By CAROL SOUTH
Special to the Record-Eagle
August 20, 2008 10:00 am TRAVERSE CITY -- Reaching out to the community for help, Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan is launching its 19th annual Brown Bag Campaign. Inserted today in the print edition of the Record-Eagle, these modest bags can make a difference to a child in foster care, some of whom enter the system with only a few possessions stuffed haphazardly into a paper or plastic bag. The fundraising bags are sponsored this year by the Exchange Club of Traverse City, the Traverse City Record-Eagle, the Ludington Daily News and the Cadillac Evening News. To make a donation, simply place a contribution in the bag, put on a stamp and mail. With two offices in the 13-county region of northwestern Michigan -- Traverse City and Harbor Springs -- Child and Family Services provides foster care and special needs adoption, infant and open adoption and community support. The organization cares for 180 foster youth ages newborn through 18 years who come into foster care because of neglect, abuse or delinquency. The number holds steady over time: As a child ages out or changes status, another one comes in. "How many people in our community know that 180 children are in foster care up here?" asked Jim Scherrer, executive director of Child and Family Services of Northwest Michigan. "This gives us a vehicle to go the community for foster care support and to raise awareness," he added of the Brown Bag Campaign. Since it began in 1990, the Brown Bag Campaign has raised more than $170,000 for expenses considered non-essential for foster children: summer camp, music and dance lessons or sports. The foster care system provides basics, including food, clothing and glasses, but the agency is coming to see that so-called extras are really necessities. "They are part of the healthy development of every child," said Gina Aranki, marketing and public relations director for Child and Family Service of Northwestern Michigan. "They deserve them and if it takes us to asking the community to support those kinds of needs, we do what we can to make sure the kids have those kinds of chances," said Aranki. "As far as we're concerned, every kid needs to have a chance to explore the things that interest them." The 18-month-old Elements program is one way Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan goes beyond the basics to help foster youth. Serving ages 14-18, Elements meets twice a month to provide activities geared to building life skills. Events vary from a recent disc golf outing to volunteering with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. "It builds team and group camaraderie. A big part of what the kids lack sometimes is social skills, so when we're doing a recreation activity it sometimes helps them connect in that way," said Michelle Overmire, foster care specialist with Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. "We kind of try to rotate the activities, sometimes educational, but part of my philosophy is you have to keep a buy-in with the kids so you have to incorporate recreational activities as well." A goal of Elements is to boost the chances for success of youth reaching 18 years old and aging out of the foster care system. Overmire notes that nine out of 10 children are released from jurisdiction with very little programming available to help with the transition from foster care into adulthood. "You know they're not ready to be adults at 18," she said. "We're hopefully building their skills enough to supplement and give them the knowledge to be minimally prepared to venture out on their own." For more information about Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan, call 946-8975 or visit www.cfsnwmi.org.
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Photos
Foster youths ages 14-18 who participate in Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan's Elements program recently enjoyed a disc golf outing at Hickory Hills. Special to the Record-Eagle