• Make a Gift
  • About
  • Blog
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
  • Make a Payment
  • Patient Portal

Jewish Family Services Richmond

Care. Counseling. Adoption.

  • Care
    • Home Care
    • Care Management
    • Senior Engagement
    • CAPABLE
  • Counseling
    • Individual Counseling
    • Child Counseling
    • Family Counseling
    • Couples Counseling
    • Senior Counseling
    • Memory Assessment Services
    • Counseling Staff
  • Adoption
    • I Want To Adopt
    • I Am LGBTQ+
    • I Am Pregnant
  • Connecting Hearts
    • About Us
    • Kinship Awareness Month
    • Adoption Awareness Month
    • Foster Care Awareness Month
    • FAQ
  • Adoption Through Collaborative Agreement
post

“A Hand to Hold”

October 31, 2023 By JFS Richmond Leave a Comment

Connecting Hearts--A Hand to HoldNovember’s Adoption
Awareness Month Campaign

Every November for Adoption Awareness Month, JFS partners with WTVR CBS 6 to present “A Hand to Hold,” a multimedia campaign spotlighting children in Central Virginia’s foster care system waiting for a loving family. Each day in November, CBS 6 will air the unique story of a youth or teen in foster care, giving thousands of potential parents an opportunity to meet a young individual they might never have gotten the chance to meet. You may even recognize and connect with someone you already know!  We hope to inspire individuals, couples, and families to get involved, whether as foster or adoptive parents, respite families, or mentors.

There are almost 700 children and teens in Central Virginia’s foster care system through no fault of their own. When youth currently in foster care are taken from their families, there are not enough foster care families available for them, so they are placed in a group home or residential foster care facility. Today, many of them continue to live there, even years later.

Over half of all kids in foster care are teenagers – the most difficult children to find homes for. 250 of them are between 16 and 21 years old and at risk of “aging out” of foster care without a safety net. 20% of children who age out become homeless; half develop a substance dependence; only 3% ever earn a college degree. The future is bleak for children in foster care who never find a family of their own.

Connecting Hearts’ is a program offered through JFS.  Our mission is “to find foster, adoptive, and kinship families for every child” who can give them the love and support, and skills they need for a brighter future. Remember, it’s never too late to adopt! Just one positive relationship with a loving, supportive adult can change a young person’s life forever.

To learn more about children in foster care or how you can get involved, please reach out to the Connecting Hearts Program Manager, Denise Wise-David, at dwise-david@jfsrichmond.org or (804) 349-0786.

 

Filed Under: Adoption

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

JFS IS A PROUD PARTNER OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS

  United Way logo      

Jewish Family Services • 6718 Patterson Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23226

Phone 804.282.5644 • Main Fax 804.285.0006 • Counseling Fax 804.673.2061 • information@jfsrichmond.org

MAKE A GIFTCAREERSHIPAA NOTICE

 

© JFS Richmond

JFS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. © JFS Richmond. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2025 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Donations by Mail


JFS Richmond
6718 Patterson Avenue
Richmond, VA 23226

Donations by Phone


Call JFS Richmond

804-282-5644