HERE AT CALVARY COMMUNITY CHURCH WE BELIEVE EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING!
Calvary believes in the power of our church body to step into supporting our partners whose mission is to come alongside foster families, children in the foster care system as well as aged-out youth.
WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:
- Volunteer/Champion: Meet the needs of families who are fostering or adopting. Join our partners RaisingHOPE and James Storehouse by mobilizing volunteers to serve at events that serve foster and adoptive families. Join our growing database group that receives emails with needs like gift cards, making a meal or welcome baskets. Click here to join.
- Transportation Navigation: This is the number one need for aged-out foster youth. Help with ongoing transportation needs by volunteering to drive a youth or donating to our Gift-A-Lift program. For interest in transportation navigation email: rrachel.fitzpatrick@
calvarywestlake.org
- Mentors: Speak into the lives of youth transitioning out of the foster system. One-on-one and group setting mentoring available.For interest in mentoring email: rrachel.fitzpatrick@
calvarywestlake.org - Small Group: A community of foster and adoptive families who gather twice a month for encouragement, prayer, and time in God’s Word. Our heart is to support one another through the unique journey of fostering and adoption. We’d love to have you join us! Find us here.
RaisingHOPE empowers children in foster care to achieve their dreams through resources and relationships. Their mission is to benefit children and young adults experiencing foster care. RaisingHOPE does this through their mentorship program, life skills courses, housing navigation program and financial support.
One of RaisingHOPE’s biggest annual events is Celebrate Families – an event honoring families who have done the hard work to reunify with their children who have been placed into the foster care system.
James Storehouse serves families who have stepped into foster care from cribs to college. They do this by fulfilling emergency requests to expedite safe foster care placements of babies, children and teens and by providing ongoing essential resources.
Further resources include providing safe & reliable housing and transportation to help youth aging-out successfully launch into independence. Reliable transportation is the second major need for teens and youth aging out of foster care. Youth often lack accessible transportation to get to and from work, school, and doctor appointments. It is such a blessing when youth have the responsibility of owning their first car or new bike as a way of ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient transportation.
In partnership with Atmosphere Church of Thousand Oaks, Calvary sponsors “Everyone’s Birthday Party” for children attending Royal Family Kids Camp who are currently in the foster care system. Kids are treated like Royalty over the course of the camp week and the birthday party is one night where they receive a showering of love personalized to a child who may have never experienced their own birthday party before.
Take a look at the video above highlighting Royal Family Kids Camp by Jared Cook.
Do you remember the anticipation of owning your first car? Most of us have a family circle or support system in place to naturally accomplish this rite of passage, however youth in the foster system face many more obstacles. One of the biggest barriers to independence for foster youth is access to affordable, reliable transportation. Without a support system, vulnerable youth can get caught in a cycle of job loss, inability to finish schooling, much of this cycle contributing to our county’s homeless population.
You have the opportunity to help make a difference in these young people’s lives by making donations to “Gift A LIft”. Funds from donations to this program will go to purchase cars for foster youth.