Idaho foster households rejoice winter enjoyable at Eagle Island State Park occasion

EAGLE, Idaho — Foster, kinship, and adoptive households gathered Saturday night at Eagle Island State Park for an occasion centered on connection, appreciation, and outside experiences.

The gathering is a part of Fostering Family Adventures, a program launched a few yr in the past by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to carry foster households collectively in outside settings throughout the state.

WATCH | The enjoyable Fostering Family Adventures program brings to the group—

Idaho foster households rejoice winter enjoyable at Eagle Island State Park

“This is probably the most fun we get to have in our jobs is just to bring foster families out to celebrate the outdoors. This is something that families throughout Idaho love,” stated Laura Denner, division administrator for household and group partnerships with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Denner stated this system is supposed to acknowledge the dedication of foster households whereas additionally creating alternatives for kids.

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“It’s a huge thank you to the families that choose to foster. We hope that it keeps them fostering, um, and keeping kids safe in their homes, but we also hope that it exposes foster youth to outdoor experiences that they might not otherwise get to experience,” Denner stated.

About 250 households signed as much as attend the Eagle Island occasion. Activities included tubing, scorching cocoa and s’mores. Denner stated every occasion is tailor-made to the season and the situation.

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Susan Buxton, director of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, stated state parks present vital alternatives for households to attach and for kids to profit from time outdoor.

“Foster families are so important to Idaho to take care of our kids. Idaho kids are the most important thing that we have in Idaho, and to teach kids about the great outdoors and why Idaho is so wonderful and it’s such a great mental health way to get families together, to get kids together, to, you know, to have self-esteem and understand, where can they go to get away, where can they go to like really sit and see someplace beautiful,” Buxton stated.

Denner stated the division additionally hopes occasions like this spark curiosity amongst different park guests who could need to study extra about fostering or discover different methods to assist.

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“They’ll see these kids having a blast and just getting to be kids, and they might consider fostering, or they might realize it’s not their time to foster, but there are other ways that they can get involved and help. These kids,” Denner stated.

The program has expanded right into a quarterly sequence of occasions held in several areas of Idaho. Organizers say future gatherings will proceed later this yr, together with a return to the Treasure Valley.

The Department of Health and Welfare says extra Fostering Family Adventures occasions are deliberate and may very well be coming to parks close to you.

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