Children in foster care who are eligible for adoption typically don’t get the recognition or positive endorsements that would help in their adoption. A non-profit agency is hoping to help fix that through The Reel Hope Project, started by Kaycee Stanley. Individuals travel to different churches in Minnesota and show two-minute videos of children in foster care, in hopes of finding their forever family. Pete Stanley, a member of the Reel Hope Project, said, “The videos do something that a sheet of paper can’t do…when you show them laugh and smile, their fun side, it’s a total game changer.”
In addition to showing the videos, they also advocate for a strong support system. For every family who adopts a child, they want five other families in the community to help support them. It really does take a village to raise a child.
They want the children to be seen as “people instead of a case file.” Just looking at a sheet of paper, such as the child’s referral, does not have the impact that a video would. Also, the referral may be incorrect, outdated, or have misleading information. These videos will hopefully provide “living and positive” characteristics of the child which a paper referral alone does not achieve.
To watch the video, click here.
