We created the Love Box program to provide a sense of community and support for fostering families through intentional giving, relationship building, and mentorship.

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​WHY CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES EXPERIENCING FOSTER CARE NEED YOU

Children are removed from their homes and placed in foster care due to neglect, abandonment, or because they are the victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. When children are removed from the home they are confused and upset and they need the temporary protection and nurturing that a foster family can provide. It can be extremely difficult for children to adjust to a new home, new caregivers, new norms, a new school, and a new community. We also know that children in foster care experience high placement instability, many of them moving homes frequently. One large factor leading to this high rate of turnover is foster parents feeling unsupported or overwhelmed.
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THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN – 
WE SUPPORT THE WHOLE FAMILY

The Love Box program provides fostering families (caregivers, children in foster care, and biological/adopted children) with community and holistic support. This wrap-around support enables caregivers to continue to do the important and meaningful work of being foster parents. As a Love Box group, you will be matched with a local foster family based on location, compatibility, and scope of needs. When our families are matched with committed volunteers who show up monthly, parents feel supported and children gain a greater sense of normalcy, relational permanency, and self confidence. 

Volunteers seek to build relationships with their family by spending quality time with the whole family: playing games, sharing a meal, and being intentional. They can also create and deliver personal care packages based on current practical needs. We tell our volunteers to think of themselves as the fun “auntie” and “uncle” who visits once a month to bring love, encouragement, and hope. This program requires a one year commitment, but the connections and impact last a lifetime.

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Watch this powerful video to learn more about how the Love Box program is changing the way children experience care through intentional giving, relationship building, and mentorship.

THE STATE OF FOSTER CARE
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Our programs increase the support and stability of caregivers, decreasing the number of children moving from home to home.

We give parents the support they need to keep their doors open and provide opportunities for our children and youth to develop meaningful relationships, have access to normal childhood experiences, and succeed in school.

​We provide educational support and mentoring to help children and youth develop productive habits and set goals for their futures.

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WHAT LOVE BOX SUPPORT LOOKS LIKE:

​Want to learn more? Download a PDF about our Love Box Program below

Love Box Informational Packet

PROGRAM DIVERSITY

We serve children, youth, and families as well as recruit volunteers from all backgrounds within our local community, regardless of religion, marital status, ethnicity, age, financial status, gender identity, or sexual orientation because:

We believe everyone deserves and can benefit from deep, meaningful relationships. 

We believe in being bridge builders, connecting over a shared passion of improving the foster care system through a community-based approach. 

We believe that every child, youth, and family experiencing foster care deserves to be fully seen, heard, and supported by healthy, affirming, and lasting relationships.

We believe that every single one of us has a role to play in changing the way children, youth, and families experience foster care, and that it will take a diverse community with varying backgrounds, experiences, and identities to do this.

We believe in elevating the voices of those who are experiencing foster care and using their lived experiences to guide what it means to provide intentional support.

​TEXAS INSTITUTE FOR CHILD AND FAMILY WELLBEING TO CONDUCT PROGRAM EVALUATION OF NATIONAL ANGELS

National Angels has contracted with the Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing (TXICFW) to explore the impact of services. After receiving years of anecdotal feedback to attest to the effectiveness of National Angels’ programming, TXICFW will conduct a rigorous program evaluation of the Austin, Texas chapter to identify the core program components that can be replicated in other areas. The hope is to use findings to expand trauma-informed services to foster families and build evidence of service effectiveness.

The Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing is located within the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin.  They use their research and training expertise to engage in a joint learning process with practitioners and agencies to build the foundational knowledge that best serves children and families. Their researchers have direct practice experience working with families in crisis.  They utilize their real-world experience to focus on improving outcomes for children and families in many areas of child welfare, including foster care and adoption, Latino immigrant families, child maltreatment prevention, and adolescent sexual health.