WorthyBox is a program that benefits kids in our local foster care system by sending a curated box of items and encouragement from community members to their group home or treatment center each month!
The WorthyBox program was spearheaded because of a local social work supervisor who felt kids needed more support. Here is part of the email that prompted the project:
“We are starting to see COVID numbers jumping up again in residential facilities, which means even less contact for these kids. In the past we have talked about having families write to children in treatment centers so that they could start to build connections and have someone to show they’re thinking of them”
Because of current restrictions that are leading to decreased visitation opportunities, kids are experiencing increased isolation and would benefit from encouragement! The reality is that COVID has only brought to light an issue we have all been aware of for a long time: some kids in foster care are very isolated!
Our referral partners will identify youth in foster care who are living in group homes, residential treatment centers, have a very unstable placement setting or those who are extremely isolated. If they determine a youth has very little connection outside of their current setting and would benefit from extra encouragement and support from a community member, they will be eligible for our WorthyBox program. We all know how far a small gesture of support or encouragement can go to make a difference - so this is our way of doing just that!
What is a WorthyBox?
A WorthyBox is similar to a subscription box program but with a little spin! Supporters in our community will cover the costs for a youth in foster care to receive a box full of unique, inspiring and themed items each month that are targeted to promoting:
encouragement
positive coping skills
connection to others
inspiration
A WorthyBox is much different from our birthday box program! The actual contents of the WorthyBox will be identical (possibly with a few substitutions based on age) for all the youth receiving boxes and our organization will take care of the planning, purchasing and shipping of the items!
The goals of the WorthyBox are to increase connection, increase feelings of worthiness & decrease the impact of isolation. We will do this in a few different ways including:
adding a note of encouragement in each WorthyBox from the supporter who financially covers the costs of the box. Each supporter who is accepted to the program will be matched with a youth accepted into the program. All communication will flow through our organization! As the supporter, you will write a note and send it to Worthdays. We will add it to the box!
Other components of this program include:
our organization sending small Pen Pal Kits to identified individuals who are important in the life of the youth - such as a family member, social worker, sibling - to equip them with a quick, easy and accessible way to increase communication with the youth and provide encouragement.
incorporating the stories and expertise of resilient young adults who have aged out of foster care
How can I get involved?
In response to appeals from our local community partners asking us to get involved, we are moving pretty quickly to make this program a success. With that being said, we are rolling out the referral process as we speak to some of our community partners and already have a growing list of kids that have been identified as meeting the criteria.
If you are interested, please consider your ability and commitment to do the following:
send a monthly note of encouragement by the designated deadline (we will provide this once we have accepted both sponsors and recipients and know when our first box will launch)
participate for a minimum of 6 months (it is critical to the kids that we serve that they have consistency)
invest in a reoccuring donation of $50/month to cover the cost of the program for the youth you are sponsoring (for a total commitment of $300 - $50 x 6 months = $300).
If you feel led to be involved, please complete this form to be added to our wait list and to receive more information in the future.
