by Debbie Marini, Interim Executive Director

I can still hear my children, during their elementary school years, reciting this pledge every weekday morning at school:

I am respectful.
I am responsible.
I am safe.
I am prepared and ready to learn.

As our children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, neighborhood and church children are preparing to finish up another school year, there are parents in our neighborhoods and churches who are looking at those worn down pencils, backpacks, and supplies of paper... worried about how they are going to keep their children prepared and ready to learn in the coming school year.

At BFCS, our Back-to-School Season has already begun. The Good Samaritan Network staff has started our planning in collaboration with churches that will host Back-to-School Stores in July, as well as those that will collect supplies to send to the Stores. This year we hope to serve 1,300 children with school supplies!

This ministry not only impacts the lives of children and families but also is another way that the church can build strong neighborhoods. Church Store sites at Back-to-School time are run by volunteers from the church and outreach is done with the surrounding community leading up to the event. On the day of the event, for many in the community, it is an opportunity to walk through the church's doors for the first time, feeling love and support from Christian brothers and sisters.

Please consider making a donation and encouraging your church to participate in this wonderful outreach ministry. We can provide you and your church with a list of supplies for age/grade groups. The deadline for school supplies collection is July 8. Call Kate at 800-621-8834, extension 109, for more information.

On April 26th, students at the Weekday Early Education Center at FBC Rockville donated pencils, crayons, backpacks and other supplies to share with their less fortunate brothers and sisters. The supply drive was part of an event that the WEE called "Helping Hands Day."

These generous children filled two boxes with supplies which will help Baptist Family reach out to kids in need across Maryland and Delaware in August.

If your WEE, Sunday School Class, or other church group would like to get involved with our Back To School drive this year, please get in touch with Kate Macdonald. Her phone number is 800-621-8834, extension 109.

By Debbie Marini, Interim Executive Director

Mother's Day is May 13th! This is the day that we honor our mothers and it is also the day that SBC Churches across Maryland and Delaware take up their Annual Mother's Day offering to provide much needed support for BFCS!

Founded in 1920 by entrepreneur Willoughby McCormick (who also founded the McCormick Spice Company), Baptist Family and Children's Services exists to give a new start to kids and families in distress.

Baptist Family's founders asserted that a family -- biological, foster, adoptive, or otherwise -- is the engine that best nurtures a child's development. From the beginning, the agency has focused on ensuring that children grow up in strong, healthy families.

The legacy of care inaugurated by our founders has only grown and continues today. Baptist Family's programs and staffing are structured to care for abused and neglected children and families in various stages of crisis (from basic needs not being met to homelessness). This work has a profound impact on the individuals directly helped, and also changes our churches and communities for the better.

The annual Mother's Day offering has provided critical support for our ministry for many years. Your support of this year's offering could help in any of the following ways:

• Provide a birthday or graduation gift to a CHOSEN foster child.
• Purchase toiletries or clothing for kids placed in emergency situation with little more than the clothes on their back.
• Help with the costs associated with keeping a child safe in the care of the Safe Families for Children program.
• Assistance with such things as a security deposit for a homeless family or transportation costs for a single parent needing to get to work.
• Help for a family to pay off their utility bill and keep their lights on.
• A backpack and school supplies for a student in need.

Churches received their Mother's Day supplies in March, which included a poster, offering envelopes, and a postcard with the link to gain access to an inspiring YouTube video (a DVD can also be requested, if preferred) which highlights the stories of families and children whose lives have been positively impacted by BFCS. This video can also be seen on our website.

Prayer Gram readers and BFCS supporters know that we love to tell stories about the lives impacted by the work God is doing through BFCS programs. Your church may want to invite a speaker from BFCS to your Mother's Day service. You may also want to contact your pastor to offer to help with activities for this year's offering.

Please contact Tim Durkin at 800-621-8834, extension 143, or tdurkin@baptistfamily.org if you would like to request a speaker or have any questions about this year's offering. Thank you for your support!

by Debbie Marini, Interim Executive Director

And the scripture from Colossians 3:23 goes on to say, "as though you are working for the Lord, not for men." I can say the Baptist Family staff members featured in this article work hard, work cheerfully, and work for the Lord! Let me introduce these fantastic social workers to you.

Tanesha Ellis is the Certification and Training Manager for our CHOSEN Treatment Foster Care Program. Tanesha coordinates the pre- and in-service training components of the program in order to ensure that foster families and prospective parents meet the training requirements for certification to provide Treatment Foster Care. Last year, she certified 14 new families. She's been with us for 5 years.

Tanesha just passed her advanced social work licensure certification and proudly displays the letters LCSW behind her name! I know she praises God for that honor as well as the privilege of being a mom to two preschool age children.

A fellow staff person acknowledged Tanesha for living out the agency's Christian values, saying that she clearly communicates her faith in the way she speaks about the families she is training. If you work with Tanesha as a prospective parent, you are sure to be blessed by her spirit.

Melissa Mazeski is our Safe Families Coordinator and a Family Treatment Manager with our CHOSEN Treatment Foster Care Program. She wears both hats and is doing a terrific job. Melissa has been with BFCS for 7 years. She has proven herself to not only be an excellent child welfare worker with kids and families in foster care, but an organized, capable, and passionate coordinator of our newest program, Safe Families for Children.

While working for BFCS, Melissa earned her Master's Degree in Social Work and her LGSW licensure! Baptist Family aims to be "family-centered" in our work. Melissa was praised at a recent staff meeting for being family centered because she has done such a tremendous job helping children to thrive in families. Melissa values the family as the best opportunity for healing, growth, and development for the kids she works with.

Lizette Ubides-Ruiz is our Clinical Director and the newest addition to the CHOSEN Treatment Foster Care team. Lizette's passion for the Lord and His children is impressive and we knew she would be a great fit here at BFCS!

She comes to us with work experience as a Clinician in Residential Treatment as well as other child/family services settings. She started in mid-February and is off to a terrific start equipping our social workers and families through supervision and support as well as encouragement.

She acknowledges frequently that the work we do is remarkably difficult and a great responsibility. Lizette has two teenage children and loves being their mom. In order to build up the skills and confidence of the people we work with, Baptist Family strives to be "strengths-based" in all our interactions with clients. Lizette expresses this value very well: she identifies the gifts and talents of our CHOSEN children to create positive change.