Be The Light

This caregiver recently received placement of his 1-year-old niece, in addition to the 2 children he has had placement of for the past 18 months (2-year-old nephew, and 3.5-year-old niece). He also cares for his 15-year-old biological son. He currently sleeps on the couch to provide enough space for the children. He regularly visits food banks, and diaper distribution centers but struggles financially due to losing his job after taking emergency placement of his niece and having to miss work due to court hearings and unplanned medical appointments. He currently lives off unemployment but recently secured a full-time job with a start date in June. He would greatly benefit from assistance with groceries, and gas cards as making it to food banks and appointments get difficult with the four children in his care. He is open to weekly meals and could benefit from size 4 pull ups and the following clothing sizes (12 MO girls, 2T boys, 4T girls).

We are working with a Grandmother who is caring for her four-year old Grandson + two-year old Granddaughter. Grandma has been caring for them both for the last two years as their parents work through domestic violence and substance-abuse challenges. The Father on this case has been very active with attending classes, bible studies, and therapeutic groups. Grandma has also expressed that if their parents cannot work out their challenges that she will move forward to adopt both toddlers. Both kids love living with Grandma and are very happy in this placement, especially after their history of trauma and a previous foster care case. Grandma loves to keep her grandkids well-fed and they enjoy "their favorite foods including hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, sopitas, ice cream, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, cheese sticks, varied fruits and applesauce". The challenge is that Grandma has a very tiny kitchen and nowhere to store all of the food she purchases! We are requesting a simple pantry like this one listed on Amazon to help this family thrive: Go To Link The price of approx. $142 includes the amount of sales tax for this purchase. This family is also open to other potential kitchen storage solutions as well.

Hi! I am reaching out to the CarePortal network as our last event we had urgent requests for diapers and wipes from our teen parents. We are serving more parents than ever before (which I think Care Portal has contributed to as well because our capacity is bigger!) Our last event had 35 moms, 7 dads, and 43 babies - with our volunteers there was over 100 people! So we have some big needs! One of the girls also needs underwear and bras as she lives in a shelter and doesn't have the means to get undergarments - 34B Bra and Medium size underwear along with a breast pump.

• Size 5 Diapers + Wipes
• Size 2 Diapers + Wipes
• Size 6 Pull-Ups
• Size 4 Diapers
• Size 7 Diapers

The client is a grandma in her 50s, and she has been the sole caregiver for her young grandsons, 8 and 6yo, for the past year. Once grandma has legal custody, she will also be applying for financial assistance for the boys. She’s also working to get them into childcare, so that grandma can start working. Currently, grandma has no income,but has been able to get most of her/the boys’ needs met through help from their school, food pantries, and her friends who have let them couch surf (as the family was homeless). Despite not having an active income at this time, grandma and her friend found a larger home to move into, giving grandma and her grandsons their own room. The landlord has been very understanding of the family’s situation, and has agreed to wait on charging grandma for rent until she has active income (while the roommate is paying his portion of the rent). Though the family finally has more consistent shelter, they’ve all been sleeping on the floor (as they basically moved in with a few bags of clothes and nothing else). We’re hoping to request a bed, mattress, and bedding for grandma, so that she also has a comfortable place to sleep and rest. Likewise, the family is also hoping for a $300 Walmart gift card that can go towards hygiene supplies and cleaning supplies for the household. However, there are no resources that can support this family with hygiene/cleaning supplies.

The clients are 54 and 62-year-old caregivers, who are currently raising their 8-year-old grandson. They had to step in as his guardian, because both of his parents have issues with stability, have mental health issues and are unable to take care of him. The grandmother was laid off from her job and so they are living off of one income. They can really use help with clothing for their grandson and extra food for the household.  They would greatly appreciate any help. Thank you, Desirey

What's Being Requested: Requesting 7 pairs of uniform polo shirts ($98), 5 pairs of uniform pants ($70) and 2 uniform sweaters ($54). To last for the rest of this academic year and all of next year. Total: $222 Brief description: The caregiver is the sole provider for her nephew, whom she's had since birth and sees as her son. Her nephew came into her care through dire circumstances as he was born with substances in his system. Tragically both his biological parents have passed away and so the caregiver does not receive any child support or public assistance to pay for expenses related to his care. She is on a very fixed income and is looking for support with buying her nephews uniform clothes as the uniforms can only be bought through the school as they have the school logo on them. Although he hasn't been officially diagnosed, the caregiver stated that her nephew displays multiple symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder and he struggles to take care for his clothes. His current uniforms appear worn and snug as he is growing. The caregiver is hoping for assistance to help clothe her nephew for the rest of this academic year as well as for next year. She has expressed gratitude for any and all assistance provided.

We have an opportunity to bless a lovely lady with two small kids that has just completed her transition from homelessness to getting an apartment of her own. She’s worked really hard and would love some assistance getting some basic pieces of furniture secured. We have been able to provide a queen size bed and frame as well as two toddler beds with mattresses and bedding for everyone. We still need some assistance finding two small dressers for this family.