Wonder: A "first" for kids in foster care

Thank you for your ongoing support! Since November, you have helped to provide:

• 5 more “first” experiences in the areas of arts, sports, nature, dining out, volunteer service, and music.
• 2 more “firsts” for a child in a sit-down restaurant with their mentor. One match wrote about their outing, saying “…we went to Chili’s for dinner – Josh’s* first time in a restaurant – at least that he can remember. He ate a chili-cheese fries appetizer, a giant hamburger and a fudge brownie sundae. The food server and the people at the next table were amazed…”
• Ongoing support of the program with an additional $275 in donations. This will help to support the 14 new Guides who just graduated from training and are being matched with children and beginning their journeys right now!

As we turn the corner of Spring and prepare for Summer, we are gearing up for our annual trip to Camp Wonder in August. Last year, 40 mentoring matches attended a weekend camping trip where they had the chance to share a common bond with other children in foster care and mentoring matches, experience the outdoors, play, explore, and be filled with joy! Here were a few of the special moments from previous Camp Wonders:

“When I picked Tony* (Explorer) up for camp, I asked him if he was ready for this. He said ‘I have been ready my whole life!’ He then asked if we were going to have s’mores because he hadn’t ever had them but knew they would be good because he has seen them on tv.”

“…camp was the best experience for us…I think his connections with others will pay great dividends for us in our relationship. We are both more willing to try new things and be spontaneous and silly which feels great. During the trip, I kept thinking about how much I saw Bobby* smile…more than any of our times together….not one ‘sad’ time that I could tell.”

The goal of Camp Wonder is to deepen the existing mentoring relationship and to continue to support them in developing a strong, healthy connection. A Coach with Wonder, who checks in regularly with program participants and helps to monitor matches, noted her observations of one match in particular, saying: “She (Guide) talked again about the value of Camp in her relationship with Sarah*(Explorer) and how it brought them closer and ‘bonded’ them. She said Sarah* shows her increased bonding with hugs and smiles…She (Guide) talked about a timeline that Sarah*did for school and put a photo of the two of them together and when asked about who (Guide) was, she said, ‘my mentor, best friend from Wonder!’ (Guide) was super touched by this.”

With your help, we will provide this experience again this year for 45 mentoring matches. Camp Wonder costs $16,500 and we have raised some of the funds, but are still in need of $9,000 in order to provide this experience to our mentoring matches again. Please help us to create more lifelong memories for our children! Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!