Thank you so much for your generosity. We hit our goal because you gave! Agape will now receive your donations over the month of October ($20,000) plus an extra $10,000 match ($30,000 total) from our friends at the Community Health & Education Foundation (CHEF) without fees. These funds will go to the programs that benefit kids in foster care we support, helping them to feel safe and stable in such a difficult time. Thank you!
Category: News
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65th Anniversary Celebration
October 2024, Agape reached 66 years of service to abused and neglected children and youth in Northern California. How we wish there wasnât a need for our service but we are grateful to our many donors, foster parents, staff and volunteers over the years who have supported us in this vital work. The more than 6,600 children directly touched, and families and others indirectly touched, will never be able to express their appreciation to you personally, so we do. Thank you!Â
We need more resource parents. Help us help more kids like these. Please visit our resource parent page and learn what it takes to become one.
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Nina Payne Installed As Board Member
Our Certification Coordinator from the Manteca Office, Nina Payne was installed as a Board Member into the Manteca Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on June 17th. She has enjoyed working with the Chamber as an Ambassador for 7 years. Her board seat will last for 2 years. Congratulations to Nina!
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Kevin Youngblood – A Continuing Champion for Children
We highlighted Kevin Youngblood, President of USGA, Inc., in our March 2020 newsletter for the many ways he supports Agape, both financially and with his time and enthusiasm. Since then, Kevin has continued his very active role as a passionate advocate for the children at Agape. Notably Kevin was instrumental in our golf tournament last October being so successful. USGA, Inc. was the Shirt Sponsor of the tournament. Kevin personally recruited 12 foursomes to play at the tournament. He was responsible for 6 companies being corporate sponsors. At the end of the tournament, he even âpassed the hat,â raising nearly $1,000. All total, through Kevinâs efforts, more than $16,000 was raised through the golf tournament. And he hasnât stopped there. As Agape has struggled with fundraising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin has continued to be a very generous donor. And when an extra hand is needed for something, Kevin is there. Thanks, Kevin, for your on-going support of Agape. You are truly a Champion for Children.
Janet Kleyn
President & CEO -
Amazing Former Foster Youths
We have had a number of foster youths that have gone on to become amazing adults. We are thankful for the many success stories that Agape has been part of, like Anjru De Leon.Â
Anjru is a student at San Joaquin Delta College. He is student body Vice President. Alongside law and politics, he enjoys vigorous physical activities such as volleyball and cross country running. He is already involved in helping others and plans to continue that into the future. Weâre very proud of you, Anjru.
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Calling All Men!
Men and women both have important roles in a child’s life, especially kids in foster care. In this poignant video, Walt Bruce, a former resource parent* and current board member, reminds us of the importance of men as resource parents. If you are a man or know a man who is great with kids, please have them watch this video and reach out to us to get more info and (hopefully) start the process to becoming a resource parent. You can also read our FAQ for some of the more common questions.
* Formerly foster parent
Have Questions On Becoming A Resource Parent?
No Question Is Too Small (Or Too Big)!
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Becoming a Resource Parent Starts With a Phone Call
Watch this video from our very own Hank Lawson about how simple it is to start the process to become a resource parent (formerly foster parent) and help kids in need.
This video was made in 2020 by Hank who passed away in 2022.
While he is missed everyday we know that he would want to continue to help kids in need. ÂHave Questions On Becoming A Resource Parent?
No Question Is Too Small (Or Too Big)!
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May is Foster Care Awareness Month
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. Within the 21 counties we serve in Northern California, there are over 4,500 foster youths that enter the foster system each year. Our goal is to reunite these kids, whose average age is 6 1/2, with their families. While reunification does happen most of the time, these kids need resource parents (formerly foster parents) to provide a stable, loving home for the average of 15 months that theyâre in foster care.
Agape Villages is always looking for more resource families that can take in kids in foster care. You may think youâre not qualified, but the most important requirement is that you have a loving home. We have a wonderful resource of FAQ that goes into detail about the requirements.
Hank Lawson, our Director of Church & Community Relations, has a word for you about becoming a resource parent. Please watch and enjoy. If you are interested, please contact us with the form below. If you know someone who might be interested, please share this with them.
Have Questions On Becoming A Resource Parent?
No Question Is Too Small (Or Too Big)!
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Hair Care and Support From Agape Staff
From an Agape employee wanting to share a story:
I am a licensed cosmetologist, and recently reminded the social workers that if they have any families who need help with their foster/adopt children’s hair that I would be willing to meet with the families and give them some tips on doing the children’s hair. Soon after, Social Worker Brittany Barnes was approached by one of her families who was unsure of how to care for and style her African American children’s hair.
Brittany contacted me and I then reached out to the family to schedule when I could come to the home to go over hair care and some styles with the resource mom. I came to the home with specialty products like shampoo, conditioner, leave in-conditioners, and gels for the family since, in my experience, most people do not realize that black hair needs products that are made for black hair.
I then spent about 2.5 hours in the resource home walking the mom through how to wash, care for and style her foster daughters hair. The resource mom was attentive and eager to jump in and try all the new things that I was suggesting. It was obvious that the child’s cultural needs, which includes hair care, were important to this resource family and that it was amazing to see that they had no hesitation in making sure that the child’s hair was being properly cared for.
The resource mother even shared with me that she asked the biological mother if she could show her how to do a style the girls hair during one of the visits. I was able to show her the proper way and frequency for washing the children’s hair, how to maintain and care for their hair on a regular basis and some simple styles that she can do herself.
It was a great experience and so nice to see the resource mom’s motivation and commitment to the care of her foster children.
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How Do I Use Amazon Smile?
Desktop
- Go to smile.amazon.com
- Sign in with the same account you use for Amazon.com
- On your first visit there, you will be prompted to choose a charitable organization to whom your donations from eligible purchases will go.
- Type âAgape Villages FFAâ into the text field.
- Thatâs it! Now, every purchase you make through smile.amazon.com will result in a small portion of your purchase going to Agape!
Mobile
- Get The App: Download or update to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app on your phone. You can find it in the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android.
- Turn On AmazonSmile:
- Open the app and navigate to the main menu (â°).
- Tap on Settings and then select âAmazonSmileâ
- Select “Agape Villages FFA” as your charity and then follow the on-screen instructions to turn ON AmazonSmile in the mobile app.
- Once AmazonSmile has been activated in your app, future eligible app purchases will generate a donation for Agape!
Some Facts:
- AmazonSmile has the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping as the Amazon you know. They just donate a small percent to the charity of your choice on your behalf.
- Once youâre signed up through smile.amazon.com, you might want to update your Amazon bookmark so it sends you to the âSmileâ version. If you go to regular Amazon, youâll get a pop-up asking if youâd prefer to use Smile, so either way, itâll all work out for everyone.
So what are you waiting for? Start using Amazon Smile today and give kids in foster care a reason to smile.