
02/11/2021
9-year-old adopted after 7 years in foster care
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/year-adopted-years-waiting-foster-care-75786494
Elijah Mays was adopted in January by Mandi and Jon Mays of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Family Builders is a welcoming and affirming nonprofit foster family and adoption agency that believes every child should leave foster care with a loving and caring parent.
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Family Builders believes that every child has the right to grow up in a permanent, nurturing family regardless of that child’s age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or medical, physical or emotional condition. Family Builders educates the community about the needs of waiting children, advocates on their behalf, and places children with permanent, secure families through adoption, and other forms of permanence.
Mission: Family Builders is here to help find loving families for children and youth in need - that's our only goal. We connect children with individuals and couples who can provide safe, stable, nurturing families. Our services are free and confidential, and include adoption, foster care and other forms of permanency.We have experience working with all types of children, youth and families. Family Builders welcomes traditional families; single parent families; both men and women; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families; transracial and multiracial families; and all other families as prospective adoptive parents. Family Builders is committed to serving all families equally with dignity and respect. Family Builders does not discriminate on the basis of the fact or perception of a person’s race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, height, weight, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, domestic partner status, parental status, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, medical status or disability, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or HIV status, or association with members of such prohibited classes.
Operating as usual
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/year-adopted-years-waiting-foster-care-75786494
Elijah Mays was adopted in January by Mandi and Jon Mays of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Join Penguin Random House as they #AmplifyBlackStories all year long! Celebrate Black authors, leaders, creators, and more who have forged a path for themselves and others. Share the Black stories you love and discover books that can transform your world.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/shop/amplify-black-stories?ref=PRHA391F0F28E7E&linkid=PRHA391F0F28E7E&cdi=576F846E9007F8B7E0534FD66B0A803C&template_id=19795&aid=randohouseinc23956-20
Celebrate Black authors, leaders, and creators who have forged a path for themselves and others. Share the Black stories you love!
PBS has released new programming in honor of Black History Month to commemorate and celebrate African American achievement. Through powerful documentaries and thought-provoking specials designed to inspire and represent the full range of the American experience, PBS will be showcasing Black excellence, struggles and triumphs this February and all year long.
Check out some of their programming below!
https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-recognizes-the-many-contributions-of-african-americans-this-black-history-month-all-year-long/
Featured programming includes new documentaries from Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and INDEPENDENT LENS, as well as offerings from PBS Digital Studios.
February is Black History Month - an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. We have seen immense growth in the awareness and development of the Black Lives Matter movement over the past year, which arose through massive and widespread protests and civilian acts of resistance and solidarity, even as COVID-19 raged around the world.
This year’s Black History Month has more gravity and significance than ever, and is a time for all of us to look inward, asking what each of us can do to better confront racism and inequality.
There are many ways to celebrate Black History Month! Check out how some Bay Area organizations and arts institutions plan to celebrate Black History Month this year, and how you can participate in celebrating the many important achievements and accomplishments of African Americans throughout history:
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/guide/black-history-month-2021-virtual-events-performances-and-more-ways-to-celebrate-in-the-bay-area
How Bay Area organizations and arts institutions plan to celebrate Black History Month safely this year.
Family Builders' website is now available in Spanish. To view the website, please visit https://familybuilders.org/es/
El sitio web de Family Builders ahora está disponible en español. Para ver el sitio, visite https://familybuilders.org/es/
Construyendo familias amorosas, cariñosas y permanentes para niños y jóvenes que viven en cuidado de crianza desde 1976.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9pyMqnBzk&ab_channel=CNBCTelevision
Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, the Youth Poet Laureate of 2017, delivers a poem at President Joe Biden's inauguration. For access to live and exclusive video ...
Family Builders' 2019-2020 Annual Report - https://mailchi.mp/b5fbadba7a83/family-news-family-builders-spring-newsletter-4697530
Looking for virtual activities for your kids over Winter Break? Sign your kids up for one of the City of Oakland's free virtual winter camps!
To register:
https://cityofoakland.perfectmind.com/23603/Clients/BookMe4BookingPages/BookingCoursesPage?calendarId=c95588e1-5f08-4f42-a59e-67ffdc4c34f5&widgetId=15f6af07-39c5-473e-b053-96653f77a406&embed=False
Thank you Leslie Silket for helping with our holday drive!
Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday! Please consider creating a #GivingTuesday fundraiser to support Family Builders! Every donation will help create loving, nurturing, permanent families for children in foster care.
We truly couldn't do this important work without the support of our community!
https://www.facebook.com/fund/FamilyBuilders/
PARENTING SELF-CARE: BUILDING RESILIENCE IN DIFFICULT TIMES
Please consider joining Ofosu Born Jones-Quartey at one of his upcoming virtual parenting self-care classes!
This virtual two-part parenting workshop is an opportunity for parents to come together and explore skillful means for meeting the parenting challenges of these times with an open heart, touching upon the intersection of technology, youth mental health, and challenging family dynamics.
Participants will engage in guided practice around self-care, with an emphasis on identifying and cultivating our inner resources and resilience. Special attention will be paid to attending to our own emotions during stressful times, and the impact this has on how we see and engage with our children. Drawing on our community strength, we will explore how the practices of mindfulness and compassion can reduce tension, enhance inner well-being, and strengthen our relationships.
https://imcw.org/Calendar/Event-Calendar/EventId/3891/e/parenting-self-care-1-dec-2020
This virtual two-part parenting workshop is an opportunity for parents to come together and explore skillful means for meeting the parenting challenges of these times with an open heart, touching upon the intersection of technology, youth mental health, and challenging family dynamics.
Join us tonight at 7:00pm Pacific Time for our Virtual Celebration of Family! Follow the link below to join us at this special event!
https://app.mobilecause.com/e/N5mRPQ?vid=butjv
Text FBBA to 41444 to RSVP for Family Builders' virtual Celebration of Family!!!
Please join us virtually on November 21st at 7:00 pm PT at our annual Celebration of Family! The event will feature guest speakers and special performances by Beautiful Chorus and Born I.
Reserve your tickets by texting FBBA to 41444, or by clicking the link below!
https://app.mobilecause.com/e/N5mRPQ?vid=cjmb0
Don't forget to RSVP for next Saturday's virtual fundraising event! Our annual Celebration of Family will feature some of our amazing families... as well as special performances by Beautiful Chorus and Born I.
Registration is FREE! RSVP today to join us at this special event!
Text FBBA to 41444 to RSVP for Family Builders' virtual Celebration of Family!!!
Please join us virtually on November 21st at 7:00 pm PT at our annual Celebration of Family! The event will feature guest speakers and special performances by Beautiful Chorus and Born I.
Reserve your tickets by texting FBBA to 41444, or by clicking the link below!
https://app.mobilecause.com/e/N5mRPQ?vid=cjmb0
He made headlines for adopting five brothers and sisters.
Help us bring joy to a child in foster care and make them feel special this holiday season by purchasing a gift on a child's holiday wish list! We are also collecting grocery, Visa, and Amazon gift cards for older youth in foster care and youth who recently aged out of foster care. Please click on the link below to participate. All donations are tax-deductible.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050944A4AE2EA6F58-foster
Please help a child in foster care feel special this holiday season by purchasing the item on their Christmas list! We are also collecting grocery, Target, and Amazon gift cards for older youth in foster care and youth who recently aged out of foster care. Gifts should be unwrapped or in a gift bag...
Text FBBA to 41444 to RSVP for Family Builders' virtual Celebration of Family!!!
Please join us virtually on November 21st at 7:00 pm PT at our annual Celebration of Family! The event will feature guest speakers and special performances by Beautiful Chorus and Born I.
Reserve your tickets by texting FBBA to 41444, or by clicking the link below!
https://app.mobilecause.com/e/N5mRPQ?vid=cjmb0
Please join us virtually on November 21st at 7:00 pm PT at our annual Celebration of Family! The event will feature guest speakers and special performances by Beautiful Chorus and Born I.
Reserve your tickets by texting FBBA to 41444, or by clicking the link below!
https://app.mobilecause.com/e/N5mRPQ?vid=cjmb0
Thanks you to all the #proudparents everywhere.
https://youtu.be/EpfLklSG2dQ #proudparent #LGBTQ #LGBTQHistoryMonth
A loving world, starts with a loving home. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Learn about our #ProudParent partnership with PFLAG National to create a more loving world at OREOProudPar...
Register today to reserve your place at Family Builders' virtual Celebration of Family! Please join us at this event to honor the many amazing families who have changed the lives of children in foster care, and to raise money to create more loving, nurturing permanent families for children and youth in foster care.
Register or make your gift today!
igfn.us/e/N5mRPQ
We are honored to have the continued support of Dale Marie Golden MacDonald and Bridge Bank! Thank you for making a difference in the life of so many children in foster care!
https://www.westernalliancebancorporation.com/bridge-bank-home
Older youth in foster care age out of the system when no legal permanent connection (such as being reunited with their birth family, adopted, or placed under the care of a legal guardian) is available to them by the time they reach the age of majority. Older youth who age out of foster care experience an increased risk for homelessness, young parenthood, low educational attainment, high unemployment rates, and other adverse adult outcomes.
Find out more about how you can help us create the permanent, secure relationships older youth need to successfully transition to adulthood. Give us a call at (510)536-5437 or visit www.familybuilders.org for more information.
Thanks to our newest Celebration of Family Gold Sponsor @durietangri! We look forward to working with you to create more loving, caring families for children in foster care!
If you're interested in learning about sponsorship opportunities with Family Builders, send us an email at [email protected].
https://durietangri.com/
"Between the earth and the sky above...
nothing can match a grandparent's love."
Happy Grandparents Day from Family Builders!
Please consider making a donation to help give a child in foster care the gift of a grandparent’s unconditional love.
A local family is talking about the impact adoption has had on their son.
Meet a few of our amazing Family Builders families!
Thanks to our partner FITNESS SF for putting this video together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOIByHAZmQk
Learn about Family Builders by Adoption, and hear stories from families who adopted through foster care with Family Builders.
Thank you to our first Celebration of Family event sponsor, Terri Brauher, Realtor - Century 21 Homefinders of Hawaii!
If you would like to learn about partnership opportunities for Family Builders' virtual Celebration of Family, please email [email protected]!
https://www.facebook.com/terribrauherrealtor/
Real Estate Agent
On Saturday, November 21, we will gather virtually to celebrate 44 years of creating loving, nurturing, permanent families for children and youth in foster care. Stay tuned for more information about registration and other ways to get involved in this special event.
To learn about partnership opportunities for this event, contact [email protected].
There is no place for religious or LGBTQ discrimination in our foster care system. Children in foster care deserve to be matched with loving, caring parents.
As we await the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case coming before the Supreme Court this fall, the Ways and Means Committee has issued its report into the investigation of “The Trump Administration’s Waiver of Foster Care Nondiscrimination Requirements” in South Carolina. During the investigation, Chairmen Davis and Lewis requested testimony from foster youth and several health, child welfare, and LGBTQ organizations on the impact of the waiver HHS issued to South Carolina faith-based organizations allowing them to turn away qualified foster and adoptive families on the basis of religious beliefs.
The report found that:
-HHS granted a waiver to South Carolina that was improper and unprecedented.
-The waiver violates the statutory mandate to act in the best interests of the child.
-The waiver disproportionately harms LGBTQ foster youth.
-Protections against discrimination are in the best interest of foster children.
-The waiver set a precedent for discrimination and harm to individuals outside South Carolina.
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/new-ways-and-means-report-finds-hhs-allowed-federal-dollars-be-spent
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Ways and Means Committee Democratic staff released a new report that finds the Trump Administration deliberately caused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fail its mandate to act in the best interest of abused and neglected children. In January ...
Celebrate PRIDE by supporting LGBTQ youth in foster care! Every child deserves a PROUD parent! Text PROUDPARENT to 77948 to donate!
It’s hard not celebrating PRIDE as usual this year… but you CAN celebrate by making a donation to Family Builders and changing the life of an LGBT youth in foster care.
Brunch, cocktails, your rainbow gear… donate what you would have spent on PRIDE this year and change a life forever!
Text PROUDPARENT to 77948 to make a donation!
#PRIDE #SFPRIDE #FosterHopeAdoptLove #LGBTQ #LGBTQYOUTH #PROUDPARENTS #YouthAcceptanceProject
It’s hard not celebrating PRIDE as usual this year… but you CAN celebrate by making a donation to Family Builders and changing the life of an LGBT youth in foster care.
Brunch, cocktails, your rainbow gear… donate what you would have spent on PRIDE this year and change a life forever!
Text PROUDPARENT to 77948 to make a donation!
#PRIDE #SFPRIDE #FosterHopeAdoptLove #LGBTQ #LGBTQYOUTH #PROUDPARENTS #YouthAcceptanceProject
Thank you to all the nurturing, loving, supportive, and devoted dads out there.
Happy #FathersDay from Family Builders!
#FosterHopeAdoptLove
#Juneteenth (June Nineteenth) is the oldest known nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks the day that the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom in 1865. Celebrating Juneteenth is a step towards recognizing the full scope of American history and the unfinished work of advancing racial and social justice.
How will you celebrate #Juneteenth?
Family Builders is happy to see the Supreme Court affirm workplace protections for the LGBTQ community!
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/15/863498848/supreme-court-delivers-major-victory-to-lgbtq-employees
The Supreme Court says the federal ban on discrimination "based on sex" also applies to gay, lesbian, and transgender employees.
It's never too early to talk with your child about race.
Below are some helpful resources to help support children in understanding race, racism and resistance, as well as helpful resources for adults.
RESOURCES TO HELP SUPPORT CHILDREN IN UNDERSTANDING RACE, RACISM AND RESISTANCE
1) Something Happened in Our Town ( https://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/441B228)
2) When I was Eight (https://socialjusticebooks.org/when-i-was-eight/)
3) Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History ( https://www.vashtiharrison.com/little-leaders)
4) Ruth and the Green Book ( https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299104/the-day-you-begin-by-jacqueline-woodson-illustrated-by-rafael-lopez/)
5) The Day You Begin (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299104/the-day-you-begin-by-jacqueline-woodson-illustrated-by-rafael-lopez/)
6) Childrens books about Race & Racisim (https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/childrens-books-about-race-and-racism)
7) Aha! Parenting Blog: Talking With Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests (https://www.ahaparenting.com/blog/talking-with-children-about-racism-police-brutality-and-protests)
8) Common Sense Media: Books that Promote Diversity & Inclusion (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/books-that-promote-diversity-and-inclusion)
ADULT RESOURCES TO READ:
1) How to be an Antiracist (https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist-1)
2) The New Jim Crow (https://newjimcrow.com/)
3) Raising Our Hands: How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, and Find Our Place on the New Frontlines (https://www.jennaarnold.com/book)
4) I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (http://austinchanning.com/the-book)
5) Between the World and Me (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220290/between-the-world-and-me-by-ta-nehisi-coates/)
6) Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250112576)
7) White Fragility (https://robindiangelo.com/publications/) Angelo (https://robindiangelo.com/publications/)
8) Hood Feminism (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/586743/hood-feminism-by-mikki-kendall/)
9) When They Call You a Terrorist. A Black Lives Matter Memoir (https://patrissecullors.com/call-terrorist-black-lives-matter-memoir/)
10) The Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6102-this-bridge-called-my-back-four.aspx)
11) The Bluest Eye (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/117662/the-bluest-eye-by-toni-morrison/)
12) So You Want to Talk About Race (http://www.ijeomaoluo.com/)
13) Invisible No More: Polics Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color (http://invisiblenomorebook.com/)
14) Me and White Supremacy (https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/)
15) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/)
16) Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority (http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100613520)
17) Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America (https://www.abingdonpress.com/raisingwhitekids/)
1900 Embarcadero Suite 303
Oakland, CA
94606
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"Between the earth and the sky above... nothing can match a grandparent's love." Happy Grandparents Day from Family Builders! Please consider making a donation to help give a child in foster care the gift of a grandparent’s unconditional love.
One week left to order your Family Builders gear! Every purchase will help a child in foster care find their forever family! www.bonfire.com/familybuilders
19 days left to get your Family Builders gear! Every purchase will help a child in foster care find a loving, supportive permanent family! www.bonfire.com/familybuilders
Join Family Builders mailing list to receive our newsletter, information on upcoming events, and to stay up to date with what's happening in our Family Builders community! Join: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyBuilders/app/100265896690345/
Thanks to Google's amazing #Gayglers for raising $20,000 to support Family Builders LGBTQ Youth Acceptance Project at their holiday party! #Google SF Oasis #HelpingLGBTYouth
Meet some of the families that have adopted through Family Builders...
We want to thank those who contributed thoughtful gifts to our silent auction. Your contributions to our 40th Anniversary Celebration Gala, made the evening one to remember. Special thanks to: Alpha Omega, Better World Advertising, Bloomingdale's, Citrus, Debbie & Roger Reynolds, Disneyland Resort, Jorge Maumer, Kathleen Mailliard Solmssen, RADA KATZ Fine Antique and Estate Jewelry, San Francisco Giants, and Southwest Airlines. Thank you.
Family Builders is a nonprofit foster care and adoption agency dedicated to creating loving, nurturing, permanent families for children and youth in foster care. Family Builders has been providing services and programs for children and families since 1976. All of our services are free and confidential, and include adoption, foster care, and other forms of permanency.
Family Builders is welcoming, affirming, and strongly dedicated to diversity. We welcome all individuals and couples as prospective parents to children in foster care including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and couples; heterosexual individuals and couples; both men and women; transracial and multiracial families; and all other individuals and couples. Family Builders is committed to serving all families equally with dignity and respect. All of our services are provided in both English and Spanish, and we welcome monolingual Spanish-speaking families.
We do not discriminate on the basis of the fact or perception of a person’s race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, height, weight, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, domestic partner status, parental status, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, medical status or disability, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or HIV status.
Our staff and board are made up of individuals who believe strongly that children have the right to a solid and loving family. We invite you to get to know who we are and to contact us to learn more about becoming a parent to child who needs a family.
Alameda County Healthy Homes Department Lead
2000 Embarcadero, Ste 300Chief Warrant Officers Association - Golden G
Coast Guard Island, AlamedaU.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche
Alameda 94501Coast Guard Enlisted Association Golden Gate
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Coast Guard Island, AlamedaU.S. Coast Guard Pacific Southwest
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1701 E 19th StCalifornia Coalition for Women Prisoners
4400 Market St.Alameda County Arts Commission
P.O. Box 29004Merritt College Child Development Department
12500 Campus Dr. A109César E. Chávez Branch Library
3301 E 12th St, Ste 271Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center
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