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Youth from Foster Care Rally to Save Special Dinner for Foster Parents
The appreciation dinner for foster parents was
saved.
State foster care leaders in eastern, central Michigan were heartbroken when they learned Michigan's dire budget crunch meant there was no extra money for a planned dinner honoring foster parents in Arenac County.
The bad news came just a week before the dinner, and invitations already were in the mail. When word spread that the dinner might be canceled, Doug Lewis and his group of young adults from foster care rallied. Lewis is the local coordinator of the state's Youth in Transition program that prepares youth from foster care to live on their own. Michigan's Department of Human Services (the Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative) is a partner of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
With little time to spare, the youth board rescued the dinner. Two young adults who work in restaurants planned the evening's menu: broccoli soup, salads, baked chicken, potatoes, green beans, desserts and beverages. Five other youths served the meal. Arenac is a small community with a population of 17,269, and other local organizations pitched in. "Do-All" raised money for food and supplies; while the teens absorbed other expenses. The Community Methodist Church on Standish shared its facilities.
"They just didn't pull off the dinner," Lewis said. "They did it with great finesse."
About 30 guests attended the dinner in mid-May, and the youth made a presentation about why foster parents are important. Among the tributes to foster parents: "You gave us a lot of structure when everything was in turmoil and falling apart. You shared your wisdom with us and we carry it into real life situations. Thank you for caring and eventually loving us unconditionally."
The youth decided to open a special fund to pay for future occasions and plan to contribute their own earnings to build the account. The dinner was such a success, there's talk of another one next year.
Youth board member Rob Hilla, 20, who has worked at restaurants for the past four years, helped plan the menu. He was pleased with the way things turned out and praised his fellow board members for working with a tight budget and an even tighter deadline.
"It was really good to see the youth board pull together and take care of business," says Hilla. "We took it on ourselves as a board to try to strive for the same thing. It was an enjoyable experience."
