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   2014 Issue 2


March 25, 2014
In this

Jet Tjarks
Executive Director

Henk Tjarks
Executive Operations Manager



Board Members 

President
Michael Bosmann

Secretary and Child Advocate
Anne Little

International Relations
Jack Chen

Treasurer
Patrick McLaughlin




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Board

We have babies again!  Starfish is reborn!

As the lives of precious babies are entrusted into our care, we pledge our utmost to provide them with top medical and physical care, a nurturing family environment, and plenty of love. Our Starfish pledge is to also work to find them forever homes. 

A big thanks to each and every one of you for your support and help during our transition to our new home.  We simply cannot do it without you. 
 
Jet
Message From Jet

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster.... Trying to get settled in, getting used to our new home and environment.
Me, my children and our Assistant Jenny with Starfish baby Lucy

Plus, we needed to arrange soooo much! But we are happy to share that our foster home apartment is ready and we have received two girls that need our love and care. Lucy, 18 months old, and Rose, age 6, are filling our hearts and home with love.  Check out their photos below!

We were able to hire one nanny who works for us during the day, but are all taking night shifts to ensure there's someone there for the girls if they need it at night. 

We are all tired.... but it is so worth it! Seeing these girls get used to being hugged and getting the attention they need is very rewarding.

A BIG thank you to all our supporters out there, I see every like on Facebook and it gives us a boost every time!!

Jet
"Dream it, Live it, Love it."
Starfish
The Starfish Foster Apartment
    

 

 

We were pretty excited about getting new Starfish babies!  Even before the baby apartment was ready, we used our own family's apartment to wash and dry baby clothes, spreading them out to get dry before our first baby came.
 

 


And here is the baby apartment - with our first two Starfish children playing along with Jet's children.  Starfish is reborn!  

 

 
Lucy
Our First New Starfish  - Lucy

 

 

Welcome to our first new Starfish baby - Lucy - a 18 month old with cerebral palsy. She's a beauty and very strong willed! Lucy has made a lot of progress already during her first few weeks with us and we will try to get her into a physical therapy center to help her muscles develop. We are so excited to have her join us! 


 

 
Rosie
Starfish Rosie
 
And welcome also to Rosie - a 6 year old with developmental delays, who likes to hug and is so excited every time we dress her in the morning and she sees her new outfit! Rosie needs to put on some serious weight; so we're concentrating on introducing her to solid food. And she is crazy about slides!



 
Volunteer
Our First Volunteer!
Olivia Shares Her Story
 

"My name is Olivia and I am 10 years old. I was born in Beijing and my parents Beverly and Kevin adopted me. My mom, Beverly, my sister Brianne and I left from Prince Edward Island, Canada. We  traveled 28 hours to get to Starfish Foster home. When we got to Starfish it was early in the morning!


There were two kids at Starfish. The older kid is called Rosie and the youngest is a baby and her name is Lucy. During the length of time that I was here at Starfish I liked helping out with the children and feeding Lucy her bottle. 


Helping out at Starfish was an amazing experience, because I got the chance to help children at Starfish and to be a volunteer at Starfish."

 

Starfish is outfitted with volunteer apartments with an 8-person capacity. We love our volunteers and are grateful for their help! 


 
 
Team
Join the Starfish Team!
Volunteer Without Leaving Home


Want to help Starfish out in some way, but can't get over to China to volunteer?  You can be a part of the exciting Starfish team from your own home, anywhere in the world.  

We are looking for a Marketing/Communication Coordinator. This would be someone who puts together our quarterly newsletters (like this one) and keeps the Starfish website up to date.  It is fun, rewarding, and anyone can learn to do it. If you are interested in using your talents to help further Starfish's mission, please contact Michael Bosmann, at mbosmann@gmail.com.  
 
 
Xian
 Our Starfish Children in Xi'an

 
With Starfish having recently moved to our new location, we have not forgotten about our other Starfish babies, those who are now living in the Children's Welfare Institute in Xi'an. We recently paid them each a visit - they are looking great and were happy to see us!


              Leo                                     Justin 
 

                       Julia                                               Angel

   
                       Noah


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Chen
New Member of Board of Directors
Jack Chen - International Relations
Jack Chen, new Starfish Board Member

Mengjie "Jack" Chen is married and has two children and comes from his hometown of Ningbo, which is a seaport city in the northeast of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Jack and his wife Ge Xiaolian have been very strong supporters of Starfish Foster Homes for several years. Jack and his family currently reside in Shanghai, where he is a successful entrepreneur in several areas, including electronic components and subsystem to customers throughout China. Jack is a graduate of Zhenjiang University, and has his MBA from the prestigious China Europe International Business School. Jack will help Starfish in the important role of International Relations and other areas.

Starfish Foster Home
Executive Director
Board President
 Jet Tjarks
Michael Bosmann
jet.tjarks@yahoo.com
mbosmann@gmail.com

Mill Creek, WA 98012
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