Champions
A Step in the Right Direction
May 14, 2018
Nick doesn’t have much to say about orange jumpsuits, handcuffs, or the cell in which he stayed for more than three years. In fact, he’s decided he’d rather just put the whole juvenile corrections facility experience behind him.
Bringing Travis Home: Teen Found Light at End of Long and Treacherous Trail
March 27, 2018
Hysterical. “Completely in crisis.” In desperate need of care. “One of the least favorite calls an officer wants to get.” Just 9 years old. “Travis is still to this day the youngest person I’ve had to take to the hospital for a mental evaluation.”
Finding Their Forever Family
November 27, 2017
“Mr. Britt is unique,” reflected UMFS Family Support Specialist Melissa Lee. Michael Britt is a single father who created a loving home for his son Corjah, 14. In 2014, he got a call that would change his life, and dramatically expand his family.
Charterhouse School Culinary Students: Changing Lives One Dish at a Time
September 5, 2017
The menu for today is rack of lamb served with roasted asparagus, glazed carrots and quinoa, with a berry trifle for dessert. You might think you’re dining in a five star restaurant, but this menu was developed and prepared by the UMFS Charterhouse School culinary students.
Mark Smith: Creating a Bright Future for Himself
May 9, 2017
MARK SMITH has been working hard to create a bright future for himself. “I don’t want to be another statistic,” he reflects.
Volunteer Rallies Community to Support High-Risk Kids
October 6, 2016
Ann Baker first connected with UMFS through her church in 2002, but her passion for serving highrisk children dates back to her experience working as an art teacher for a junior high school in North Carolina in 1975. “In those days, schools were at a low point in serving kids with disabilities,” Ann remembers.
It’s Never Too Late for a Forever Family
July 5, 2016
On a Sunday morning this past spring at a small Methodist church 21-year-old Andrea stepped up to the pulpit to read an open letter from a mother about her children. Deliberately, Andrea read the mother’s words: “I was the last person you’d think would become a foster parent. I was successful, middle-aged, the mother of […]
Charterhouse School Student Shares His Voice
April 19, 2016
WHEN HE WAS IN FIRST GRADE, Alex’s principal would send him to a converted storage closet called the crisis room—a lot. Alex would get 30 minutes in the crisis room for standing on a chair in class. Tearing papers in class warranted hours in the crisis room. School staff never told Alex’s parents when they […]
Building Bridges Out of Poverty
February 29, 2016
Download full newsletter BRENDA MOSS WORKED ALL her life in Lynchburg, Virginia to support her three sons and one grandson. Over the years she worked as a nursing and medical assistant, a sales person for a large retailer, a factory worker and a line worker at a paper mill. She had always wanted to pursue a […]
A Champion for LGBT Youth
October 29, 2015
IMAGINE FOR A MINUTE that you’re a teenager. Imagine not being able to sleep at night because you’re terrified of going to school the next day where you know you’ll be bullied—again. Amidst the repeated bullying from your peers, you’re expected to focus on learning algebra, history and planning for life after high school.