If you have considered adoption and are in the United States, please consider the foster-to-adopt programs. A 2021 report estimated that over 606,000 children passed through the foster care system within a one year period. These children need loving and safe homes whether it's for a few days or permanently. We found our forever family while fostering, and I'm eternally grateful for it. (Hear more about our journey on Beth Graham's Lessons from Living podcast.)
For current foster and adoptive parents, I put together a free digital toolkit with support resources that you can access below. If you're considering fostering or adopting and live in North Carolina, I highly recommend reaching out to Children's Home Society.
The free foster/adopt toolkit includes resources to help foster and adoptive families navigate challenges so everyone feels more empowered. Includes Foster/Adoptive Family Training, Community, and Support Resource Listings, Printable Calendars, Create-Your-Own Recipe Book Template, Chore Chart, Savings Challenges, Wellbeing Journals and Affirmation Cards. Also includes resources to help you support children with ADHD, Autism, Food Insecurities, Learning Differences, and other challenging scenarios.
If you are planning to buy/sell a home or lease office space in the United States, IIC Gives will provide you with a way to support a cause that you care about for FREE! To date, IIC has facilitated over $700,000 in donations to nonprofits, mainly in the Chicago area, and is just getting started. I'm an advisor for IIC and am incredibly excited about the future of IIC and the good that it could do for the world.