 |
|
A Home for the Holidays
Nicole was 11 years old when she spent her first Christmas with a family, though it wasn’t her family…at least not yet. It was the family of college student Marie, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) who took to mentoring Nicole earlier that year. Nicole was really nervous because of the culture differences and joviality of her CASA family, but after the initial awkwardness of the situation, she relaxed and had fun as she played a game of pit with ten other people and ate delicious homemade toffee. Now 21, Nicole has spent several Christmases and Thanksgivings with Marie and her family. Marie is Nicole’s sister for life and even moved her into college when Marie began her freshman year at Stanford University.
Program Description
A Home for the Holidays is a program that pairs up foster youth with families that are willing to host them in their home for a major holiday. The C4 Group has chosen to focus on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s because they coincide with extended breaks from school. However, youth may be hosted on other holidays as well. The purpose of A Home for the Holidays is to provide foster youth a place and community to celebrate the holidays with and to lay the foundation for what will hopefully develop into long-term relationships. The mechanics of this program are simple; host families open up their home and include a foster youth in holiday festivities that they already do every year.
For more information and resources to help you set up A Home for the Holidays program, email us at fosteryouth@c4group.org.
|
|
|
|
|
