a Patchwork family

In late summer of 2021, I was working at the kitchen table with our Case Manager. She answered a call from a woman who, through tears, told us how rough it had been. She and her husband had never parented before when they got the call from CPS to pick up two children who were distant relatives. They weren’t prepared for the things that the kids had been through - AND she was expecting a baby soon. It was a hard call - we didn’t have the ability to match them with a volunteer group immediately.

The couple made huge life-changing sacrifices to accommodate caring for the siblings. And the kids had extreme trauma and anxiety that was constantly resurfacing. They felt abandoned. 

The family was on our waitlist for a few months while we assembled and trained a Love Box group that was just right for this family. 

Volunteers worked hard and loved hard, and showed up for a solid year in a variety of ways that made the Love Box a stand-in, massively supportive family. They helped them hold their sadness and stood by the kids through the unimaginable situation that brought them to where they were.

• Volunteers became the "grandma" that softly scratched their backs on Sunday during church.
• They were the fun "auntie" who took them swimming so their foster mom didn’t lose her mind during the summer months when everyone was home from school.
• They stepped in as "uncle" and taught him to play guitar, and her piano - and made sure they practiced.
• They were “grandpa”, gently demonstrating manners - closing doors softly, how to control their volume, and when to say please & thank you.​

Along with their foster parents, this patchwork family held them accountable, guided them, accepted them, and LOVED them. 

Our Love Box groups mimic a healthy extended family. And it serves the volunteers as much as it serves the children. People are meant to belong to each other.

We’re built for connection. We’re meant to serve and be with and love on each other. To be at each other's football games and art openings, and sitting around a table laughing while eating pizza together. All Olympic Angels does is give permission and a framework for people to do it well.