Dear Friends,

I understand each of you are busy and already dedicate yourself in many ways to improve our community, however I have an urgent request. As the incoming President of Child Focus, I ask that you join me in this financially critical time by helping to support the kids living within our community’s foster care system.

There are approximately 3,200 foster care kids living in Southern Nevada and you only need to spend 5 minutes with any one of these amazing children to realize the harsh realities of the lonely life they have been unfairly dealt; their stories of life without the security or comfort of a permanent home are very difficult to hear and completely unacceptable. Please make a difference in these children's lives now by helping me reach my personal goal of $10,000.

One familiar story told by many of these youngsters is the devastating long term impact of being separated from their brothers and/or sisters.

“Living in foster care has been hard. Over three years ago, me and my 3 brothers and sisters were taken from my mother’s house and placed in Child Haven. Being taken from the only place I called home was hard, but being separated from my brothers and sisters was devastating, and something I still can’t get over.”

“I have been a foster child for 7 years, and during this time I have constantly been switched around. I was placed in 5 different schools in 5 years- some nights I would go to bed in one place and wake up in another. As a young child my only comfort was my older brother, and every day I think about how much I need him, and how much better my life would be if I had him by my side.”

Unfortunately, stories like these are not uncommon, as 75% of all children placed in foster care experience separation from their brothers and sisters.

There is one Nevada organization with the goal of preserving sibling relationships and providing programs and services to help ease the trauma many of these children in the foster care system have, and that organization is Child Focus. While my personal understanding of the importance of sibling preservation runs deep, it wasn’t until my close involvement with Child Focus in 2008 that I completely understood the extent of this problem. I am optimistic that we will continue providing these vital services to Nevada's children.

Although none of us can completely solve the problems for our community’s foster kids, we can make a difference in their lives, one program or visit at a time. By donating to Child focus, you are helping to keep this vital organization alive. This past year alone Child Focus was able to provide 37 sibling events, and over 16,000 hours of visitation time to separated siblings.

Please help Child Focus to continue providing services to Nevada’s foster care children.

I hope you will join us in supporting programming for Nevada’s foster youth. If you would like more information about our programs, please visit www.childfocusnv.org. To make a donation, please go to http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/ronnicouncil/childfocus. You can also have your donation picked up at your convenience by calling 702-853-1330, or by mailing it to:

ATTN: Child Focus
438 East Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89104

Sincerely,
Ronni Council
Vice Chair

P.S. Please take a moment to hear more about the stories of these wonderful kids in Child Focus by clicking HERE to read an article published in the Las Vegas Sun earlier this year.