A few words from those who have been affected by this cause...

On behalf of Multicultural Family Services we want to thank you for your time and efforts that were put into the bags. We all love them here and we are sure that the children will also.

A BIG THANK YOU for your organization reaching out to kids in our
Family Shelter Program!  So many times, the families work with are
starting over and your contribution of nighttime kits for will make a huge difference.  These kits are not only functional, but also providea sense of comfort to kids experiencing homelessness!

The bags have just been great and very useful.  Talk about a God Send!  You are!

"Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing your ministry with us.The care bags are so wonderful Thank you again for the bags andfor partnering with us to change lives!"

 Life…

I was driving when I heard the announcement on the radio ( 105.3 ), I almost had to pull over to just CRY. I am a pre-school teacher, now I am a manager. People always ask me “how do I do it?” But when it is in your heart to do… you do it. I believe that is what Survive the Night is. A cause that can change a Childs WHOLE worth ~ whole BEING... I always say that I wish that people could teach for one day, and when they did,  they would just stop and pay attention, LISTEN to what our children have to say. So many times it is not WHAT they are saying but what they are not. It is not what they WANT but what small things they NEED to make them feel safe. When parents drop of their kids, at my school, 90 % are coming from a “well rounded family”.  They pack them lunches, a lot from Trader Joes,  extra underwear, and clothes, a specific TOY (all for a 2 - 4 hr range) , with the understanding and knowledge that their parent is coming right back. Why do parents do this? FOR SECURITY, to help their precious child feel safe when they are gone, to feel love while they are gone. I see this every day, all day. As child , I had a mom like that. She would write me notes on my napkins for lunch, she was amazing. When my parents got divorced all changed. My mom didn’t but when I was with my father, he was down right MEAN. Just mean. He cared only about himself , his alcohol and women and with that came many nights of “forgetting us places” staying in random hotels, with many different women, in  a multitude of houses, coupled by him moving around. Never having something that I felt was ‘safe’ or loving, nothing was mine, nothing was safe, and I never knew where we would end up.

The affects that it had on me? I cant even begin to go into it. It was
devastating. I know now that God has given me a second chance at life
and especially at being the voice and the heart of all of these other
children. I don’t care what the cost, it has been written on my heart
from God that this is where I need to be in life. My heart rest when I
am in the presents of children, of all children.

 Children can tell you everything, in such simple terms, with such TRUTH if you just listen, So many adults seem to think that they know more, that they are Just Kids... but they are not. They are amazing little people that have unconditional love that they want to give willingly to you.

 EVERY CHILD deserves just that… a CHANCE and that is what thisorganization does. It gives them a second chance, and a chance to feellike they are loved, safe and that it is NOT THEIR FAULT... so please,please in the midst of all of your stuff, just stop and think of yourself when YOU were that age, what little thing did you hold tight tothat made you feel safe, what was your favorite clothing, or blanket?Just think, that is all I ask.

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.  ~Author Unknown


We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher

Something most people can only imagine but will stick with me forever...
“An innocent child, speaking like an adult, comes to you and shows you a bruise that blows your mind. All you see is the pain in their eyes and their look that screams “Why!” and “Please give me some answer for this hurt!”  All you can say to them is how sorry you are that someone has hurt them. It breaks your heart because the people hurting them are supposed to be their hero’s, their protectors, their champions.” -Director, Survive The Night    

Picture taken by Suvro Datta
www.suvro.com/photopage

 Foster Children Move from Place to Place

 Foster children move from place to place
With memories that walk the night alone,
Nor is the love theirs that they must embrace.
Yet most survive with a peculiar grace,
Even though their hearts should turn to stone
As they move about from place to place.

Perhaps within themselves they find a space
To furnish as they would a mobile home,
Finding scraps of things they can embrace,

A memory like some much-fingered lace,
Thoughts and dreams that only they have known,
Moving as they do from place to place,

Their childhood impossible to trace
In the years of yearning after they are grown,
Filled with love they've chosen to embrace,

Yet with their losses etched upon their face,
Pain for which no penance can atone.
How can they move and move from place to place,
Surrendering the love they must embrace

Author-

Nicholas Gordon
www.poemsforfree.com