Our Latest Success Stories
Stories of Hope: Better to Give than to Receive
by Lindsey Dickson, Development Assistant
We have all heard the saying that it is better to give than receive. Recently the children at Helping Hand Home have had the opportunity to experience this reality firsthand during Story Time with Ms.Eileen. Many friends of HHH know about Ms. Eileen, a long-time volunteer who continuously pours into our children with both her time and resources. Her biweekly Story Time is a favorite activity among
both staff and children at Helping Hand Home as she takes everyone on an exciting new adventureeach time. More than just a time for reading, Story Time is also where Ms. Eileen teaches children about generosity toward others. Recently she and the children at Helping Hand Home jointly selected a new worthwhile cause to support: providing wheelchairs for disabled children in Uganda. At the end of
each Story Time Ms. Eileen gives every child a quarter, which can be saved or given to support the FreeWheelchair Mission and other selected charities. As the children learned more about the worldwide effort they were helping support, their generosity increased. “They learned so much and they felt so good about themselves for having saved their hard earned quarters,” says Eileen.
Last week marked an exciting milestone: our children raised 260 quarters, enough to provide their very first wheelchair to a child across the globe. “Our children were so moved and felt so good inside to know that they were truly helping someone who needed their help.” The giving did not stop there. Justin, an 11-year-old boy at Helping Hand Home, quietly got up and asked permission to go get
something. He quickly returned with a box. Inside were donations he had been collecting on his own for months in hopes of one day giving them to a good cause. Justin went up to the front and emptied his entire donation box into the group collection jar – enough to provide two additional wheelchairs! As Ms. Eileen reflects on this tremendous act of generosity she says, “I wish you could have seen the
expression on his face when he presented his entire savings. His beautiful smile lit up the room. He will never forget the magical moment he experienced knowing that he was doing something so heartfelt and so great as to give this wonderful gift to someone who cannot walk.” Partners of this effort were equally touched. “Tonight is a story I will always tell and remember. These kids, who have lived through so much, have even lost their parents through no fault of their own... giving from their
hearts,” said Lynne Dobson, an Ambassador for Free Wheelchair Mission. The children at HHH are working to support other charitable causes as well. The children also raised money to help dig a fresh water well in Ethiopia thru Water To Thrive and A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, non-profit organizations working together to bring clean water to rural communities in Africa.These admirable efforts remind us that we never have so little that we cannot give of ourselves. We are so proud of our children and excited by the possibilities created through their generous hearts.
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Shelby Finds Her Forever Family:
by Kristi Duck, Director of Child Placement Services
The Child Placing Agency of Helping Hand Home for children celebrated another wonderful adoption on January 31, 2011. Although all of our adoptions are special, this one in particular marked a momentous occasion for the entire agency, as this was the first child that has gone through our entire continuum of care. Shelby Rodriguez-Potter has been in the care of Helping Hand Home since 2006, where she began her healing in the residential treatment center. After a year she was then placed into one of our therapeutic foster homes where she continued to work on improving her behavior and learned to accept the intimacies of living in a family. Shelby’s road to finding her “forever family” has not been easy and is nothing short of a miracle. After being removed from the care of her biological mother Shelby was placed with her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother was not able to care for her due to her challenging behaviors and
thus began her journey through the foster care system. Shelby had multiple placements in psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, and foster homes. In March of 2008, Shelby was placed in the foster home of Nedran Richardson. Shelby and Nedran had an instant connection and Nedran had plans to adopt Shelby. Only five short months later, tragedy struck and Nedran died very suddenly and unexpectedly. Nedran’s sister, Jewell Potter, was also a foster parent with HHH and was very close to Nedran’s children. Jewell was devastated by the loss of her sister, and decided to take in the three children that Nedran had taken care of for so long. Jewell knew her sister had plans to adopt the three children and they had truly become a part of her family. One of those children was Shelby Rodriguez. Once Shelby moved in with Jewell, she quickly learned how to effectively manage Shelby’s challenging behaviors and Shelby began to thrive in this environment. Jewell loves Shelby’s “spunk” and encourages her to speak her mind and stand up for herself. Jewell completely understands the needs that Shelby has and can’t imagine not having Shelby in her life. “I just fell in love with Shelby and I don’t want her to leave. I know her very well and I want to continue to take care of her and for her to be happy, ” said Jewell. Shelby commented, “Yeah, Nana’s going to take care of me now and then I’m going to take care of her when she gets old.” This spunky, 10-year-old with a heart of gold truly loves HHH and has nothing but positive things to share about her experiences with the staff over the past four years. When asked what she would say to new kids who are just coming to HHH for the first time she quickly responded, “I love HHH! I would tell them not to give up hope and to work on their anger like I did.” I asked her what she would say if a child was worried that they might not be adopted and she said, “No way! If I can get adopted, then HHH can help them get adopted too.” Shelby received many gifts on the morning of January 31, 2011. She received a new mother in Jewell Potter, and became a little sister and aunt. She also gained a sense of security, hope, and a chance to live her life surrounded by a family who loves her dearly. Congratulations Jewell and Shelby! From all of us at Helping Hand Home for Children, we wish you nothing but happiness for many years to come.
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Jackson’s Story:
Dear Helping Hand Home Family,
This past November I left at Helping Hand Home a piece of my heart…my son, Jackson. The situation had become unmanageable at home and our entire family was suffering. As I drove home without my precious son, I was overwhelmed with feelings of despair and failure. I did the only thing I knew to do, I prayed. I knew God could work miracles. He had worked one in my life before when He gave me my beautiful boys and our family was in need of another miracle.
I was not disappointed. Over the past six months, with your love, compassion, knowledge, determination and perseverance Jackson has changed. Jackson changed from a child who seemed lost and unsure of his place to a more comfortable and confident member of our family. You have equipped not only my son, but our entire family with the tools necessary to succeed.
As we go forward, we will hold close to our heart Helping Hand Home and all the wonderful people who helped make our miracle possible.
Thank you,
Jackson’s Mom
Lisa’s Story:
Yesterday, I noticed one of the Home’s therapists had several Post-It notes on his shirt – they had phrases written on them such as: “I ruined my family,” “I miss my mother,” “Who is taking care of my sister?” I asked the therapist why the notes were stuck to his shirt. He told me one of the little girls, “Lisa,” age 7, was having a very tough morning. When he talked to Lisa, he learned she was worried about her family, afraid her friends didn’t like her and many other things. He made an agreement with Lisa that they would write down all her worries and he would carry them around for her the rest of the day. He told Lisa her job for the day was to leave her worries with him so she could go have fun and just be a kid. As I looked out the window, I saw Lisa on the playground with the other children running, playing and laughing.