Often we think of orphans as children who live in third world countries, those whose images we see on television or in the newspaper. But they’re not just around the globe, they’re also right here in our own backyard. On any given day in Hillsborough County, there are over 2000 children in the system of care and approximately 1,000 of those live in licensed foster care due to some form of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment. This number includes children in foster care, residential facilities and relative placement. Some of these children are awaiting permanent adoptive homes while others remain in the system until their fate is determined by the officials of the court. In essence, foster children are the modern day ‘orphans’.
Imagine how these children must feel when they’re removed from their homes, often with nothing more than the clothes on their back and a garbage bag filled with whatever they were able to quickly pack, be taken away from those they know and love, all in the blink of an eye. These children have no voice, they feel lost and unwanted. These same children are also God’s children, created in His image and deserve to be treated with dignity and showered with love.
4KIDS of Tampa is a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to educating and mobilizing the faith-based community to respond to the plight of abused, neglected, and abandoned children in the foster care system. 4KIDS of Tampa recruits, assists in training, and supports foster and adoptive families willing to care for kids in crisis. We believe that this relationship-enhanced approach to foster care provides families with the much-needed and often lacking support system to guide them through their licensing and placement process, empowering families to open up their hearts and home to make a difference in the life of a child.
Vision
A Home for Every Child in Crisis
Mission
Providing Hope… for Kids in Crisis
…One Child at a Time
Paradigm
Prevention Protection Provision Permanent Solutions
Core Values
Sacrifice
Serving with the heart of God, whatever the cost
Perseverance
Never giving up on a child
Integrity
In everything, above reproach
Compassion
Walking with children on their path to redemption
Excellence
Giving our best to those in need
Got questions? Ready to get started?
If you would like to find out more about what 4KIDS is doing and help make a difference in the life of a child in foster care, call us at 813-384-8537 or email us at josie@4kidsof tampa.com.