Ingham County FIA Foster Care Worker

 

   Danny has been in a residential foster facility for over a year.  Although he has many difficulties in his life, he is by all accounts a pretty good kid.  The first time I met Danny, I asked him how he kept his good attitude. He told me that his hero, Michael Jordan, always has a good attitude and since he was going to be a pro-ball player like Michael, he thought it would be good to think positive.

   Even with his positive thinking, he had little to look forward to at Christmas.  His former foster parent called me a few weeks prior to Christmas and told me that although he could stay with them over the holiday, they had no money to purchase a gift for him. Caring About Kids was there to give the foster mother a gift certificate to purchase a gift for Danny.

   When I picked him up after the holiday weekend, his face was one big smile.  I told him he was one of the happiest kids I had seen. He asked if I knew why.  “Well,” he said, “My foster mom got me my favorite present ever!”  “Oh yeah,” I said, “and what might that be?”  He reached into his bag and pulled out a beautiful sweatshirt and pointed to the figure on it.  It was a picture of his hero, Michael Jordan.

* All names have been changed to protect the identity of our children.