I am working with a 19 year old male youth, who is in the extended foster care program. This youth and his twin sister were adopted previously, but were subject to abuse in their adoptive home and thus brought back into CPS when they were 15 years old. He has since overcome behavioral challenges that led him to group home placement. He now resides on his own in a transitional housing program and is making great strides to become an independent and productive young man. He has a goal of becoming a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) once he completes his high school diploma and completes his current medical process of removing several facial tattoos. He is attending school and will be graduating this year, as well as working full time at Fed Ex. He is also taking a first aid/CPR certification course, along with a course on wildfire fighting. This young man takes an uber to and from work daily due to lack of reliable and convenient public transit options. He lives near a bike trail which would take him 40 minutes to ride on a bicycle to work. He would really benefit from receiving a mountain bike/e-bike to allow him to reduce transportation costs so he could save money and buy more basic necessities such as cleaning supplies, small light weight vacuum, hamper bag to carry laundry down the hall, pajamas, and shorts/sweat pants(size XL). He is open to accepting help with these items (used or new) and would appreciate any assistance offered.

KINSHIP. Kin Caregiver/Grandmother is currently caring for her grandchildren and requires assistance with furniture items due to her recent move to a new apartment. The family had to move due to flooding of her previous location, where many items were damaged. The caregiver is requesting a bunk bed and dressers for the children for the home approval and sustainability. Providing this support will help the family meet their basic needs and enable children to stay in their home. The caregiver currently receives DCFS funding, and she also receives CalWORKs, Section 8, Cal Fresh to help support her biological daughter and two grandchildren in her. The caregiver will continue to work with the DCFS staff to finalize the home approval to ensure a safe environment for the children, as well as to seek resources and opportunities to enrich their basic needs.

The referred family is requesting assistance obtaining YMCA membership for the summer ($178). The membership will cover the cost of a YMCA membership for mother and her son for 2 months during the summer ($89/month). Mother is the sole caregiver and is currently experiencing financial difficulties. The child expressed to mother wanting to be active during summer. The child is 11 years old and therefore cannot attend the YMCA without an adult. The child is currently on summer break and does not have access to any nearby activities or programs. The family currently lacks personal transportation and relies on public transit. However, the child has difficulty with bus travel and therefore limits their ability to participate in other community programs. The YMCA is within walking distance of the family’s home. The family would appreciate any help and want to explore all the options to make their child as comfortable as possible at home.

The mother is in need of rental assistance. She is currently employed but requires support with past-due rent. Despite this financial hardship, she is actively complying with her case plan goals and court orders. She is enrolled in domestic violence classes, anger management, parenting, and conjoint counseling. The mother remains committed to family maintenance services and has demonstrated consistent effort and progress.

Through my work with her, I have observed several strengths: she provides emotional support to her child, is a loving and nurturing mother, and shows great resilience. Her goals are to maintain stable employment, create a positive and supportive home environment for her son, and return to school to pursue a degree and long-term stability.

I am advocating for this need because she has received an eviction notice and is at immediate risk of losing her home. Addressing this need is essential to ensure the child continues to live in a safe and stable environment.

DCFS has provided various resources to support this family. However, the timeframe for assistance through DCFS can take 8–10 weeks, which is not feasible in this urgent situation. As such, we are requesting this support through CarePortal. The estimated amount needed is $500.

I am working with a kinship caregiver who has legal custody of two children and who is also taking care of two other children who are not a blood relative (informal custody, there is no court involvement). Children Services have recently placed a child in the home who is related to some of the children already living in the home. This kinship caregiver does not work to take care of the children, but the kinship caregiver's husband works full time and can generally meet the family's basic needs. However, they need a twin-size bed and mattress for the child who was placed in the home by Children Services. Please consider helping this child get a bed and mattress so he has someplace to rest. Thank you so much!

Newly arrived Special Immigrant Visa holder family of 7 who fled from Afghanistan (US allies) is needing a bunkbed for 4 daughters to settle into a single bedroom in their 2 BR-1BA apartment this week.

Unfortunately, due to limited space in bedroom (needing to fit 2 sets of bunk beds), twin bunk beds will fit better than full bunk beds, so probably not flexible on that aspect of this request.

Depending on the bunk bed frame that you donate, we may or may not need box springs, so I didn't add those explicitly to this request.

Thanks!

We have a youth accepted to Georgia Gwinnett College starting in August. She will definitely need a laptop for school. Although her tuition should be covered by the state through the Independent Living Program (ILP), she will be living on campus and will have to pay her own dorm fees, ($400 per month). She will have a job on campus to try to cover those fees, but is also working now trying to save up for a car. She would greatly appreciate any and all help you could provide to set her up well to succeed at school. Please join us in praying for this youth!

Backpacks & BBQ is an annual outreach event hosted by Middletown Nazarene Church that brings together our church, community, and local partners to support students and families preparing for the school year. We provide free backpacks, serve a full cookout-style meal, and offer a safe, fun, and welcoming environment for children in need in our community.

Each summer, hundreds of neighbors come together at our church for this day of joy and generosity. Children leave ready to start school with confidence and dignity — and families leave knowing they are seen, supported, and loved.

More information about the event can be found here: Go To Link

As part of this event, we want to provide sanitary and hygiene products for the students, so they can go back to school with confidence.

We have a dear NKT family of 6 (mom, grandma, and 4 children) who do not have beds to sleep in nor living room furniture to sit on. We want to bless this family by outfitting their home with these furniture items. We will look for good quality, previously owned items on Facebook Marketplace.

*The twin beds and bedding are for boys, all under 12 years old. *The queen bedding is for grandma/mom. *If box springs are not available, we will purchase mattress/box spring hybrids.

A single mom going through a divorce is trying to become financially independent. She currently makes very little income, and needs assistance to help pay for gas so she can drive her children to school and different activities while she looks for work.