WE TAKE it for granted. A hot shower or a long bath at home, endless choices for snacks and meals in the pantry and fridge, a closet filled with clothes, a warm coat — so many everyday provisions are routine and present that we can’t imagine others lacking them. Children in foster families’ temporary care and custody know a different reality. The families that care for them often need necessities that aren’t practical or economical to stock daily.
When Alyce Crawford was a child, her parents cared for displaced family members, also known as a kinship placement. She saw firsthand the need for such care, but she also saw the complications with departments of children’s services. After moving to Tennessee, she realized she had more love to share and wanted to make a positive difference. She became a foster parent in January 2022.
Shortly into her fostering experiences, she recognized a need for greater support for local foster families and began researching area resources. Foster closets offer necessities like clothing, formula, and diapers, along with baby and children’s furniture, equipment, and other items needed day to day. As Crawford equipped her home to serve the children, many things were available through foster closets in Nashville, Murfreesboro, and other towns, but none were available in our immediate area.
She said, “I was running all over to other foster closets, and it was time-consuming, so I made up my mind to open a local closet. I posted to social media and in groups that I was starting a foster closet and needed community support. I started accepting donations, running it from inside my home, and we grew so quickly that my living room and front porch were overtaken.”
Crawford expanded from her home to an outbuilding and named the outreach the Blended & Blessed Foster Closet of Bedford County.
“Our families are blended. We’re made up of biological children, our foster and adoptive children, and we are relative caregivers. And I thought, what better name than Blended & Blessed?” said Crawford.
Blended & Blessed serves foster, adoptive, and kinship families throughout Tennessee. Arrangements can be made for items to be picked up from the closet, or Crawford can coordinate a meeting with the foster caregiver in a convenient location to deliver whatever is needed. The need for items is great, and the nature of the things requested varies.
“We need support from our community, so we always need volunteers. We want to try to partner with some of the local businesses, organizations, and churches that would be willing to hold monthly drives,” she said. “Each month, we focus on [specific] needs for the foster closet. In April, we’re collecting hygiene products and hair supplies, and we have our wish lists for Amazon and Walmart posted on our Facebook page. We update the page with our needs and wants to keep the community informed.”
Children come into care with emergency needs that require items not usually on hand in foster homes, so requests for donations of specific items are posted as situations develop. From the need for a certain-sized jacket to cribs, mattresses, and booster seats, there are many opportunities for the community’s support. Volunteers are needed to work in the closet daily, allowing Crawford to focus on ensuring that as many needs as possible are met.
Crawford explained, “When a child comes into care, they typically come with nothing. I’ve had children come into my home with no shoes on their feet. As foster parents, we may be given a 20-minute notice, so we don’t always have time to collect items for the children. The foster closet is here to provide options to best support the transition for the kids as they come into foster care because having clothes and items is not a stress or burden a child should have to carry. When a child comes into our home, our focus is not on getting those items but on getting the child the services they need and getting them adjusted to their new environment. As foster parents, [we care] for their daily needs and [provide] a safe environment to help them process their trauma and adjust to this new normal.”
Another way Crawford enhances the children’s foster experience is by celebrating birthdays, holidays, and the little things in life.
“I started a birthday blessing bag program with the foster closet in August. We provide birthday cakes, decorations, and a gift for a child in foster care, 100% covered for the foster family. It’s possible with a $20 donation from the community, and we’re working with local bakers to provide birthday cakes free of charge for the families. For some of these kids, that’s the first birthday they’ve ever celebrated. It lets them feel they’re seen even though they’re celebrating their birthday in foster care. I feel like that’s another way to support a foster family and to help these kids be children and enjoy life’s small moments,” she said.
It’s continuing the blessing of a blended home. It’s offering a hand as a community coming together around families who open their hearts and homes to children in seasons of transition and trauma. It’s being better together. GN
