Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula Announces “Fostering Families” as Its Newest Community Project

Program to Partner Volunteers with Help One Child, a Los Altos Foster Care Non-Profit

Menlo Park, Calif. – Nov 11, 2009 – To kick-off the beginning of their 2009-2010 year, the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula (JLPA-MP) overwhelmingly voted to establish Fostering Families as its newest community project. The Fostering Families community project partners Junior League volunteers with Help One Child, a Los Altos non-profit dedicated to the recruitment, training and support of foster families, to develop and deliver a family-focused education program within the foster care system. 

More than 2,100 children are currently in foster care in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties respectively, according to the Center for Social Services Research at the School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley. Due to limited resources, the majority of foster care support and education is geared towards the parents, rather than on the children and families as a whole. Working with Help One Child, JLPA-MP volunteers will develop and deliver a family-focused education and training program.   

“The opportunity to partner with the Junior League has brought our organization tremendous backing and support, allowing us to develop an innovative and much needed family support program,” said Susan Kammerer, executive director, Help One Child. “The curriculum we are jointly developing uniquely addresses the need for most foster children to focus on basic communication and social skills, often disrupted by the removal from their biological home. The first session opened to rave reviews by all!”

The Fostering Families education program, dubbed “M-Power – a Meal, a Message, a Model,” is based on the Annie E. Casey Foundation Life Skills program for teens, and has been modified for younger children by Help One Child’s staff and Educational Advisory Board and the JLPA-MP. Using a superhero theme, four two-part sessions will be presented by Junior League volunteers to children ranging from ages six to 13.  The purpose of each session will be to create a fun, safe learning environment for children that will deal with specific issues unique to their needs, provide a “safe” break for parents and provide a take-home packet for the family to reinforce the curriculum at home.

“Many people in the local community don’t realize the current crisis in the foster care system,” says JLPA-MP President Jan Woolsey. “We are very proud to be partnering with Help One Child, and look forward to providing the support and encouragement needed to make an impact in the lives of both the children themselves and their foster or fost-adopt families.”

For more information about the Fostering Families community project, please visit http://www.thejuniorleague.org/paloalto/npo.jsp?pg=projects. For more information about Help One Child, please visit http://www.helponechild.org.

About the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula 

The Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula, Inc. (JLPA-MP) focuses on developing the potential of families through its projects, community grants and public policy advocacy. The JLPA-MP focuses on training a diverse group of women volunteers, with a goal of serving those interested in developing their leadership potential, broadening their skills and effecting positive change in our community. The JLPA-MP serves the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula. For more information please visit http://www.thejuniorleague.org/paloalto.

The JLPA-MP is a part of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), which consists of 294 Leagues and more than 170,000 members from the USA, Mexico, Canada and Great Britain. For more information, please go to AJLI’s website at www.ajli.org.

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