10 Ways to Support Foster Boys - SWFL - Crossroads Hope Academy

10 Ways to Support Boys in Foster Care

Crossroads would not be successful without the financial and volunteer support of our community. Providing the level of care these boys need is much more costly than it is to meet the needs of kids who have not gone through their trauma.

We have to fundraise more than $28,000 per month just to cover the necessities of raising these kids. That doesn’t include funds for birthday parties, off campus trips, holiday celebrations, etc. Additionally, kids who have lacked loving and supportive adults for most/all of their lives require extra support, attention, encouragement, and love to heal.

Here are 10 ways you can help support our youth at Crossroads:

Volunteer in our kitchen(s):
The kitchen is the heart of the home, so what better way to interact with our boys and get to know them through the universal love language of food! We love having kitchen volunteers at breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the weekends and dinner on week days. Most of our kitchen volunteers prefer to serve once a month on a regular schedule (i.e. dinner every 3rd Saturday of the month). This is a GREAT way for a small group of friends to volunteer together!
Shop our Amazon wish lists:
This is a way to support Crossroads without even having to leave your house! With 40+ boys between our two campuses, we go through A LOT of hygiene products and other basic needs: deodorant, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, towels, bed sheets, pillows, socks, underwear, hair brushes/combs, etc. You can help us keep the boys all fresh and clean simply by placing an order through one of our Amazon wish lists. Your order will ship directly to us!
Host a supply drive:
Rally your neighborhood or church/community group together to donate hygiene supplies, bedding, clothing, snacks, and more, and then box them all up and bring them to one of our two campuses. Supply drives are an excellent way to support Crossroads because you are not only helping to provide our boys’ basic needs, but you are also spreading the word about Crossroads to your friends and neighbors!
Organize our store shelves:
Once we get all the above-mentioned supplies, we need them unpacked and organized in our campus stores. If you are looking for an easy behind the scenes volunteer opportunity, this is it! In just one to two hours, once a week or twice a month, you can help us keep our shelves stocked and organized, which frees up our staffs’ time to be hands-on with the kids as much as possible.
Help out in our garden(s):
Do you have a green thumb? Both our campuses have gardens that need some tender love and care year-round, but especially during the rainy season and winter months.
Sponsor a birthday:
It’s a sad truth, but foster kids’ birthdays are often ignored. We have had boys come to us at 15/16 years old who have never had a birthday party. Here at Crossroads, we believe every child should have their birthday celebrated, which is why we host a birthday party at each campus every month to celebrate our birthday boys. We decorate the cafeteria; have pizza, cake, and ice cream; and the birthday boys each get presents they asked for (within a $175 budget). YOU can help make these birthday celebrations possible by sponsoring an individual youth’s presents or the parties themselves.
Sponsor youth activities & trips:
Nothing is worse than a bored teenager! We like to keep the boys occupied as much as possible on the weekends and over the summer. From activities like movies, go carting, and roller skating to bigger trips like Dave & Busters, Top Golf, Adventure Island, or Busch Gardens, we make sure our boys have the opportunity to do all the same fun stuff their peers do. And that’s not cheap! Throughout the year, we share special fundraising requests for these types of activities on Facebook and in our newsletter.
Plan an activity night:
Not into cooking but still want to spend some quality time with the boys? Get some friends from your neighborhood or church together and host an activity night at one of our campuses! Host a BINGO night or a board game extravaganza. Organize a kickball or basketball tournament. As the holidays come around, plan a fun themed activity, like gingerbread house building or Easter egg dying (and egg hunts!)
Just come hang out:
Yep, that’s it. Just come by and hang out, any time you want! You don’t have to have a plan or an agenda. Just come on in and see what kids are hanging around. Offer to play them in a game of pool, shoot some hoops, play some cards…just chat about their day! These boys just need kind, caring people in their lives. No need to complicate it. Just come and spend some time getting to know them. Simple as that!
Sign up for our newsletter:
Not sure what you want to do just yet or want to learn a little more about Crossroads and our boys before getting involved? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay up to date with what’s going on at Crossroads and all the different opportunities available to help us out!