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Flexible Schedule
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Washington, DC 20003
Family & Youth Initiative (DCFYI) mentors change the lives of children ages 12 to 21 in foster care. Through sharing new experiences, having fun, and being a consistent caring presence, mentors help teens gain confidence, make wise choices, and have greater hopefulness for the future. DCFYI mentors change lives! Family & Youth Initiative offers: Training and support; Fun monthly activities for participating teens and adults; A wonderful l community of adults and teens who genuinely care for and support each other. Family & Youth Initiative mentors: Spend at least eight hours a month with their mentees; Make a two-year commitment to their mentee, once matched, because these are teens who need lasting relationships; Do reports on time spent with their mentee. Keep current on required background clearances. We work with children 12 to 21 who are in DC foster care and waiting for adoptive families. DCFYI teens are placed in foster homes across the area (mostly in DC and Prince George’s County). We make "natural matches" between mentors and mentees. Adults and teens get to know each other at DCFYI monthly events. We make mentoring marches based on the relationships that form at the events and with the express interest of both adult and teen. For more information or to volunteer, please visit our website [ www.dcfyi.org] or contact us by phone [202-863-0975] or email [ info@dcfyi.org]. Thank you.
Date Posted: 2024-04-15
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Flexible Schedule
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Washington, DC 20003
Photographer needed to document DCFYI program events, capturing both the activity itself and also photos of as many program teens as possible as they engage in the activity and interact with others. Our ideal deliverable is mostly candid photos (although some teens will also take opportunities to pose alone or with their friends for added photos). Volunteer photographers will ideally be available at least once every or every other month and commit to six months or more, allowing them to get comfortable with our program and known to DCFYI teens and adults. Every month DCFYI holds Saturday afternoon events (generally lasting a few hours) to bring together teens and adults to form a caring community and get to know each other. Relationships that start at these events lead to youth-adult matches for mentoring, host parenting, and adoption. Activities take place indoors and out. Some are very active and others more quiet. Types of activities include playing games, bowling, cooking, attending sporting events, art projects, and scavenger hunts. Every spring we give all DCFYI teens individual photo albums containing pictures from the previous year (as many as we have of them). Many children in foster care get very few photos of themselves so they treasure these photo albums. Please join us to help make memories!
Date Posted: 2024-04-15
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Flexible Schedule
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Washington, DC 20003
Family & Youth Initiative (DCFYI) host parents change the lives of children in foster care. Host parents are matched with a teen waiting for an adoptive family. The teens spends a series of weekends with the host parent/s. Host parents help teens meet other adults to widen the circles of people who know the teen and his or her desire to be adopted. Host parents give teens support and encouragement they wouldn't otherwise have and help them prepare to be secure independent adults. Being a host parent is a great opportunity for anyone considering older child adoption to get to know children in foster care (and other adoptive families). Family & Youth Initiative offers: Training, home study, and ongoing support; Fun monthly activities for participating teens and adults; A wonderful community of adults and teens who genuinely care for and support each other. Family & Youth Initiative host parents: Welcome a teen into their home for a series of weekend visits; Help the teen meet other adults so we can help the teen find an adoptive family; Report on the teen’s weekend visits. We work with children 12 to 21 who are in DC foster care and waiting for adoptive families. We make "natural matches" between host parents and teens. Adults and teens get to know each other at DCFYI monthly events. We make hosting marches based on the relationships that form at the events and with the express interest of both adult and teen. For more information, please visit our website [www.dcfyi.org]. You an also contact us by phone [202-863-0975] or email [info@dcfyi.org]. Thank you.
Date Posted: 2024-04-15
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Flexible Schedule
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Washington, DC 20003
Why adopt a teen? Because they need love and belonging just like all of us. Teens are not too old to bond or for you to mold. In fact, teens in foster care are some of the most loving young people you’ll ever meet. Teens who age out of foster care often have no place to call home. Nowhere to go for Thanksgiving dinner, no one to walk them down the aisle, pick them up when they stumble, or help them learn what it means to be an adult. They need parents to teach them what a loving relationship looks like, how to file their taxes, and how to disagree without fighting. Who can adopt? Any adult (21 or older) who has space in his or her home, the time and energy to parent (yes, adopting a teen demands lots of time and energy), stable finances, can pass background clearances, and is willing to understand the needs of children who have experienced trauma. Adoptive parents can be: Married or single Straight or gay Own their own home or rent Live in a house or a unit in a larger building What are the steps to adopting? Find an adoption agency Complete pre-service training and home study Be matched with a child Have that child live with you for at least six months before you can file an adoption petition Adopting a child from foster care is not expensive. You won’t have to pay agency fees or incur lots of other expenses and Family & Youth Initiative will help you navigate the process.
Date Posted: 2024-04-15
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Flexible Schedule
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Washington, DC 20003
Family & Youth Initiative (DCFYI) Open Table Members change the lives of youth age 21 and older who have aged-out of foster care. Open Table Members serve as a "board of advisors" to a young adult to help them achieve goals they have set for themselves. This could mean anything from going with the young person to get their first driver’s license; Show them how to read a lease; Encourage them to get their diploma; or whatever goal that young person has set. Open Table Members form a social safety net to young adults who aged-out of the system without being able to be reunited with family, or adoption. While the commitment for volunteers is for one year, nationally, 95% of Open Table Youths maintain relationships with there Table Members for many years afterward. We will be recruiting volunteers for our next cohort in March 2023. Our Information Session (virtual meeting) will be posted shortly. This meeting will discuss the 8-week Training program and explain how the Tables work. Volunteers commit to one-hour weekly meetings for one year after completing training. Family & Youth Initiative offers: Training and support; An opportunity to help a former foster youth an opportunity to achieve their Life goals; A wonderful l community of adults who genuinely care for and support each other. Family & Youth Initiative mentors: Spend at least 1 hour per week for Table Meetings, plus an occasional 2-3 hours one-on-one with the young adult to help them achieve their goals; Make a one-year commitment to a Table, once matched; Listen to the young adult, and ensure that the goals the Table is working toward are Theirs, not Yours. Provide the emotional support the young adult needs to live a better life. For more information or to volunteer, please visit our website [www.dcfyi.org] or contact us by phone [202-863-0975] or email [info@dcfyi.org]
Date Posted: 2024-04-15
