Foster Parent
I
magine, you are once again waking up in another home. You don’t know who these foster parents are, what school you are now going to, or how many schools this makes. How long will you stay here? Will you even try? They most likely won’t; so why even bother? Nobody cares.
As a foster parent, I hear this a lot from kids in the system. This is what makes Urban Surf 4 Kids magical—they care about the kids that society tends to overlook or forget. These kids have the potential to be some of society’s best investigators, detectives, prosecutors, social workers, or advocates. Ask them, and most will tell you that’s what they want to do. But, without intervention, statistics predict a very dark path of drugs, crime, pregnancies and jail. The beautiful thing about US4K is that through surfing, building sand castles, playing volleyball, or Dreaming of Aloha, they get to know our most vulnerable members and invest in them. Believe in them. Trust in them. Encourage them. Love them. US4K is more than surfing. It is a family—an Ohana. Everybody needs one, especially our forgotten children. Everyone wants a place to belong; for most of us, it’s our family. But what if you don’t have one? Who do you turn to when things are tough? If you are lucky enough to be a US4K kid, you turn to your Ohana. Every foster child needs to be in Urban Surf 4 Kids. Every foster child needs this organization. Every foster child needs an Ohana.
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By Libby Donalson