EVERY CHILD DESERVES TO BELONG
Every child connection, stability, support, and a safe place to land.
For children and teens in foster care, belonging can sometimes feel uncertain or temporary. But we believe something powerful happens when people consistently choose to show up – not just once, but again and again.
THE REALITIES OF AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE
Right now, thousands of young people in foster care are moving toward a milestone that should feel hopeful – instead it is filled with uncertainty. Each year in the United States, roughly 20,000 young people age out of foster care without being adopted or reunited with family. Behind every statistic is a child with a name, a story, and a future worth fighting for.
The outcomes are hard to ignore:
- Nearly 1 in 5 will experience homelessness within a few years
- Only about 50% will be employed by age 24
- Fewer than 3% will earn a college degree
- Many face higher risks of incarceration, early parenthood, and ongoing instability
We invite you to become a Belong by 18 ongoing donor this Foster Care Awareness Month. Mon gift makes an impact: It’s not just a donation. It’s an investment in a child’s future in the month of May and every month that follows.
THE POWER OF CONSISTENT SUPPORT
Big impact is often built through small, faithful acts repeated over time.
A monthly gift may seem simple, but its impact reaches far beyond a single moment. Recurring support helps create stability for the programs, resources, and relationships that children and families impacted by foster care rely on every day.
When you give monthly, you help America’s Kids Belong continue to:
- Recruit foster and adoptive families
- Support caregivers so they can continue saying “yes”
- Share powerful stories that help children connect with permanency
- Build Foster Friendly® communities across the country
- Mobilize businesses, churches, and neighbors to wrap around families
- Advocate for better outcomes and brighter futures for kids in foster care
Monthly giving allows us to plan ahead, respond quickly, and continue expanding support to families who need it most.
Jessie Wiser aged out of foster care, but was adopted by her foster family at 19. She shares:
“You begin to feel discarded and move from home to home. You no longer have trust, and you just assume that the next home will come and you’ll pack your stuff up and go. There’s no stability, and that’s not really a way to grow up.”
Clarksville Online shares her story of surviving Tennessee’s foster care system. “Her journey, she said, began changing because one person chose to care.” Read the full story.
Wiser hopes her story encourages others to see foster care not as somebody else’s issue, but as a community responsibility… and we couldn’t agree more.
Thousands of children are still waiting for stable homes, supportive communities, and lifelong connections. Families continue to face challenges that can feel overwhelming without support systems around them.
But together, we can help change that.
Thank you for your generosity.