The Jonathan C Smith Foundation Angels Project
We have 57 kids, one age 6, others age 13-20 that are in an inpatient facility and have virtually no family involvement. Some of these kids are there for years. The Jonathan C Smith Foundation Angel Project is looking for sponsors to ‘adopt’ or sponsor a teen to provide letters of encouragement, cards, birthday gift and Christmas gift.
The kids did sheets telling what they want and none of them ask for anything big, none of them.
The General Guidelines for the Project
- Send your Teen a card or letter as soon as you can encouraging them.
Sponsors should not include their last names or addresses. What do we say to them in our first card/letter….introduce yourself and maybe your family, tell about your kids. Communication will be with first names only. Tell your teen that you would like to be their friend. Encourage them, tell them you are praying for them. You can tell them Jesus loves them and so do you…send them love.It is important that sponsors do not share traumatic stories of the past with the kids. More often than not, hearing another person talk of trauma in their past triggers memories and emotions causing the child to act out in harmful ways to themselves or others.
- Make a note of their birthday and plan to send them a birthday card and birthday gift.
They can’t have ANYTHING they can use to harm themselves with. It’s fairly safe to say if it can be taken apart, the kids will disassemble it and could use it to harm themselves. Good ideas are journals (without the wire spine), books (teenage type), blankets, socks, tshirts, underwear. Even some bedroom slippers/shoes. Hygiene supplies (body wash, shampoo, lotion) are good but we need to make sure they are fragrance free and ok for kids with sensitive skin. They are not allowed to have bar soap or razors.
Something else to add to what they can have are playing cards and uno cards. Perhaps some board games/dominos….stuff like that. The lower functioning kids would enjoy flash cards with colors, shapes, and alphabet….maybe some small/beginner words too. I’m also thinking a shape sorter, like you’d get for a toddler would be entertaining for them.
It is best to place the gift in a gift bag as staff do have to check the gift before giving it to the resident.
- Plan to send your Teen something for Christmas…we will coordinate the Christmas Drive in December
Send them cards and letters of encouragement anytime. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that they can write you back if able to do so.
Gifts and Cards/letters may be sent to Foundation for delivery. Cards and Letters will be delivered unopened but staff will check them for content before giving to child.
