How business can help foster youth
May is National Foster Care Month, and one of its purposes is to recognize all the individuals and organizations working to improve the lives of America’s 430,000 young people in foster care.
So we want to give a shout-out today to a Ventura County program that is doing just that, even though it was created only last summer. The Businesses with Heart program, featured in a Star story this month, aims to get the local business community more involved in supporting the hundreds of foster children in our county — and so far it appears to be a solid success.
Created and coordinated by Ventura County Children & Family Services, which is part of the county Human Services Agency, the program has attracted more than 30 businesses and nonprofit groups.
They are offering foster families everything from discounts on auto repairs and haircuts to internships, training and even jobs for foster teens. “There’s not enough support for foster children in any community,” county Supervisor Steve Bennett, a longtime foster parent and advocate, told The Star. “We need more support. We need to keep kids from falling through the cracks. For that to happen, we need as many people as possible to step up.”
In return for their support, the businesses are featured on the county’s foster care website and Facebook page and in newsletters and email blasts. They also receive decals and informational materials to display at their stores and offices, showing the public they are foster-care supporters and raising awareness about the overall program. “Win-win” is an overused cliché but perfectly appropriate here. Many foster families have limited resources and need all the assistance they can get. Businesses and nonprofits can get an image and sales boost, and the county gets new partners to spread the word about its chronic need for more foster parents.
“It is bringing a level of education and awareness to the community that has been otherwise untouched,” Businesses with Heart coordinator Jaci Johnson told The Star.