Category Archives: Blog

Everybody Goes to See Everybody

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What happens when Everybody goes to see Everybody, the play? We loved it.  It wasn’t for everybody (meaning younger patrons) thus we invited some of our older Foster Youths who had their mind blown by the production, which boasts a randomness in casting and madcap foray into death!

We were able to expose some of our deeper thinkers to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and his creative and humorous mind!

We spent time afterwards discussing life and death and dancing skeletons (in the play of course!) thanks to the Signature Theatre and Colleen Hughes!

Cheese and Nutcrackers

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What better way to celebrate the Christmas Holidays but to have Cheese and Crackers?  Chuck E Cheese followed by The Nutcracker at BAM!

Mark Morris Dance Troup’s version of the holiday staple The Nutcracker is pure fun to watch in it’s 1970’s cartoon inspired interpretation!  We brought 7 little girls and their Foster Mom’s for a full day’s outing.  Starting with a party at Chuck E Cheese that included some political inspiration:

Followed by the Ballet The Nutcracker including the girl’s favorite number The Snowflake Dance:

Then some sibling bonding time (the two sisters are split up in two different foster homes so being able to have them share a fun day together was a special treat for FYD.)

Memories are the one thing the children can always take with them.  Thank you Dewonnie Frederick, BAM and all the caregivers who made the effort to get the kids together for the day.  Thank you to Richard Kendall for providing funds for Chuck E Cheese!

Master Harold and a Little Girl

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Master Harold and The Boys at The Signature Theatre provided an amazing opportunity for one of our clients to bring her foster family and some of her extended church group ‘village’ to see a play which provided a long post-show discussion about race and feelings about race.

Wow, right?  Some in the group had never been to a play like this but our little client set a shining example of how to absorb a heavy theme like this and then express “sad feelings” about racism during a discussion in the lobby afterwards.

Then we got lucky and Sahr Ngaujah stopped to take pictures with all!

Once again, Colleen Hughes and The Signature Theatre has our deepest gratitude!

Surprise Gift From a Celebrity

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When you least expect it, a friend of Foster Your Dream and a celebrity to boot, thinks of us and reaches out by sending a surprise gift of books to one of our clients. This is what Mavis Leno did!  As usual, we can not show you the face of our super happy recipient but the books displayed above came to the home of our client all the way from a bookstore in England!  What a delight.

Included in the package was a handwritten note from Ms. Leno explaining that these were her favorite books when she was a child and she wanted our special girl to enjoy them as well.

This generous kindness, with a special personal touch from someone who has a very public profile, made a great memory for one of our children.

It may seem like a small detail but by making a foster child feel special and worthy, a donor like Ms. Leno can boost the pride of a young person in being a foster child. I have seen over and over again how an opportunity like theatre or books that can be shared with an entire foster family, can increase the confidence of a child that their placement in the home is welcome and secure.

Bravo and our deepest thanks to the kindest of benefactors, Ms. Mavis Leno!

Foster Your Dream to be a Writer

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Robert reading poetry at 13th Floor Storytellers Event

When Foster Your Dream saw Robert Williams perform at a 13th Floor Storytellers event, we were blown away with his talent and what he had to say about being in the foster system.  So when Ben Brandstein had a writing class that we thought might be a good match for Robert, we reached out to offer him a scholarship.

Robert has dreams of becoming a screen writer and his voice is very powerful. We continue to try to foster his dream to become a writer.

Thank you to Ben for sharing your expertise.

Ben Brandstein at Poetry In Motion Event

Thank you to Molly Miles for introducing us to Robert!

Robert Williams Molly Miles courtesy of !3th Floor Storytellers