In February, Foster Kent Kids invited residents to step away from the stereotypical Valentine’s Day and Fall in Love with Foster Care.
Foster Kent Kids is a Kent County coalition committed to recruiting persons to support children and families who are involved in the child welfare system as foster and adoptive parents, respite families, volunteers, and mentors. It engaged local restaurants to help bring awareness to the needs of foster care with a campaign called “Fall in Love with Foster Care”.
Foster Kent Kids made custom coasters for area restaurants to use in February and offered handouts with ways for the community to get involved. The socially responsible restaurants in our community that have partnered with Foster Kent Kids are: Two Guys Brewing, Atwater Brewery, Brewery Vivant, City Built Brewery, Creston Brewery, Donzon Cubano, Harmony Brewery, Harmony Hall Brewing Company, Luna, Sovengard, and The Mitten.
These restaurants support the mission to keep Kent County children in Kent County after they have entered the foster care system by finding caring resource families to provide stability and support in their journey toward reunification.
West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC) leads the Foster Kent Kids coalition which consists of members from Bethany Christian Services, Catholic Charities West Michigan, D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s, Samaritas, Wellspring Lutheran Services, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). WMPC is piloting an innovative foster care model in Kent County to improve outcomes for children in foster care.