The families Children’s Home & Aid serves already face a number of difficult challenges that threaten both their safety and stability, including poverty, chronic stress, and mental health issues, joblessness, and abuse and neglect. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated the above risks and stretched many of our families closer to their breaking points and we need your help, as their needs are greater than ever before.
Join us on June 11 for our “Day of Gratitude” – a daylong celebration and recognition of the many people and partners who are doing #WhateverItTakes to help our children and families thrive! To learn more visit: childrenshomeandaid.org/gratitude/
Here’s how you can help today:
1.) Make a gift
2.) Be a social media champion! Please share our social media posts.
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@ChildrensHomeAndAid | |
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@ChildrenHomeAid | |
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@ChildrenHomeAid |
3.) Consider a Facebook or Instagram fundraiser.
Contact Liz Startz for details at estartz@childrenshomeandaid.org.
Our Programs in Action:
Here at Children’s Home & Aid, the way we approach our work has changed – but we haven’t. Mallie Silverman is doing whatever it takes to keep foster kids and families safe. And you can too. Taking care of foster families is especially difficult during this pandemic, but Mallie — whose job it is to license foster parents in the Chicago area for Children’s Home & Aid — hasn’t stopped finding ways to support these households. Recently, Mallie heard that a foster mom’s washing machine had stopped working. Wishing to welcome two new children into her home, the foster mom was disappointed that she could not give their few belongings a good wash. And as an older resident, the threat of COVID-19 to the foster mom loomed over the idea of going to the laundromat. Mallie tied on her mask and headed to the laundromat herself, washing and returning the clothes. Doing whatever it takes isn’t unusual for Mallie, according to Allison Kipphut, director of child welfare services at Children’s Home & Aid. “Whatever people need to make it work, she’ll just do,” Allison said. Meanwhile, Mallie’s colleagues are thinking of new ways to engage children during the weekly check-in calls. One child welfare worker has had a red shirt day and silly sunglasses day. Another child welfare worker sent mail to the children she works with, so they’d have something to look forward to. Children’s Home & Aid’s Child Welfare team across the state are every day heroes and in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to do whatever it takes to help children who have been abused and neglected thrive in stable, caring families.
You can help keep this good work going with a donation today.
Download our PDF to learn more about our response to the COVID-19 crisis and additional ways to help
“The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love” – Dr. Bruce Perry
If you’d like to learn more about how you can help children and families, please contact Liz Startz at estartz@childrenshomeandaid.org.