Alabama Power volunteers help make holidays happier for foster families

Hundreds of foster families in the Mobile area are having a merrier Christmas thanks to an assist from the Plant Barry Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO).

APSO volunteers recently went shopping, armed with a list from Fostering Together Gulf Coast, an organization that provides needed items for families taking in a foster child.

“The holidays can be tough for our kids in foster care,” said Rachel Webb, founder and executive director of Fostering Together Gulf Coast. “They are away from their family, so we want to make sure every child in foster care has gifts under the Christmas tree with their name on them on Christmas morning. We want to make sure that kids in foster care have a great Christmas just like everyone else.”

To do that, Fostering Together hosts a “Santa Workshop” where they bring in all of the toys and gifts that organizations have donated. Families register to come “shop” for their foster children – selecting the items that their foster child would love to have under the tree, all at no cost to the families.

“They get to pick out gifts that they know that that child will love,” Webb said.

Close to 550 children were registered for this year’s Santa Workshop. Fulfilling the wishes of so many takes a lot of community support.

“Alabama Power has been a longtime partner of ours,” Webb said. “They help with volunteers for our Santa’s Workshop but they also help to provide incredible gifts for the kids.”

On a recent December day at the Saraland Walmart, Barry APSO members Sharon Meier and Stacy Simmons shopped for the always-hard-to-shop-for teenagers registered for the Fostering Together Santa’s Workshop. They had a list of suggested items but also had to seek out additional items.

Barry APSO holds fundraisers throughout the year, including an annual golf tournament, to raise money for the organizations it supports during the holidays. Fostering Together is at the top of that list.

“The Barry APSO Chapter supports organizations all year through volunteering and gifting, but we really shine during the holidays,” said Cherie Gatlin, treasurer of Barry APSO Chapter and lead organizer of the annual golf tournament. “Fostering Together Gulf Coast is one of those organizations we have supported for years and Santa’s Workshop is one of our favorite things to support because of what it means to the foster families and children it benefits.”

Outside of Santa’s Workshop, Fostering Together has space in Mobile where they collect donations throughout the year, ready for when foster parents get a child.

“We want to make sure that why children are in foster care that they have everything that they need. So families can come to our center when they get a new placement,” Webb said. “They can get clothing, toiletries, baby equipment if they’ve taken in a baby – whatever they need to help care for that child.”

Webb founded Fostering Together six years ago. She said this year has seen the most foster children and the greatest needs yet.

“Our community has shown up in incredible ways this year. We have had more kids coming into foster care than in previous years. So we have really relied on the generosity of our community to make sure that those children are well taken care of,” she said. “Especially at Christmas time, the community has shown out. We have everything from bicycles to Legos to baby dolls and all of the accessories – so I think it’s going to be a really special Christmas for these kids.”

At this year’s Santa’s Workshop, local company Professional Systems showed up with a tractor trailer full of bicycles. The company had worked with its clients and other companies to collect the bikes – a total of 206 donated to Fostering Together.

Webb said Fostering Together relies completely on the support of others and the Mobile community has shown a willingness to show up for foster families.

“Fostering together is completely community supported, so we rely on the generosity of our community as well as business partners like Alabama Power to make sure that we have all of these things available for children.”

To find out more about Fostering Together Gulf Coast, visit them at their website or on social media such as Facebook and Instagram.