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Foster families come together

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  • BY LOURDES VAZQUEZ - LVAZQUEZ@VICAD.COM
  • Originally published December 9, 2009 at 8:39 p.m., updated December 10, 2009 at 12:15 a.m.

  • BUILDING FOR FUTURE

    The Foster Parents of Victoria Resource Center installed drywall and hopes to open in late January.

    Parents interested in helping or donating can contact Wanda Montag at 361-578-5807. Members of the center pay a $20 monthly ...

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    • BUILDING FOR FUTURE

    The Foster Parents of Victoria Resource Center installed drywall and hopes to open in late January.

    Parents interested in helping or donating can contact Wanda Montag at 361-578-5807. Members of the center pay a $20 monthly family fee.

    FOSTER PARENTS OF VICTORIA'S SERVICES

    The service offers:

    A $25 new child allotment. This allows parents to buy new shoes and undergarments.

    Group shopping trips held in the spring and late summer coinciding with the start of school.

    A Christmas party in early December. Along with gifts, meals are provided for families and workers.

    Scholarships and burial funds. The burial fund provides headstones for children who die.

    Reading Connection, which helps bond children to foster parents.

    Diapers, sundry items, fresh produce and snack products.

For years, Marvin and Joan Saunders of Edna celebrated Christmas with their foster children. They ate cake and attended church.

This year is the first in about seven years the couple will not.

Even so, the Saunders plan to attend the 30th annual Foster Parents of Victoria Christmas party on Friday night.

The event allows foster children to spend time with their biological siblings, who often live in other homes, said Wanda Montag, president of Foster Parents of Victoria.

During the party, foster children receive $20 to spend how they wish.

"Sometimes they buy gifts for their biological parents, siblings or their foster family," Montag said.

In addition to gift money, the children receive gifts. This year, the Victoria Chiropractic Clinic donated books.

"We know a lot of them have never seen a book or owned a book. We know it's important for children to learn to read," Michelle Hoffmann, who will present the books, said.

The clinic traded services for donations. First-time chiropractic patients received free visits if they donated four books.

"We have great patients. Some brought books in without having a visit," Hoffmann said.

Montag said the children will also visit with Santa Claus.

The Saunders, who celebrated Christmas for years with their foster children, look forward to visiting with other families. They said children who have lived in their home enriched their lives.

"We give them credit for us being here," said Joan Saunders.

The 67-year-old former foster mother said she and her husband are ill. Marvin Saunders suffers from a heart ailment, and will attend the party with a portable oxygen tank.

Montag said the gesture shows how dedicated the Saunders are as foster parents.

"They called and asked if we needed anything," Montag said. "They just want to help."


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  • lifehappens lifehappens Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink

    I can’t decide which is more offensive to me, the idea that Ms. Hoffmann appears to think that children in foster care don’t know what books are or that maybe VISD doesn’t teach children how to read. These children are place in foster homes with certified foster parents. The implication that there would not be books in these homes is shameful. These are not children from third world countries, they are children from the Victoria area, most have already been in the local school system, where one would assume they have had access to a book.
    These foster children have had enough stressors in their lives already, please don’t perpetuate the idea that they are somehow radically different from other children. They have seen books, have read books and often find solace in those very books.
    By all means, donate your books. It’s a wonderful gift. Just please don’t look down on these children while you do it.

    December 10, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.