Handmade with Love!
When a group of lovely ladies who don’t want any recognition at all, crocheted 38 sets of hats and scarves and packed them with love in baggies and red tissue paper and sent them to us….we were over the moon with joy. What tells a child more than a hand made warm-and-cuddly item, that someone is thinking of them? Really nothing! 🙂
JOY!
As usual we can’t show you any faces …. but we think this picture is worth a thousand words.
SpongeBob SquarePants, Head Over Heels and Choir Boy invited us to join them for their shows and then for a magical backstage tour!
Lou Castro shows us backstage!
Lou Castro, Choreographer of SpongeBob Square Pants.
Technology!
Brooke Smith arranged for Lou Castro the assistant Choreographer of Sponge Bob Square Pants to give us an in depth look at all the amazing things backstage at the Palace Theatre! He showed up props, wardrobe and al the fantastical technology!
Julie Boardman & Sarahbeth Grossman welcome us to the Green Room!
HEAD OVER HEELS producers Sarahbeth Grossman, who has been a supporter of Foster Your Dream kids for the past 10 years, took us to their green room and introduced us to producer Julie Boardman. We were allowed to ask questions and feel like a VIP!
As usual, I can only show emancipated foster children who are OK with our taking their photo or with guardian consent. That’s why you tend to see the same few kids … they are the ones who are enamored by all things THEATRE! The one below has a particular connection to theatre and FYD’s mentorship has been sort of like a rag-tag theatre fellowship. So enjoy her joy!
Choir Boy’s Austin Pendleton
Hey World … Here I Am!
When a young budding actress who has lived most of her life in foster care sees St. Joan on Broadway starring Condola Rashad and says “Oh! She looks like me! I could do that!” it gives us another reason for urgency to have full representation in entertainment!
Not only was Ms. Rashad brilliant but she was kind and generous with her time after the show.
waiting for autograph
getting autograph
gondola rashad supporting a dream
I’m going to keep this young actress’ name private here but some day you will see her in the arts, either on stage or behind the scenes.
believing the dream
She went to see Ms. Rashad perform twice with two different FYD mentors because it is rare that we see people who represent our #fostercare population in such a unique and inspiring way on Broadway. Thank you, Ms. Rashad from all of us at Foster Your Dream! 🙂 A wonderful time was had by all! 🙂
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 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!
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!