| Board of Directors |
PRESIDENT
Jane Dueker
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP VICE PRESIDENT Thurman Brooks PNC TREASURER Kevin Roy Solae
BOARD MEMBERS:
Marty Daesch
Sanberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, P.C.
Sandy Deibel
Community Volunteer
Anita Klopfenstein
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Cindy Licavoli Junior League of St. Louis
Mike Lueken
General Marine Services
Maurice Mahone Monsanto
Laura Mazzarese Merrill Lynch
Steven Mitchell Thompson Coburn, LLP
Melody Noel Zerman Mogerman LLC
Bhavik Patel Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, P.C.
John Phillips Stifel Bank & Trust
Jeff Rosenblum Community Volunteer
Marty Stammer Stereotaxis, Inc.
Eddy Sutton ESC New Media
Edward Vazquez St. Louis City Family Court |
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Dear Friend of the Coalition,
Thank you for all of your support in 2010. The New Year brings many exciting things for the Coalition. We're looking forward to moving to Brentwood and opening the Foster and Adoption Resource Center and [RE]FRESH! With this issue we are introducing a new email format. We hope that you find it easy to read and navigate.
Sincerely,
The Staff of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
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Extreme Recruitment® Article in Time Magazine
The January 10th issue of Time Magazine features Extreme Recruitment®, a collaboration between the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, the Missouri Children's Division and private contracted agencies, the Family Courts, and other child welfare organizations. This program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, under Children's Bureau Grant number 90C010391.
The article details one child's successful connection with her family through Extreme Recruitment®. According to Time, Extreme Recruitment® may "pave the way to revolutionize the foster care system in America." This isn't the first time Extreme Recruitment® has received national attention. In 2010, the New York Times ran a story about the groundbreaking program. Click here to read the article! |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
SAVE THE DATE! 
Grab your girlfriends and plan to join us on Tuesday, April 26th for the 5th Annual Old Bags Party!
NEW LOCATION: This year's Old Bags party will be at the St. Louis Frontenac Hilton Hotel. To celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we will feature jewelry and accessories in addition to gorgeous new and like-new designer handbags. There will be something for everyone!
To receive an invitation, please contact Debbie at 314.367.8373, ext. 38 or email her at debbiegenung@foster-adopt.org. Reservations may be purchased online by clicking here.
Look in your closet - is there a handbag you never use because it's too big, too small, wrong color? A necklace you love but never found the right outfit to go with it? Earrings, bracelets, scarves, belts? Please consider donating them to Old Bags. Every donation is tax-deductible. There are 8 convenient drop-off locations:
Charm Boutique
313 N. 11th St., St. Louis, MO 63101
Cole Haan in Plaza Frontenac
1701 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131
The Designing Block
7735 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
Doncaster Studios
8001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
Olympiad Gymnastics
226 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd., Chesterfield, MO 63305
Parkside FInancial Bank & Trust
8112 Maryland Ave., Clayton, MO 63105
The Pilates Center of St Louis
9825 Clayton Rd., Ladue, MO 63124
Susan Lynn's
1122 Town & Country Crossing, Chesterfield, MO 63017 |
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Individuals, Organizations, Companies, and Musicians Come Together to Grant over 3,000 Little Wishes for Area Foster Children and Make the Holidays Brighter for Them and Their Families.
 St. Louis showed it cares for our kids by granting each and every Little Wish requested! Through the generosity of the community, 3,294 Little Wishes made their way to local children.
A BIG thank you to KSDK NewsChannel 5, the Kirkwood Walmart, and FedEx for making Little Wishes possible this year and in years past - an amazing holiday gift to area families.
You can still help by granting the BIG Wish, and helping us find homes for children in foster care.
Little Wishes Shopping Day A Huge Success!
Thank you, Kirkwood Walmart, for once again hosting Little Wishes Shopping Day. A special thanks to Walmart's Traci Deschler, who devoted hours to ensure the day went perfectly. Fed Ex was on hand to package and ship all of the gifts to foster children, free of charge. Many volunteers came out that day to help. Thank you to Foster Friends Cathy Brown, Andrea Compton, Laura Dickinson, Karen Herrington, Tracea Lee, Jessie & Chris McCoy, Maren Mellem, Claire Newton, Anna Rhodes, and Carol & John Watts. Thanks also to the Alumni Group of Kappa Alpha Theta, Melissa Pashia, Girl Scout Troop 2929, Girl Scout Troop 2480, Girl Scout Troop 4436, and American Heritage Girls Troop 1345. Erin Krewet and friends also worked hard labeling Shopping Day ornaments. Because of the support and dedication of everyone involved, every wish on the tree was granted - over 500!
Local Band Makes a Big Difference
Local music talent, Corvus, held a charity concert on November 27th at Pops. A BIG thank you to Jesse & Teri Cox, Dave Brown & Tara Hawthrone, Gary & Jeanine Johnston, Joe Romano, and Mike Steinmetz. They raised more than $1,500 to grant wishes for children in foster care!
Bikes for Children in Foster Care
Thanks to Andrea Compton, Bernadette Donohue, Kellisa Fiala, Kirkwood Evening Optimist Club, Niah Mahesak, Laura Mazzarese, Mercer Employees, James Moss, Jackie McCauley, Jon Saucier, St. Charles Community College Students, United Way Days of Caring Volunteers, Kathryn Richardson, Sean Stark, Todd Tarver & Family, and Katie & Eric Werner for donating a Saturday in December to assemble bikes for foster children.
A very special thank you to Kirkwood Optimist Bob Collis, whose enthusiasm for our bike project and knack for recruiting volunteers helped ensure that 115 foster children awoke with smiling faces on Christmas morning.
TJ Thayer from Trek Bicycle is an absolute gem and spent many hours fixing assembly issues with the bicycles.
Thanks also to Ruma's Deli for providing delicious sandwiches for our bicycle assembly volunteers. Little Wishes Elves Muyibat Adelani, Linda Bosslet, Kelly Floyd, Kim Hocher, Colleen Hogan, Gail Hogenmiller, Marti Lanese, Angela Lawson, Linda Lewis, Erin O'Brien, Rachel O'Shia, Amir Talebian, Lonnie Ross, Holland Saltzman, Jennifer Seeley, Tali Segal, Sherry Taylor, and Wilmetta Tolliver-Diablo, were indispensible as Little Wishes elves. Volunteer Groups from Bank of America, Takeda Pharmeceuticals, Teradata, and Thomson Reuters also spent hundreds of hours shopping online for Little Wishes.
Thanks also to Steve Gabel and Marti Lanese for their hard work in our office entering data.
Generous Companies Go Above and Beyond to Make the Holidays Merry and Bright for Foster Families - That's The Spirit!
Employees from Edward Jones were incredibly generous, donating over 100 gifts to brighten the holidays for foster children. A special thank you to Jessica Cochran, who coordinated the project.  Employees from Nestlé Purina PetCare Company kindly provided two foster families with Christmas gifts. They also donated fully-catered Christmas dinners to over 20 foster families!
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| | Employees from Nestlé Purina PetCare Company wrap holiday gifts for foster children. |
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Coalition Junior Board at the Ice Carnival in the Delmar Loop
Junior Board members greeted St. Louisans with Extreme Pig Racing and information about the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition last weekend in the Delmar Loop. A special thanks to Junior Board members for braving the cold to support the Coalition!
 | | Delmar Loop Ice Carnival |
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Jim Edmonds 15 Steakhouse Gives Foster Families a Night to Remember
Mark & Sarah Winfield, Co-owners of 15 Steakhouse, and Jim Edmonds, former Cardinal and their business partner, invited four foster families to dinner and provided wonderful holiday gifts for the mroe than 20 children and parents in attendance! |
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Thanks Also to...
Cathy Brown and her family for providing Christmas presents to youth in our adoption program.
Dream Center and Joyce Meyer Ministries for donating dozens of gifts to children in foster care!
Evy Norris for donating handmade quilts to foster families.
Old Hickory Golf Club members who made this holiday season special for over 25 children in foster care with their donation of beautifully-wrapped holiday gifts. A special thank you to J.C. Anderson and Erin Schafermeyer for coordinating the gift drive.
Kathy Ratay for donating her gorgeous dining room set to [RE]FRESH. A big thank you as well to Allstates WorldCargo for transporting the dining set to its new home.
Melissa Posten for donating an X-Box system and games to a lucky foster family.
Judith Lynum and Delta Sigma Theta for their generous gifts of new and gently-used clothing to the KidStore and [RE]FRESH.
Avery & Evan Whiting, Cari Whiting, and Cole Duffell for their donation of winter clothing and gift cards for foster and adoptive children. |
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Kudos to All of our Birthday Buddies and Volunteers who Help Make Birthdays Fun and Special For Foster and Adopted Children
Our Missouri Birthday Buddy Co-Coordinators, Fonda Richards and Karen Herrington donate their time each month to ensure that children's birthdays are special, while they are in foster care. Thanks, Fonda and Karen!
Employees at Carlson Wagonlit Travel Agency sponsored the birthdays of 12 foster children. A BIG thank you to Liz Perkins for coordinating this project.
For more information on the Birthday Buddy Program, please contact Shelley at 314.367.8373. |
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Become a Foster Friend
The  Foster Friends are a premier group of Coalition volunteers who host fun events for foster and adopted kids each year, while giving foster/adoptive parents some time to themselves. Foster Friends also have exclusive opportunities to support foster children being adopted and they stay connected with the Coalition through special monthly updates.
If you're interested in joining Foster Friends, click here to learn more. Or, you can join us at our annual meeting on Tuesday, February 1st at 7 p.m., where we'll plan this year's events. To RSVP, please contact Shelley at 314.367.8373.
Nintendo, Playstation, and X-Box Game Systems Wanted!
There are many foster children who would love the chance to have fun playing their own gaming system, but whose families simply can't afford one. If you have an X-Box 360, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, or Nintendo DS in good working condition, please consider donating it to a foster child. Contact Shelley at 314.367.8373 if you can help. |
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Parents' Day Out Events Give Foster Families Something to Look Forward To
 The St. Louis Basketball Academy is such a great friend to the Coalition! They recently hosted a wonderful Parents' Day Out event, even providing snacks and t-shirts to the kids!
 Kid's World Gymnastics hosted an extremely popular Parents' Night Out event for foster and adopted children - the kids had a blast jumping on trampolines and playing in a foam pit! A special thanks to Foster Friends Cathy Brown, Carol Buselmeier, Karen Herrington, Kelly Kern-Miriani, Jamie McCarthy, Jan Otto, and Gretchen Schimmel for supervising the kids so their parents could enjoy a night out.
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| KidStore Wishlist
The Coalition's KidStore stocks new and gently-used clothing exclusively for foster and adoptive families. The KidStore currently needs:
KidStore Wishlist
- Winter and spring clothing
- Boys clothing sizes 18 months to 8 years
- New socks and underwear of all sizes
- Baby items
For more information on the KidStore or donating items, click here or contact Shelley, Director of FosterServe Volunteers at 314.367.8373 x29.
[RE]FRESH
Below the Foster and Adoption Resource Center, at street level on Brentwood Boulevard, will be our new resale store - [RE]FRESH: A Clothing CoalitionTM.
[RE]FRESH will be a destination where teens and twenties come together for fun and fashion, united in a fresh celebration of shopping, sharing, and helping each other. [RE]FRESH will inspire and empower young people to give back and pay forward. [RE]FRESH will be open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, generating revenue to support our work - tomake sure every child has... A Place to Call Home.
[RE]FRESH will serve our community by:
Providing clothing for youth in foster care.
Offering hundreds of volunteer hours for local students.
Contributing to the sustainability of the Foster and Adoption Resource Center.
Providing vocational training to foster youth to prepare them for future employment.
[RE]FRESH Wishlist
- Clothing and accessories for guys and gals in their teens and twenties
- Schools and groups to organize clothing drives
- Four freestanding full-lenth mirrors
- Two 40" flat screen televisions
- Carpeting
- Floor Tiles
- A Full size Refrigerator
Click here for the full list of items needed.
For more information about [RE]FRESH, donating items, or organizing a clothing drive, please contact Jen Frey, Director of [RE]FRESH, at jenfrey@foster-adopt.org or 314.367.8373 x40. |
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