This Christmas Give a Child the Gift That Keeps on Giving – Hope

Ms. Robbie J. Williams, Executive Director

by Ms. Robbie J. Williams, Executive Director

Wanted! Adoptive Parents; Foster Care Parents; Volunteers; Mentors; Foster Care Advocates – urgent!

The Christmas season is a time we spend looking forward to being with family and enjoying the warm traditions of the holidays with loved ones and friends. However, for many children and youth in our communities, Christmas does not carry that same significance: too many have seen more than their share of misfortune, pain and hopelessness, and too many don’t have a family to provide supervision, guidance, and structure in their daily tasks.

It is heartbreaking when a child eagerly waits for real help – real
hope – and it never comes! But when a wonderful, saving soul with a
giving heart and the belief that every child deserves a lot of love and a
little help, that individual can transform a child’s life and bring the
miracle of hope, real hope, to one youth at a time.

Amid the bustle and the buying, the eats and the treats, we
should take time to rekindle the real spirit of the Christmas season,
and remember children who have been neglected in their own homes. We
should remember troubled teenagers who have been subjected to untold
abuse, youth who have embarked on a wrong course in life and yet,
hopefully, are not too long along the path to be reclaimed, children who
lack the nurturing family environment familiar to so many of us.

With the support, commitment, and patience of a loving and caring
family, a child can continue to grow into a healthy, wholesome teenager
and be a positive contributor to society as an adult. A caring family,
along with these gifts of hope, will surely make a difference in the
life of a child and in what path children travels in life, not to
mention, the gift of a brighter future.

Ki’era Gash, One Youth At A Time volunteer and program participant, speaks at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Ki’era is a Junior at Brevard College, and the daughter of Demetrus and Kimberly Parks of Asheville, NC.

The simple fact is that every child is special, unique, and a
gift from God to mankind. Every child deserves a caring, loving home,
whether permanent or in foster care.

Our mission at One Youth At A Time, and the primary focus of our
recruitment and outreach efforts, is to find homes for the children in
our communities whose lives have taken unexpected turns over situations
they could not control. We want to identify singles and couples who want
to touch the life of a child with transforming love and the gift of
hope, who are interested in becoming adopted and/or foster parents for
children who are already in the Foster Care System with Buncombe County
D.S.S.

One Youth At A Time would like to thank local leaders, clergy,
churches, representatives of the faith communities, and area community
leaders who have responded to our previous requests to give a child
hope. Together, we can make a difference for our children! We thank you
for believing with us, that every child deserves a supportive and caring
home, where there is true love, nurturing, patience, and comfort. There
is nothing stronger than the loving heart of a Foster Parent/Adoptive
Parent.

Happy Holidays!
For more information about One Youth at a Time, call Ms. Robbie J. Williams at (828) 281-0208 or email [email protected].