Family Care Collective
Our Program
Across the Treasure Valley, foster, kinship, and adoptive families step up every single day to care for children from hard places. They pour their hearts into helping vulnerable kids feel safe, loved, and supported. But even the most dedicated caregivers need an occasional moment to catch their breath.
That’s where Family Care Night comes in.
Family Care Night is a special evening where foster, kinship, and adoptive parents can take a few hours to rest, run errands, enjoy a quiet dinner, or simply recharge, while their children are cared for in a safe, joyful environment by trained volunteers. Kids enjoy games, crafts, activities, and dinner with friends, while parents leave knowing their children are in loving hands.
It’s a night full of laughter, connection, and community support, and it makes a meaningful difference for families who carry a lot every day.
We Need Your Help
Our vision is to offer Family Care Night every Friday evening, creating consistent and reliable support for foster, kinship, and adoptive families in our community. By expanding to a weekly program, families would know they always have a safe, welcoming space where their children can enjoy an evening of fun and connection while parents take a much-needed moment to rest and recharge. With the help of local churches, businesses, donors, and volunteers, we hope to build a network of hosts that allows this simple but powerful night of care to happen every week, reminding families that they are not alone and that their community is standing beside them. But we can’t do it without your help! There are several simple but powerful ways individuals, churches, and businesses can help expand Family Care Night.
Sponsor Dinner and Supplies
Each Family Care Night includes dinner, crafts, games, and supplies for the children. We are looking for generous donors or businesses willing to sponsor a meal or help provide activity supplies. Something as simple as pizza, snacks, craft materials, or activity kits helps turn the evening into something special for the kids who attend.
Host a Night at Your Facility
We are looking for churches or businesses willing to donate the use of their facility one Friday evening per month. A large room, classrooms, or an open space where children can safely play and participate in activities can make the perfect setting for a night of fun and care. By opening your doors for just one evening each month, you help create a place where families can breathe and kids can simply enjoy being kids.
Volunteer
Our volunteers are the heart of Family Care Night. They help welcome children, lead activities, serve dinner, play games, and create an atmosphere of joy and safety. If you enjoy working with children and want to make a meaningful impact, volunteering for Family Care Night is a wonderful way to serve in our community.
Be Part of Something Meaningful
Family Care Night is more than childcare, it’s a reminder to foster, adoptive, and kinship families that they are not alone. It’s a community stepping in to say, “We see you. We support you. We’re here for you.” When churches, businesses, donors, and volunteers come together, something beautiful happens: families are strengthened, children feel cared for, and a community becomes a place where compassion shows up in real, practical ways.
If you would like to host a night, sponsor a meal, donate supplies, or volunteer, we would love to partner with you. Together, we can create evenings filled with laughter, rest, and support for the families who need it most.
Our "Why" Story
Have you heard the starfish story? An old man was walking on the beach and noticed thousands of starfish washed up by the tide. He noticed a boy picking up one starfish at a time and tossing them into the ocean. He asked the boy why he was doing such a pointless task, as there were so many starfish on the beach and he couldn’t save them all. The boy picked up one more, tossed it into the ocean and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
Our foster/kinship/adoptive families are like the starfish, struggling to survive. Maybe it can be daunting to think of helping every family in our state, the Treasure Valley, or even our city, however, if we start with just one, we can make a difference. One family at a time.
I started off my foster care journey in much the same way, with just one child. Over the next ten years, I touched nine precious lives through being a foster mom. I made a difference for nine children. And for nine families. Some of those families I still keep in touch with today. But really, it is so much more than that. This journey has allowed me to mentor, support and walk beside countless other families touched by foster care. I have been there in their times of need and to lend a hand. And that has touched many more lives.
Family Care Collective strives to be this for families here in the Treasure Valley. In a practical way, we provide struggling families with a night off and a chance to recharge. And for the children, we provide a place where they see others who share their story, their journey and they know they are not the only ones. Our goal is to provide care for the whole family, strengthening families so they can support the children in their care. We want to make a difference, one family at a time!
-Jenni Josifek