The truth is, not everyone is called to be a foster parent, but we’re all called to help. Here’s some of the top ways you can help vulnerable children based upon your skills and interests. Have an idea that’s not on this list? Let us know in the comments!

If your gift is teaching, you can:

• Volunteer to help with childcare during foster parent trainings – visit buckner.org/volunteer to view opportunities in your community
• Organize your students to do a service project for children in foster care, such as collecting backpacks or school supplies
• Serve as a school liaison for children in foster care – live in Dallas? Contact Andi Harrison at aharrison@buckner.org to learn more about becoming a school liaison.

Are you a talented chef?

• Deliver a meal to a foster family in your church or community
• Organize a meal train for a new foster family or family who has just received a new placement
• Offer to bring a meal or dessert for a parents’ night out event

Enjoy physical labor?

• Help a foster family in your church or community with yardwork
• Volunteer on one of our campuses – there’s always a variety of projects!

If you have the gift of hospitality, you could:

• Host a parents’ night out event
• Organize an end-of-school-year party for children and their families
• Create a game night for children and their families

Do you have the gift of leadership?

• Organize a foster care ministry in your church – speak to church leaders about creating a ministry that not only encourages others to become foster parents, but wraps around current foster parents and gives them the support they need to fulfill their calling. Find useful resources under Church Orphan Ministry.

Are you a minister or pastor?

• Consider training preschool, children’s and youth pastors, as well as Sunday School teachers, in trauma care so they know how to best meet the needs of the children in foster care
• Preach about foster care and adoption from the pulpit – consider asking a foster family to share their story on a Sunday morning. Find sermon outlines, topic ideas and other resources under Church Orphan Ministry.

Do you enjoy connecting with others one-to-one?

• Volunteer to serve as a mentor for foster children in your community
• Help with childcare during foster parent trainings
• “Adopt” a foster family in your church – bring them meals, offer babysitting, help with yardwork or housekeeping

Have questions about how to implement some of these ideas in your community? Contact your local Buckner office. For more ways you can help, visit buckner.org/volunteer.

May is National Foster Care Month. To learn more about how you can become a foster parent or support foster families in your community, visit buckner.org/nationalfostercaremonth.