Joy of Christmas

Christmas came one month late for several foster grandparents and children. The Southeast Texas Foster Grandparent Program received several boxes of donations from 11 other such programs from across the state.

It was all smiles and hugs for these foster grandparents.

Elrose Giles said, “I was surprised to see all this, I wasn’t expecting to see all those
things that are coming in.”

Eleven Foster Grandparent programs from across the Lone Star state spent Martin Luther King Day collecting needed items like clothing, toiletries and bedding for foster grandparents in Southeast Texas and their foster grandchildren.

Corine Jones with the Southeast Texas Foster Grandparent Program said, “Items that were lost from our volunteers during the storm during
Hurricane Rita and also the children that we volunteer with there
were items that they needed as well.”

“A lot of it is donated in our communities in support of foster
grandparents because we are in the communities across the State of
Texas working with children,” said state director of the Foster Grandparent program, Elizabeth Yocum.

One of the children the local Foster Grandparent program works with says he enjoys the extra grandparents.

9-year-old Nijal Pearson said, “It’s kind of fun having a grandparent in the class when you need
help, they’ll be there to help you.”

The foster grandparents say that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do.

Victoria Stevenson said, “We’re there for the kids, not for the grown ups, not for ourselves,
but for the kids because the kids need somebody in their life and we
try to be that mentor for them.”

Giles said, “They beautiful those kids you gotta sit down and give them all the
love they want to have.”

And while these grandparents give out the love to the kids, they’re also expressing their love for other foster grandparents who are helping them brighten the lives of children across Southeast Texas.

This is the first time the Southeast Texas Foster Grandparent program took part in a statewide collection.

Comments are closed.