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Caring for children a blessing for volunteers

By ERNEST HOOPER, ehooper@sptimes.com
Published November 24, 2006

The knock on the door interrupted Anita Williams' thoughts as she sat in a meeting at Everyday Blessings, a foster home in Thonotosassa.

Still, she persevered and ignored the constant banging on the front door.

Williams, the volunteer coordinator for Everyday Blessings, sighed when the knocks on the front door ended. Then the banging started on the back door. She again ignored it and focused on the people speaking to her.

The knocks on the back door stopped, then started again on the front door. Finally, Williams couldn't take it anymore. Exasperated, she opened the door in a huff to find a 5-year-old holding weeds.

"Mrs. Williams, I picked these for you," the little girl said.

Williams began to cry, and even today, she gets a little teary-eyed recalling the story.

"I kept those weeds for five days," she said fondly.

These are the kind of stories that fuel Williams' passion for Hillsborough County's foster children, and that passion drives all the people who help Everyday Blessings achieve its mission of finding safe, stable homes for children.

On 72 beautiful acres off U.S. 301, the agency strives to provide love and comfort for 36 children while seeking adoptive homes, including foster-to-adopt programs. The agency likes to help large sibling groups stay together, and it also assists special-needs children.

To achieve its mission, Everyday Blessings uses everyday caregivers. They live on the campus full time, meaning that the person who tucks the children in at night is the same one who wakes them up in the morning.

The Tampa Bay Lightning recently had an event at the campus, and the officials couldn't get over the cleanliness of the rooms and the kids' orderly behavior.

"They're willing to give up a little bit of their own life for a period of time," Williams said. "They usually do it for two to three years. We have one caregiver who believes this is her calling."

On the day I visited, the caregiver was going through the mixed emotions of saying goodbye to a baby. She's happy that officials have found a quality adoptive home for the child, a 2-month-old baby, and she actually knows the family because the baby is the second child they have adopted from Everyday Blessings.

Still, letting go is never easy.

"It's both hard and wonderful," said Sister Jackie Kingsbury, the director of development for Everyday Blessings.

Really, the mixed emotions of the adoptions touch everyone at the agency. While it's wonderful to find homes for these kids, many of whom come from abusive parents and neglectful families, they wish there weren't so many children in need. Hillsborough County currently has 5,000 children in foster care.

"If that baby leaves tomorrow," Williams says, "there will be another here tomorrow night, if that. Sometimes they pass each other in the doorway."

Convinced that it truly takes a village to raise a child, Everyday Blessings may take a huge step in helping with the problem. The agency is hoping to build "The Village" on its property: 10 seven-bedroom homes that would be made available to parents willing to adopt four children.

The new families would temporarily live in the homes rent-free, with one adult serving as a stay-at-home parent. The community would specifically be designed for children ages 8 or older and large sibling groups who otherwise would have a difficult time being adopted.

The concept also provides on-campus staff to help the parents with therapy and other needs.

This village also would include two- and three-bedroom reduced-rent duplexes for seniors who are willing to volunteer eight hours a week at Everyday Blessings. The idea: have three generations of people working and living together for a common cause.

Architectural plans are complete, permitting is needed and, of course, funding has to be found. Still, Williams says, the Everyday Blessings staff is driven by the dream of replicating The Village, a concept that is thriving in Rantoul, Ill.

So are the volunteers. Everyday Blessings has friends' groups located throughout the county to help with various activities: Laura Ankenbruck (221-4494) in South Tampa; Faith Lange in New Tampa (973-8537); Kate Horan (984-7968) in Temple Terrace and Cindi McNiff (661-3390) in Brandon.

The love and adoration of kids has the staff and volunteers dreaming big. Much like the child who kept knocking on the door, the pull of these youth who have gone through so much is persistent and irresistible.

Just consider Williams' story: She began as a member of the advisory board in January 2003, and in 11 months the kids won her over. She walked away from a high-paying contracting job to become the volunteer coordinator.

When opportunity knocks, you have to answer.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified November 22, 2006, 09:10:46]