Fostering Hope
Nate LipkaIssue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
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There are upwards of 10,000 foster kids in Arizona alone, and for 20 years, AASK’s main goal has been to find them a permanent home. “There was a real need for helping out special needs kids who are in the foster care system to find families,” AASK spokesman Mark Goldberg said. “These can be kids who were born of drug-addicted mothers, or they had real specific disabilities at birth … it’s really expanded to help any kid out there in the foster system who needs a family.”
But what happens to these kids, subjected to moves and dramatic life changes without the benefit of constructive guidance, in the meantime?
That’s where volunteers with the Special Kids program step in, serving as a mentors and friends to foster kids who have never had such a presence in their lives.
“There are kids who come out of the foster care system who really aren’t ready to face the world by themselves,” Goldberg said. “They’ve not had a family that has taught them socialization – simple things that you and I probably have. ‘Hey dad, how do I apply for a job? Hey grandpa, what kind of suit do I wear if I’m going to do this?’ Something as simple as dating, who do they ask about dating? We try to match kids early with a mentor who can get them out of the group home and give them one-on-one time.”
Serena Beckman, a senior education major at ASU’s West Campus, has served as a mentor in the program for three months, and has already seen both dramatic changes in her Special Friend and tangible benefits for herself.
Beckman recently spoke with College Times about the Special Kids program.
College Times: How did you hear about the program?
Serena Beckman: My junior year of college, which was last year, I started tutoring for them through their ASU West partnership, and I tutored a couple of kids on ASU’s campus and heard all about their Special Kids program and connected really well with one of the kids I was tutoring. So I just decided that he and I should hang out some more.
Were you involved in a lot of community service activities before getting involved with the program?
I’m really involved with my church.
Tell us a little bit about your Special Friend.
He is going into first grade now, and he’s awesome. He loves video games. He’s kind of scared of big dogs. He just has the best sense of humor and the brightest smile. He’s the coolest kid ever.
What are some of the activities you two have done together?
We go to Peter Piper Pizza and play video games, we went to the movies together, we go to the park. He loves to go to McDonald’s, too, because they have video games now.
What type of effects have you seen in your Special Friend, from the day you two met to now?
I think I’ve seen significant change in his response to me. When he starts having a hard time with something, it’s become easier to work through those, because of the relationship we’re building and the consistency of the time we’ve spent together. I think that’s the biggest thing.
Is it more of a friendship, or more of a parental relationship?
It’s a really unique balance between friendship – because we do things with friends, and we’re playing together essentially, but in the end, what I say still goes. I’m still in charge, because I have to be. But I think because of the relationship we had from me tutoring, that was easy to bring in as an element of our friendship. We’re hanging out, we’re having fun together, but there are still decisions that I get to make.
What do you think you get out of it, as a volunteer?
I specifically chose to do this because I’ve spent a ton of time with kids through field experience through school, because I’m going to be a teacher, and my church. And I just needed time with kids where I could play with them rather than teach them. And I think this is a really unique opportunity to do that.
For more information or to volunteer, visit www.ask-az.org.
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