Job Opening at Warm Blankets Orphan Care

Digital Marketing Specialist

About the Job

Warm Blankets Orphan Care is a Christian charity focused on rescuing orphans in the least developed parts of the world.  We want to add someone to our rescue team that wants to dig in their heals to serve the Lord by being part of a strategic plan to show the world a new way to think about helping suffering kids.

Are you creative and hungry to compete in the online world? 

Take a look at www.warmblankets.org   It's one of many international web sites we use to communicate with the world on behalf of a generation of struggling orphans in refugee camps, slums, and war zones in some of the least developed parts of the world.  We work with tribes, clans, and kinships to help them help themselves to save their wounded and lost children.

The digital marketing specialist is responsible for coordinating and executing digital marketing campaigns including SEO/SEM, Website Development, Conversion Optimization, Link Building, and Social Media.

The ideal candidate will have education and experience in marketing with graphic design or creative skills.  It will help if you're a little obsessed with photography, video, and the latest buzz in web techniques and trends.  
Requirements:

• 2+ years experience in digital marketing
• Experience in search engine optimization and marketing
• Experience in web tactics and marketing campaigns
• Experience in social media marketing
• Experience working with Google Adwords campaigns.
• Proficiency with marketing tools such as CRMs, inbound marketing software, and web analytics software.
• Proficiency in desktop publishing/imaging applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.  

 

Must... you have to know our web site at www.warmblankets.org before we'll be able to consider you.  Take a few minutes and make sure you know what we are up to before you inquire.

 

Send resume to Brandon Sears at Brandon.sears@warmblankets.org

Foster Home Renovation by TFI

In ONE day, over 40 volunteers came together and put up a new fence and roof, laid flooring, painted walls, cleaned, redecorated, prepped a bathroom for new plumbing, planted flowers....and gave foster mom, Laurie a fresh start!

Laurie has been foster mom to her 7 year old grandson for over a year.  She was committed to supporting him in every way she could but her home was falling apart around her.  A chronic leaking roof made it impossible to have flooring in her living room and the consistent moister from the roof was causing the panelling to literally hang off the walls.

There were several other projects she had been unable to get to - though she was deeply motivated and had tried a number of options.  Her caseworker nominated her for a Project Renovate and we were excited to chose her as one of our families this year!

It has been such a blessing to watch God bring together the people needed to pull off this ONE DAY makeover!  Laurie was beyond grateful and we are too.  

Watch video HERE

Would you consider making a donation to TFI?  Click here to make your tax deductible donation to The Forgotten Initiative!

Thank you for praying with us, supporting us, and serving with your hands and feet. Together we will show Jesus to the one who feels forgotten.  This is why we are here!

On behalf of the forgotten,

Jami Kaeb

Executive Director
The Forgotten Initiative

The 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book

The 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book

The KIDS COUNT Data Book is an annual publication that assesses child well-being nationally and across the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Using an index of 16 indicators, the 2014 report ranks states on overall child well-being and in four domains: (1) economic well-being, (2) education, (3) health, and (4) family and community. For 2014, the three highest-ranked states for child well-being were Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa; the three lowest-ranked were Nevada, New Mexico and Mississippi. The report also provides national trends, comparing the latest data with mid-decade statistics.

The 2014 Data Book is the 25th edition of the Casey Foundation's signature publication. As such, the report also examines trends in child well-being since 1990, the year of the first report. It highlights positive policies and practices that have improved child health and development and features stories from several states on advocacy efforts that have improved outcomes for kids and families.

July 22, 2014

• Read or Download the Report (60 PG PDF)
• Order Your Copy
• View How All States Rank on the KIDS COUNT Index
• See Your State’s Data Profile
• Access National and State News Releases

Empowered to Connect Conference in Washington D.C.

The Empowered To Connect Conference is a two-day conference for adoptive and foster parents,
ministry leaders, and professionals designed to help them connect with children from hard places
in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be.

Friday & Saturday, September 12-13, 2014

Reston Bible Church in Reston, Virginia.

REGISTER HERE

 

www.empoweredtoconnect.org

Six Ways Single Christians Can Help the Orphans

The following article is taken from Christianity Today  4/28/2014
Jamie Calloway-Hanauer, guest writer

Faith-based organizations, church leaders, and Christian families across the country have propelled the orphan-care movement in the past decade, inspired by the repeated biblical command to "father the fatherless," to take care of children who need our help.  Often, though, we associate orphan care with married Christians who can adopt children, who can welcome foster kids into their home, and who can afford to send hefty donations. Single Christians, even those who feel the issue of orphan care weighing heavy on their hearts, may resign to wait until they're ready to start a family before they can live out this biblical call.  If you think you're too young, too single, too inexperienced to do anything, I'm here to say: you can help right away.

 

Read the complete article HERE.

Webinar: Tired Of Timeouts - Discipline, Attachment and the Adopted Child

Live Webinar

Thursday
September 4, 2014
7:00PM Central
Q&A: 8:00PM

 

 

 

 

Traditional discipline methods can be ineffective and even potentially damaging for adopted children - children who have experienced loss. Discipline needs to correct behavior while focusing on keeping a strong connection with your child.

 

 

 

 

 

Join Dafna Lender, LCSW, Clinical Director of The Theraplay Institute as she helps adoptive parents:

• Understand common challenging behaviors adopted children may exhibit at each developmental stage
• Discipline in a way that fosters learning rather than making your child feel ashamed and vengeful
• Move away from constant rewards and threats of punishment
• Help your child feel more comfortable accepting your guidance and leadership
• Integrate reciprocal play to enhance your child's self-esteem and sense of well being to help decrease negative behavior

Click HERE to register.

Submit your questions for us here or by tweeting them to @adoptiontweet using #ALPDiscipline

 

    

PLEASE NOTE: If you purchase the certificate option, your certificate will be available upon successful completion of a post test. The post test will be in your Adoption Learning Partners account after the live event.

The audio for the live webinar can be heard over the phone or through your computer speakers. If you choose to listen through your computer, we recommend external speakers or headphones. If you call in by phone, it is a toll call. There are no refunds or exchanges for the webinar once you have purchased it. If you purchase, but are unable to attend the live webinar, a recorded version will be available in your account after the event. The recorded version broadcasts over your computer speakers.

 

 

Safe Families Training Day

 

 

Safe Families for Children and Harvest Bible Chapel Present:

Host Family Training Day

 

Prospective Safe Families, you're invited to a live, accelerated Comprehensive Training Session, FREE of charge. 

 

Offered as an alternative to online training, this event is designed to equip you to welcome a child into your home and move you through the training process efficiently. The live Comprehensive Training Session includes everything you need to become a certified Safe Family—all in one place. 

• Start or submit your application
• Complete your training hours
• Meet like-minded families who will support you

 

Doors open at 8:30 AM for those who need to start an application, start a background check, or ask one-on-one questions.  Training session begins at 9:00 AM sharp.  The training will be held in The Learning Center.

 

Click HERE to register.

 

A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. There will also be a variety of special giveaways throughout the training session you won't want to miss!

 

Free Parking is available adjacent to the church.  

The training session will be presented by Tom Maluga and Joyce Moffitt.  Tom is the Director of Safe Families for Children Chicago since the ministry's inception in 2002 and holds two Masters degrees. Joyce is the Area Coordinator for Lake County and a Master Trainer for DCFS.  Both are devoted to helping urban families find God’s healing and redeeming grace.

Reserve your spot today! We look forward to seeing you on July 26th to equip and encourage you in your journey.

If you have further questions please contact Tom Csora at tcsora@safefamilies.net.

Ukraine Orphans Become Pawns in Civil Conflict

Children from Donetsk orphanage gather to speak to journalists in the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Monday, July 14, 2014. The Donetsk People's Republic want to take about 130 orphans living in a Donetsk orphanage and send them to Russia.

By BALINT SZLANKO of Associated Press

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Tamara Popova and her fellow orphans are adamant: They don't want to go to Russia. The separatist gunmen running this eastern Ukrainian city aren't asking. They're giving orders.  As fighting between insurgent and government troops closes in on the city, the 130 or so children living at Donetsk Orphanage No. 1 find themselves in the middle of a tug of war.  The insurgents say the children will be safer in Russia. Ukraine wants to move them to facilities in government-held territory, at least until the fighting dies own. It says taking them outside the country would be tantamount to a kidnapping.  "Normal people would ask our opinion," the 16-year-old Popova said, as other orphans nodded in agreement. "We told them that this was against the law, that we have brothers and sisters here. But then they started to swear."

The orphanage has children from age 7 into their late teens. It's clean and well-ordered. Pictures of stars from the local Shaktyar Donetsk soccer team hang in one room. Another is decorated with a fairytale tableau. Girls' bedrooms are decked in pink wallpaper and hung with floral pattern curtains.
It's an image of peace undermined by the menace of violence. Men bearing automatic rifles arrived one recent day to lay down the law about moving to Russia, terrifying everybody.

Read entire article HERE.

Becoming A Band-Aid Dad

From Empowered to Connect (www.empoweredtoconnect.org) by Michael Monroe

Recently I came across an Adoptive Families Magazine article entitled Band-Aid Mom. In the article, Wendy Flemons, an adoptive mom, asks this important question – “Can a Band-Aid do more than heal a physical wound?” As simple as it may seem, this is a profoundly important question and one that adoptive dads should be equally interested in answering.

 

Flemons explains in the article her initial aversion to Band-Aids given the tendency of many kids to over-rely on the simple first aid supply that lacks any real inherent healing characteristics. I can relate. However, as I continue to learn more about the important and complex subject of attachment, I have discovered that Band-Aids are actually a highly relevant tool – literally and metaphorically – for adoptive and foster parents as they seek to help their children heal from the effects of their past. Writing about the experience with her 10 year old daughter who they adopted less than a year ago from Ethiopia, Flemons noted that she had learned two important things: “Children have pain beyond what we can see, and Band-Aids are not just physical objects.”

 

In fact, attachment researchers have concluded that the ability for a child to receive (and ultimately to give) nurture is an essential hallmark of healthy and secure attachment. Yet the abuse, neglect and other harms that scar our children’s pasts can impede and even prevent them from being practiced in this skill that is essential for building healthy connections. As Flemons wrote of her daughter, “[her] need for immediate healing has been a satisfying way to begin the slow journey of building attachment . . . The bandage does more than bond child to mother. It is also a way for the mom to apply herself to her child’s wounds, both seen and unseen. With our touch, we heal, protect, and connect.”

 

This profound insight was still fresh in my mind this past Sunday afternoon. As I was watching another unforgettable pro football game on TV one of my boys passed by me on the way to bathroom. Instinctively, I asked him “What’s wrong?”

 

“I have a cut on my finger. I need to get a Band-Aid,” he replied.

 

“Come here, let me see it,” I said. He walked over and showed me what must have been a microscopic paper cut, given that I could not see anything even resembling a cut on his finger. My initial thought was to downplay the need for him to seek care for such a meaningless ‘injury.’ But I was also mindful of the hundreds of little “wounds” to his heart, mind and spirit resulting from his past, many of which are all too easy for me to overlook, dismiss or simply ignore. So in that instant I decided to resist my instinct to dismiss and instead rely on the healing power of a simple Band-Aid applied with love by the hands of a father who is learning what it means to become a Band-Aid Dad.

 

“Here, let me put that on for you. Should we put a little ointment on, too?” I asked.

 

“Ok, Dad,” he replied as I applied the first aid.

 

“Thanks. That feels much better,” he said with a smile looking directly into my eyes. 

 

“Glad to hear it. You remember – any time you need something, whatever it is, you let me know.  That’s what I’m here for. And one more thing – I love you,” I continued.

 

I am learning that becoming a Band-Aid Dad is a process. It takes practice and it certainly stretches me at times. But the more Band-Aids I apply to my kids’ wounds – both seen and unseen – the more I am convinced that Band-Aids lovingly applied really can heal.

 

This article appeared in the April 2011 issue of Adoption Today Magazine.

Adoption: 5 Funding Ideas that Work

This post is part of the Adoption Journey Series. See previous post, “Adoption: 3 Ways to Prepare for the Journey” here.

While nearly two in five practicing Christians have considered adoption, only 5% have actually done it.* What keeps people from growing their families through adoption?

One of the biggest barriers to adoption is the cost. Depending on the circumstances, adoption can cost up to $50,000! It makes sense why many families who have a heart for vulnerable children, look at adoption as something they desire, but is just too hard to grasp because of the high costs.
 

We have families who have seen God perform miracles as they have stepped out in faithfulness to follow His call for their family…if it’s His will, it’s His bill. He will make a way to show Himself as THE Provider of all things. Don’t let money stand in the way, when He has provided many avenues for families to bridge that financial gap.
 

Here are few tips and resources for funding an adoption…

1. Save & sacrifice. It’s never too early to start saving for adoption. Try to cut back your budget to set a portion of money aside each month to pay for some of the initial adoption costs, like home study and application fees. Make sacrifices as God moves you, maybe that’s postponing a big purchase or selling some of your possessions.
2. Learn from others. In her must-read book, Adopting Without Debt, Julie Gumm shares how to find extra money in your household budget, apply for grants, and fundraise in order to build your family without saddling it with debt. 
3. Apply for Adoption Grants & Loans. Research and apply for national, state, and local adoption grants. A few favorites we direct families to are our friends at Show Hope & Abba Fund. See Resource Report for more grants & loans available and don’t forget to check out our adoption grant & loan page.
4. Think outside the box. The fundraising creativity of adoptive families continues to grow. Check out organizations like Both Hands, who help families fundraise for adoption while doing a service project for a widow. Other groups like 147 Million Orphans & MudLOVE provide jewelry, t-shirts, and other products you can use towards fundraising. 
5. Don’t be afraid to ask. Maybe the word “fundraise” and the thought of asking people for money makes you nervous.

  We want to hear from you? What ways did your family raise money for adoption?

*from Becoming Home by Frames Barna Group & Jedd Medefind

- See more at: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/blog/2014/06/adoption-5-funding-ideas-that-work/#sthash.fIwzH6Ao.dpuf

Get Ready for Orphan Sunday 2014!

WWW.ORPHANSUNDAY.ORG

 

 

Webinar: Orphan Sunday

Wednesday, July 30  |  1:00 PM (Central) Engage Your Church in Reaching Out this Orphan Sunday! Whether your church is small or large, Orphan Sunday is your opportunity to stir the community to see God's heart for the fatherless. This 60-minute webinar will provide practical ideas to help you to inspire and engage your church, youth group or community. Learn how to create a simple activity, event or themed project for Orphan Sunday. Find partner organizations ready to assist you in turning passion into action. Join churches around the world that are participating in Orphan Sunday. Discover countless ready-to-go resources designed to save you time while strengthening your service and outreach. Presenters:  Roberta Fanelli-Davis, National Director Orphan Sunday, about ways you can partner with a trusted CAFO ministry to plan your event. Jason Weber, CAFO Foster Care Initiative, about new tools to help your church reach children in foster care. Jeremiah Parks, Heartwork, about a robust "plug & play" youth campaign you can launch to spark the next generation into service for the orphan. Sandra Flach, OS Media Director, about how Orphan Sunday can put your church in the local news! and more! Take that next step for your family or church that will grow for years to come. Join this webinar to learn how.

Register Here!

The Christian Alliance for Orphans Webinar Series is designed to help individuals like you create and grow effective adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry in local churches.  Each 60-minute webinar is free and will give local advocates access to the knowledge and experience of top Alliance member churches and organizations nationwide.