My name is Carla. My husband, Tom, and I have been fostering children for approx. 8 years. We have 4 birth children and we have adopted 6 children, 1 through private adoption and 5 through our local children's aid society. We are presently adopting our 7th child who is on adoption probation right now. We have been blessed with 2 newborn babies, a 2 and a half month old baby, a 13 month old, a 3 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 year old. We have 2 sets of siblings. All of our children enjoy an open adoption with birth family. Some have contact through cards and letters only while others have visits with grandparents, aunts and 5 of them get to see their birth mothers. It has been an amazing journey. We have always wanted a large family but never imagined that our children would come to us through foster care. We never thought that we would ever be considered for adoption, since we thought that you had to have perfect jobs or a fancy house. We are just ordinary people with ordinary lives, who are trying to make a difference in the lives of children. All of our children are thriving, and learning what it takes to be a parent, by helping with the younger children that we continue to foster. When another foster child joins our family, our children know and understand what they are going through. They are able to comfort this new person and make them feel better and welcome them into our family. Our children are the reason why we continue to foster. They are so eager to keep helping. There is a need out there for forever families for older children, and when people get to know our children they consider taking in older children. Being an adoptive/foster parent is a job that we take very seriously and it's a job that I gladly wake up to every morning. When I see the smiles on my children when they wake up and get ready for school, it makes it all worth it. You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent.
Carla and Tom, foster and adoptive parents
I grew up in a home of 12 children as my parents fostered and adopted through CAS. All of us siblings have always considered ourselves simply to be one big family. My parents fostered for many years and all of us always felt our lives were so much more enriched by it. The experience shaped my career path as I have now been employed by a Children's Aid Society for 22 years and could not imagine doing anything else. My parents have now passed on but all of us siblings keep in touch and will forever be grateful for the unconditional love that our parents showed all of us through many challenging times. I want to pay forward to other children, birth families, and foster/adoptive families just a little bit of the early teachings that I was so fortunate to have. I am your Children's Aid.
Cyndie, foster sibling, worker
My mother was ill and our young father unable to look after my sister and I. We went into foster care and then later, our parents fostered. My husband and I have fostered for over 17 years, first as treatment foster care parents with Children’s Aid and now with another foster care provider. I work with foster children and their families as a therapist. I published a book entitled, Billy had to move, about a little boy who found love and healing in foster care and later with the help of therapy. It is available on Amazon.ca. I would love to make a cartoon about Billy so other kids know what happens when their friends don't come back to school because they went into foster care. Our communities are all touched by foster care. I see many success stories every day. Thanks for your amazing commercial idea. It will help kids in care feel more positive about their futures. www.theresafraser.com
Theresa, foster parent
There is a common saying out there "it was right under my nose” and I think when it come to kids that need us that is true as well. We see the need in developing countries where poverty is clear and social systems are weak. But right under our nose are Canadian children that need love and care and a sense of security. With those few things we will see drastic change in the life of a child. Many people say, “How do you deal with them leaving?” My response “Is my sadness not worth the opportunity to make a lasting impact on a child. And also, it’s not about me and my feeling it is all about the child!” I don’t foster for my own self worth or not foster for fear of being hurt. I foster because every time I do I see a positive change that can never be erased. A life lifted up.
Elisabeth, foster parent
Growing up, I was a victim of both verbal and physical abuse. My father was an alcoholic and my mother physically abused me. I went to live with my aunt and uncle when I was 13 for the next two years. Living with them wasn’t any better – they physically hit my cousins and verbally abused me. I was called stupid as well as an ungrateful bastard. I was even blackmailed. When my aunt and uncle tried to stop me from volunteering at a recreation centre, I thought enough was enough. I contacted the Children’s Aid and told them how my cousins and I were being treated. We all came into care. I asked if I could become a Crown ward and my request was granted. A huge burden was lifted off my shoulders. I knew everything was going to be okay from that moment on. Now, I am 22 years old and in my third year of university. I’m in post-secondary studies to become a Registered Nurse. My long-term career goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner. I currently receive support from the Children’s Aid (ECM) and was the recipient of the Clark Bursary – a $16,000 reward for my educational pursuits! To the Children’s Aid, THANK YOU! I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.
David, abused child, former Crown ward
At the age of fifteen, I was placed in a foster home with the Children’s Aid because of severe emotional abuse and neglect at home. I became a Crown ward right before my sixteenth birthday and was soon after transferred to a new foster home. This is where I met Laurie and Mark. They helped me grow and understand the things I needed to do to be a happy and productive member of society. Now at the age of 22, I am one semester away from completing a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and will be attending university next year to complete my Master's degree in Social Work. My accomplishments are numerous including over 2,500 hours of volunteer work, numerous scholarships and a diploma from a local college in Social Service Work. During my time in university, I was able to do a placement at Children’s Aid and learned so much more than I could have ever expected. I also have been participating in foster and adoptive parent training and have used that time to help educate future foster parents on how they can help children like me. I have always attributed my success to my experience as a Crown ward as this allowed me to learn how to grow, how to be successful and most importantly, how to love.
Julie, former Crown ward, foster child
Growing up in Hamilton following WWII, my father, who'd come back from service as a violent alcoholic, abused my mother constantly. Before I was ten and my brother twelve, we fought, I think valiantly, to save her. The family broke up and came together four times before Children's Aid was called. I was eleven but I recall the interview vividly; someone was ready to listen to me, just me. I know I cried, but more than that, I expressed my rage at having to physically fight my father to defend my mother. The worker from Children’s Aid asked me if I'd rather live with her, or with him. It was the first time I'd ever been asked that. I chose my mother without hesitation. I am inspired by the young men and women in this campaign.
Colin, former child involved with Children’s Aid
I came into care when I was four years old moving from foster care to group homes over the years. I was removed from my parents' house because of my dad's drinking and drug abuse. I have never let go of my dreams and have always tried to get on with my life. Now I am done high school, the best I can, and I also finished college, the best I can. I have got money for college for the past two years to help me get an education and I thank Children's Aid for that. I also thank my former social worker for all the hard work she has done for me and for believing in me to be the best I can and see how far I have come in my life.
Joshua, former youth in care
