Adoption is Our Family

Adoption is Our Family

Photo by Sara Maslyn Photography. November is National Adoption Month, and caring donors and supporters like you are helping UMFS connect children and teens in foster care with their forever families. The Leaheys are one of those families. Foster care and adoption...
The Jones Family: Caring for Kids and Kin

The Jones Family: Caring for Kids and Kin

When Sherrika Jones learned in 2015 that she had a young cousin in foster care, she and her husband immediately contacted social services and expressed their desire to adopt. “We trusted who Cierra was with,” Sherrika said. “But we wanted her to be with family.” At...
Luan Laying the Groundwork for His Future

Luan Laying the Groundwork for His Future

Ask Luan about landscaping, and he’ll tell you he digs it. It hasn’t always been that way, though. “I didn’t think it was any fun,” Luan said of his first few days as an apprentice.But after cleaning out and replanting his first flower bed, the UMFS Charterhouse...
From Foster Care to College Campus

From Foster Care to College Campus

Melvin was walking briskly along one of the many shaded and brick-lined paths on Old Dominion University’s campus in downtown Norfolk when it dawned on him. “Wait, what’s today’s date,” he asked as he came to an abrupt halt in his linen-white sneakers. “It’s March 27?...