SPRINGS OF LOVE

CATHOLIC FOSTER FAMILY & ADOPTION SUPPORT

Our parish is launching a Springs of Love Chapter to serve all who have been touched by fostering and adoption in our parish: foster, kinship, and adoptive families, as well as adoptees and birth families. 

Springs of Love is a national Catholic ministry that encourages, educates and equips Catholics to discern and live out the call to foster and adopt, while creating communities of support to help cultivate a culture of foster care and adoption in our parishes. 

GET INVOLVED

1. Awareness: Parish Involvement

Everyone can help! Our Springs of Love Chapter hosts an annual awareness event to let our Parish know about the needs of children in foster care in our community. We also hold several events a year to collect donations for a local foster agency, and collect gifts each December for a foster family Giving Tree! Stay tuned to hear about upcoming events.

2. Accompaniment: Springs of Love Care Teams

There is an extreme shortage of foster families for the nearly 400,000 children in foster care. And many foster families stop fostering within one to two years because of the many challenges they face. However, when they are supported, many will continue to foster and provide a safe home for the children who so desperately need to know God’s love and protection.

Our Chapter supports foster families through a Springs of Love Care Team.  Our team is a group of volunteers from the parish (or diocese) who are assigned to a foster family (or families) to build a relationship with them and the children in their care by providing regular, practical support.  Here are some of the many ways we help:

  • Provide a meal once per month

  • Help regularly with childcare as an “alternate caregiver” (1-2x a month or less as needed by the family).

  • Check in with our families weekly to see if they have any prayer requests or material needs

  • Provide materials needs when a family gets a new placement, from gently used clothing to kids’ beds to books and toys

3. Community: Springs of Love Small Groups

The third way we support foster, adoptive, kinship, and discerning families in our parish is through small groups and other events where families can spend time together and support one another.

Our parish is currently offering a Building Belonging small group focused around fostering & adopting in faith. This seven-week program, created by Springs of Love, combines inspiring video stories, guided reflection, prayer, and discussion to help families find encouragement and community on the journey of fostering and adoption. Together, we learn how our faith sheds light on both the joys and the challenges, while building deeper connections of support. Our first group will begin soon—please contact us for more information or to get involved.