Kobi Maley

Sometimes you do things for yourself.

Sometimes you do thing for others.

And sometimes, when the stars align just right, you do something for yourself that winds up helping others in a way you’d never imagine.

That’s just what happened to me and my husband, Mark, in the summer of 2007. After talking off and on for years about becoming foster parents, we finally decided to attend an orientation meeting held by Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin.

Our initial interest in foster care came from our strong love of children. Our daughter was in her 20s and had left home years ago. We were empty-nesters and believed that bringing a young one into our home would brighten up our lives.

It did that – and so much more.

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Hi, my name is Buddy and I am Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin’s new therapy dog. You probably know that Children’s Service Society supports kids who might be having a tough time dealing with situations in their life. I’m so excited because I am going to meet some wonderful new friends at Children’s Service Society in Racine, Wis.

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Tomorrow is a day to celebrate — National Adoption Day. It’s a day across the country when many children will be officially adopted into forever families. Here in Milwaukee, we will be finalizing a number of adoptions for children. If you’ve had the chance to take part in an adoption finalization, I can tell you it’s very personal and incredibly special. Not unlike the birth of a child or a wedding, it is a moment that changes the lives of children and their new families — forever.

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“Drive through” school supply drive this Friday at Children’s Services Society of Wisconsin

On any given day in Milwaukee, 2,500 children are living in foster care while their families take time to heal. A foster parent provides a temporary family and home for a child until he or she can be reunited safely with his or her biological family or placed in a permanent living situation.

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Since 1988 our country has come together to appreciate and recognize the strength and courage of foster families by declaring May National Foster Care Month. Right now, foster families are caring for nearly 500,000 American children who are in foster care because their own families are in difficult situations and are unable to provide for them.

I work directly with treatment foster families in the Milwaukee area through Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin, and I know that foster children have an extraordinary capacity to overcome many challenges, but only if they have the support of a caring adult in their lives. Loving foster parents add the stability and structure children need to grow to become successful adults.

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