Giving Tuesday is a global day highlighting the importance of charitable giving. From giving your time to giving a donation, everyone has something to give!

Your contribution to Angels’ Arms on #GivingTuesday will ensure that the foster children living in our 13 homes receive the essentials they need to live happy and healthy lives. Your donations will help supply clothing and shoes, toiletries, school-related needs, funding for sports equipment and uniforms, camps and extracurricular activities, college related expense, and so much more.

Visit us on Tuesday, 12/1 to donate via Facebook or our website.

We are so excited to partner with our friends at Grace Meat + Three for their November Giving Grace Campaign!  A portion of each Giving Grace Plate purchased in the Month of November will Benefit Angels’ Arms.

Quarter Special Grace Plates – $13.50
Includes:
Quarter Bird – Rick’s Famous Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Johnny Cakes
& Collard Greens
*Feeds 1 Person

Family Special Grace Plates – $42.00
Includes:
Whole Bird – Rick’s Famous Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Johnny Cakes
& Collard Greens
*Feeds a Family of 4

Order HERE: https://www.stlgrace.com/

Angels’ Arms Founder/ED, Bess Wilfong, holding the keys at our new warehouse!

It’s official…we have a new warehouse! The generosity of our community has forced us to acquire a larger space that will serve as our donation drop-off and distribution center. With close to 4,000 sq ft of space, we will be able to accept even more resources to support our foster families. Check out the LIVE tour we hosted on facebook!

We are kicking off our “Stock our Warehouse Campaign”, we are accepting your donations. We encourage you to rally your family, friends, coworkers, business, church, and school and host a drive on behalf of Angels’ Arms. Below is a list of our ongoing needs:

Food items:
– Cereal and breakfast foods – Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Honey Nut Cheerios,
Cap’n Crunch, Reese’s Puffs
– Breakfast foods – granola bars and oatmeal
– Pasta noddles, pasta sauce (in cans/plastic containers), chicken noodle soup, canned green beans and corn, rice
– Peanut butter and jelly, apple sauce, snacks (goldfish, pretzels, chips, popcorn, crackers)

Household Items:
– Paper Products (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates)
– Laundry Detergent, dishwasher liquid, dish soap, and bleach
– Twin sheets 
– Dark towels

Toiletries:
– Toothpaste and toothbrushes (kids and adults)
– deodorant (men’s and women’s)
– pads and tampons
– shampoo, conditioner
– body wash and lotion

Diapers:
– ALL sizes of diapers 1-5 
– Pull-up’s – sizes 3T-4T and 5T-6T
– Adult depends (sizes S/M)

We will accept furniture on an as-needed basis. We cannot accept used clothing, books, and stuffed animals.

Contact Ashley Cook if you are interested in hosting a drive for any of the following categories and to schedule a drop-off.
Ashley@angelsarms.org or call 314-842-8400

UPDATE: November 14, 2020
Congratulations to KEVIN DOLL on winning the 2020 Dierbergs Groceries for a Year raffle. Thank you to everyone for helping us sell out the raffle. We raised $20,000 in support of our foster families.

In honor of our 20th Anniversary, raffle tickets are ONLY $20 EACH and only 1,000 tickets will be sold.

One lucky winner will be selected at random on 11/14/2020 and will take home $5,200 in Dierbergs gift cards. Don’t forget to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with your family and friends!

*100% of all raffle ticket proceeds will benefit Angels’ Arms.
*For raffle rules and regulations, contact Jasmina@angelsarms.org

Check out what last year’s winner has to say:
“We were very surprised when our name was called and very happy to know that we had supported this great organization and actually won something, especially something this big. Angels’ Arms is such a great organization and we never thought we would win but we wanted to take a chance and support a fantastic cause.  I would encourage anyone to buy a ticket for the chance to win but even better to support the many foster kids that are being helped in our area. We were elated to have won the gift cards and we’ve even used them at times to buy food for donations.” – Bill C.

Special thanks to our raffle sponsor:

As our busiest couple months ever comes to a close, we can’t wait to introduce you to our newest house mother, Kasondra McDaniel! She will be moving into one of our Ballwin homes. Kasondra and Kim, one of our current house parents, are sisters. So not only are we helping foster siblings, but we also have siblings doing the fostering! Kasondra has been fostering for two years now and has fostered five children including two sibling groups. Please enjoy this brief Q&A with Kasondra:

What compelled you to become a foster parent?

My sister and all her many foster children inspired me. Kim has been a foster parent in the St. Louis area for over 20 years. Her family has made a home for over a hundred foster children. Watching her and the children over the years inspired me to help make a difference in children’s lives.  

What does it mean to you to now be a part of the Angels’ Arms Family?

Being a foster parent is challenging, as well as rewarding. Angels’ Arms provides support/resources and a community for foster families. The African Proverb is true, “It takes a village to raise a child.” That quote is especially true when dealing with foster care. In addition to becoming part of an organization that is focused on making foster children’s lives better. It will be a great honor and blessing for my family to be a part of the Angels’ Arms family. 

Do you have a favorite memory of fostering? If so, what is it?

Some of my favorite memories include multiple firsts for the foster children.   I can not highlight one specific memory, but I have multiple favorites that all include: bright eyes, “Ooooos” and “Awwws,” smiles, laughter, and fun. A child’s first experience at the zoo, pool, movie theater, concert, Six Flags, shopping, fireworks, special birthdays, and Christmas. When a child becomes comfortable and feels safe enough to grab you and give you a hug. It is always a special memory when a child allows you to show them love, respect, and the appreciation they deserve.

What are you most looking forward to about becoming an Angels’ Arms house parent?

Once again, I cannot choose one thing I’m looking forward to. We are looking forward to moving into a home that is freshly painted and new to us. I am looking forward to my very own bathroom…  lol. The little things I know! We love the location of the house and it will allow my kids to ride their bikes in the neighborhood safely. The new location will make my life easier due to the availability of daycare and after-school care because I am a full-time teacher too. So many things to look forward to, but the bottom line is the constant support and appreciation shown by so many in order to prove to these kiddos that people do care.

The greatest gift you can give us on our 20th birthday is the gift of school supplies! Help us celebrate 20 years of supporting foster families by making a $20 donation and help fulfill our kids’ school supply needs. We currently have 40 school-age children and teens living in our homes and they all need various school supplies ranging from crayons to graphing calculators. Our goal today is to raise $2,500 to ensure each child is equipped with all the resources they need to have a successful start to the school year, whether that’s in person or virtual.

Two ways to donate: 

via Facebook Fundraiser

via our website, https://angelsarms.kindful.com/

Please note: In an effort to keep our families and supporters healthy, we’ve chosen to host a back to school fundraiser instead of collecting school supplies. This method will allow us to directly distribute gift cards to our foster families and allow them to purchase the school supplies themselves through online deliveries and curbside pick up. Thank you in advance for your support

With the uncertainty revolving around the upcoming school year, we are anticipating most of the 55 children living in our 13 homes to be learning from home.

Wish list ➡️ https://a.co/d2A5qfl

The wish list above is comprised of electronics that our families have specifically requested in order to help with their homeschooling. We hope you will consider purchasing something from this wish list or even making a donation via our website. If you do purchase something from our wish list, please sign your name on the card so we can thank you properly.

Headphones are a HUGE need among out homes: we are asking for 40 pairs.

We want to make this transition as easy as possible not only for the children, but also for the foster parents who now have to act has teachers on top of their normal daily responsibilities.

For most of our homes, this virtual learning presents new problems we have never faced before. “With 7 children having to quarantine for 14 days every time a child is exposed, we would never be allowed to leave home between school and family visits,” says one of our foster parents. “I already have a child at home quarantined. We are forced into total virtual education again.” We are grateful that our families are healthy and safe, but this is brand new terrain that the children and parents living in our homes will have to learn to navigate. We hope to provide some assistance during these trying times.

To avoid group gatherings and the contact required of walk-ins and drop-offs, all donations will be conducted online and handled via shipping services. We are not accepting used donations at this time. We hope for your understanding of our decision to maintain reasonable distance and protection of one another.

Like many of you, we have witnessed the protest and community unrest over the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Angels’ Arms would like to express our sincerest condolences to those families. Angels’ Arms cares deeply about the foster parents, children and the communities we serve. We hurt for black and brown people and the pain they have endured and continue to endure.

In the midst of a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting communities of color, we are reminded of the inequalities these communities have faced and continue to face. Angels’ Arms stands against racism, police brutality and all forms of injustice. Angels’ Arms also stands alongside those brave enough to serve and protect our communities honorably and who are left to answer for those who do not. We are grateful for all of our supporters who stand with us and are demanding change.

Angels’ Arms is committed to this change and to creating more opportunities for foster children and youth, families and communities of color. These communities experience daily undiagnosed trauma with no real outlet or escape. We are engaging in internal reflection and change that moves through our board, our staff, and our families. We are diversifying our Board of Directors and our Junior Board. We are engaging in real discussion with our supporters and our staff. We are extending our outreach to even more communities in St. Louis City and County, as well as St. Charles and other surrounding areas.

We would like to do more. We are open to listening and learning all we can do to help make some much-needed change happen through dialogue, and more importantly, through action. We invite you to join us as we continue to strive for change. All of us share the responsibility to understand why the playing field is not level for people of color, and how we can help to level it out.

Things here at Angels’ Arms are always changing and evolving. As mentioned in one of our previous blog posts, this summer has been dedicated to transitioning several of our homes. Just last week we welcomed the newest residents in one of our St. Louis City homes, the McDevitt’s.

Mary and Jim McDevitt have been fostering for over seven years and they focus on caring for infants with medical needs. They’ve dedicated their lives to helping foster children and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Angels’ Arms family.

“We are overjoyed to be members of the Angels’ Arms family,” says Mary McDevitt. “We look forward to continuing to serve our community by providing a safe and loving home while partnering with community members. The children are the real winners when we all come together with love to serve them. I know the children in our home will grow in so many ways as they see how much those in the community love them. We look forward to supportive relationships with like-minded families whom we can help support and draw strength from as well.”

*A fun-fact about our new family: Mary used to work at Professor Bear’s Daycare in St. Louis City, and she was a caregiver for none other than Abbey, our Communications Coordinator. What a small world!*

Thank you to the following businesses and individuals who helped the McDevitt family move and transition into their new home with Angels’ Arms:

• Two Men and a Truck for once again donating four men and two trucks to help move this family into their new home
• Jim and Maggie Lang for donating a washer and dryer
• Mary Rateman for donating a recliner/ rocking chair to help rock the babies to sleep
• The countless volunteers that have turned this house into a home by painting almost every room in the house, cleaning the floors and sprucing up the yard
• Last, but most certainly not least, a special shout out to our Maintenance Manager Tom for contributing innumerable hours working on this house to get it ready for this new loving family. Tom worked on weekends and even into the evenings several times making sure everything was in tip-top shape

Two Men and a Truck donated their services to help the McDevitt family move into their new home.

This hard-working team unloaded two full trucks into the McDevitt family’s new home.

It was tricky at times to get some of the furniture upstairs, but the movers from Two Men in a Truck made it their goal to get everything where it needed to be.