Becoming a foster parent — welcoming a new child into a home on short notice — can be a daunting task.
And, according to who those who serve to travel that path, some services from groups who help don’t start for the first 30 days.
Kissimmee’s Ashley Call and her husband Jeff, who have a four-year-old biological son, are experts on the subject. They’ve fostered four children and adopted one of them, their two-year-old.
“What we saw and heard about the system, it broke our hearts,” Ashley said. “It can be a broken system where state laws and regulations get in the way. These children just need someone to love them.”
They started Legacy’s Gift — named for the first child they fostered — providing the items a family just receiving a foster child may have in short supply, like wipes, diapers, pacifiers, formula, care products and some clothes — the focus is on infants and toddlers. Call, her family and supporters would put kits, in a baby tub, together and hand deliver them, but the pandemic’s onset turned it into “contactless delivery,” a model that continues today.
Legacy’s Gift formed into a 501c3 non-profit in 2021. Through its website (legacysgiftflorida.org), foster parents are able to reach out for whatever goods are needed. Legacy’s Gift partners with others in the community who are united in finding loving homes for children in need, such as GreeneWay Church and Osceola County’s Guardian Ad Litem program, which ensures stable homes for foster children.
“It’s all about making these children feel at home, creating a good mental state for them for the future,” Call said. “We’re so spread out across Central Florida that it can be hard to get the word out, but I know I’ve delivered care packages all over, and have shipped packages (to other states).
“We’d love to get a store front to have space, then give appointments for foster families to come and shop for what they need.”
While those in the community can go to the website or its Facebook page (Support Florida Foster Kids) and offer up donations, Call and the organization will be hosting an event at GreeneWay Church in Hunter’s Creek on June 10 from 2-5 p.m., where all foster parents (just bring the placement letter) can come for free supplies, food, children’s activities and to network with other foster parents.
Before that, on Tuesday, June 6, Call will be going through a storage unit of items — this and the setup for June 10 will be a great opportunity for high-schoolers who need service hours to get them — to get ready.
If you would like to help, contact Call at 407-584-7638 or email legacys.gift.for.foster.kids@gmail.com.
