From The Desk of Founder: Tiffany Birdsong
Each year, I always receive the same question, ‘how did you get started with Christmas at Fostering Faith?’ This incredible journey started 5 Christmas’s ago, 3000 donated items to a local organization and the question, ‘what are you doing to make the world a better place.’ That first Christmas I went out shopping on Black Friday (which I never do) to Joanne’s to purchase fabric to make blankets for the children at American Children’s Home in Lexington. The manager at Joanne’s found out what I was doing and announced it to the customers in the store. That was when Christmas Magic began. I walked out of the store, having not paid anything thanks to the generosity of the customers in store that day. Each blanket that year was embroidered with a bible verse, snuggled with a beanie baby, a warm hat and yummy Christmas candy donated by some of the local community members. Delivering those that Christmas was one of the biggest joys and heartfelt feelings I’ve had.
The next year I decided to take it a step further and ask for the children’s wishes for Christmas. When I made that phone call to ACH, she thought I was joking. But when I told her it was real, she emailed me pages of the kids wish lists. What happened next……more Christmas Magic! Within two weeks, I had fulfilled half of the children’s wishes with the incredible help from our community elves. By the time delivery day came, I had gotten all the lists but 8 filled, which my family personally filled. And from there the magic of Christmas has grown each year, with us becoming a 501(c)(3) in January 2020. Last year we were able to serve 170 children in foster care, 10 kinship families and we gave back to a family in our community displaced by fire.
Each year, the wishes we receive are hoped for and dreamed by the children in care. Why ask for wishes and not just give them everyday things? Many of these children have endured neglect, abuse, the deaths of parents and so much more. They’ve endured trauma that was never asked or warranted on them. Then they’ve dealt with entering foster or kinship care, which means a multitude of changes. Many of these children come into care with little to nothing, after being removed from everything that was once familiar to them, from family, friends, school, and their environment. At Fostering Faith Foundation, we strive to make you feel like family, to hve hope, faith and know that you are loved. Spreading joy at Christmas with one child and Wishlist at a time, is how we help bring a little magic into the lives of these children, who otherwise might be having a difficult time. These are children searching for the magic of Christmas rather than worrying about the fear of the unknown.
While we know not everyone is called to sponsor, what we do know is that these are children in our community who deserve a little bit of happiness and a whole lot of Christmas magic. Our mission is to share our mission with the community and involve them in the magic as our community elves. Our hope each year is to have each child make their way into your home, business, friend groups, family members through their wishes. We hope that you as well as each child we serve are reminded of the magic of Christmas, and that each child’s wishes in care that are community elves help us fill, have the most magical Christmas and experience that incredible JOY of unwrapping their wishes Christmas morning.
Will you join us in sponsoring a child’s wishes this year and making their Christmas magical?