Victim to Victor
There are more than 42,000 children in foster care across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. These children–Caroline, Constance, and Bryce, to name a few–have lost the only sense of home and family they’ve ever known. And because there aren’t enough foster homes, more than half of these children are shuffled from county to county.
Can you imagine being removed from your home and losing your people, your church, your school, and your life as you know it?
We can’t. That’s why we’re so thankful for you.
Your boldness in supporting foster care is helping countless children and families find healing and hope.
Derek Clark is no stranger to the foster care system, and he knows the sense of loss all too well.
Derek was abused and neglected as a child, and then abandoned at a psychiatric hospital when he was just five years old.
His parents never came back for him.
He was tested and labeled as mentally retarded, and then entered the foster care system, where he remained for 13 years. He was shuffled from home to home, and eventually labeled again–this time, as un-adoptable.
His story didn’t end there, however.
Today, Derek is a nationally recognized author and motivational speaker. He has written seven books, speaks at events internationally, and is an internet sensation for his viral “Rapping Dad” videos.
He did not let his past or the labels define him. The trauma and abuse he experienced were not the end, but the beginning of his God story.
He did not let his past or the labels define him. The trauma and abuse he experienced were not the end, but the beginning of his God story.
Derek served as the Keynote Speaker at our Annual Foster Care Conference and later spent time with our children on campus to share his message of hope. He says, “What happened to me is not my fault, but it is my responsibility to heal.”
During his traumatic young life, he found healing through rapping, through the comfort of animals, and through two selfless foster parents who gave him a chance and refused to give up on him.
A self-proclaimed misfit, he says, “More than anything, I wanted to belong.”
You give so many children like Derek the chance to belong.
Thank you for believing that every child is worthy of love and a safe home!
You can give today to impact more children like Derek.