seeing some of them leave. It’s something you have to get used to because they’re in and out so fast.” Wendy focuses on what’s best for the child. “You get attached for sure,” she said. “For the moment in time that you have them, it’s important for you to love see
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Athlete of the Week Congratulations to junior Cody Chew for being named King’s High School Athlete of the Week. Cody competes in track for the Knights, and his main event is the pole vault. In last week’s meet at Sultan, he broke the school’s all-time record, vaulting 14’6”. At the time of this being written, he sits atop the Washington 1A league rankings, and is tied for 5th across all state classifications. Chew started pole vault last year, finishing the season with a personal record of 12’0”. He has been working hard all offseason at improving and is looking to compete at the collegiate level. Rod Wilcox, head coach of the track team, said, “It is great to see dedication pay off in a big way. Cody Chew has only been pole vaulting for two years. However, those two years were spent diligently working on the technical aspects of the event. His indoor coach Tim Reilly and his outdoor coach Kristina Owsinski have made incredible improvement on Cody’s technique. Cody is a great example of dedication to the craft will always lead to success.” Cody has a 3.9 GPA.
Way to go Cody!
Cody Chew Track & Field
GO KNIGHTS!
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