There is a foster family that began visiting Hope House last fall. They come all the way from Midwest City and have five foster daughters ages 7-12. These girls are full of life and joy, and they love clothes and shoes! Last Saturday, August 8, they came over for the revised monthly Shopping Day. Due to Covid-19, we are allowing only one person at a time to shop, so I had time to visit with the foster mom, Donna*, and observe this sweet family. Here is what I witnessed:
They arrive in a large van and the first girl jumps out, ready to shop. A volunteer helps her find all the things she may need/want. About 10 minutes later she comes out with two plastic bags stuffed full of goodies. She hops in the front seat of the van and another girl jumps out and heads inside. The first shopper begins pulling clothes out of her bag, one at a time, and showing them to Donna, who “ooo”s and “aww”s over each piece and says how perfect it is for her.
About halfway through their shopping, one of the girls jumps out of the van, and with a big grin on her face, poses and says, “Look!” Donna tells her how beautiful she looks and then turns to me and explains that they are each going to the back of the van to change into one of their new outfits – they just can’t wait! One by one, each of the girls steps out of the van wearing huge smiles and new outfits – shoes included!
Their tradition is to shop at Hope House and then head to Eskimo Joes for some “loaded french fries”. It is an outing they look forward to – but, not just for the clothes and fries. That became apparent as they were about leave. They asked about one of our volunteers who had assisted them on several of their visits. She was not able to be present on Saturday, so the group called her on the phone. As they visited, it was obvious the girls had been deeply touched by the love and concern they had received from our Hope House volunteer.
Hope House is making a positive difference in the lives of foster families, but we couldn’t do it without a boatload of support from our community. Thank you.
Leanne Chaffin, Hope House Founder and Coordinator
Find Hope House on Facebook @fosterhopehouse
Email: stwhopehouse@gmail.com
Phone: (405)385-2475
Giving Hope
Noah collected donations of diapers for the Hope House during his birthday celebration this year.