Fostering Change – Details, episodes & analysis

You’ve made it!  It’s the end of August and our final “Best of Season 5” episode of the season, and we’ve saved a very special episode just for you.

Just a note that Season 6 will debut next week, Tuesday, September 3.  We have some amazing guests lined up, and are doing something new this season: on several episodes, we are bringing in special guests to Co-Host interviews with Rob Scheer.  You’ll recognize some of the names as previous guests, and there will also be some new names for you - who we know you will love as much as we do.

Now, for our final “Best of” we needed to do something special. When we booked Emily Cole on Fostering Change last December for our 200th episode, we knew that we would hear all about the amazing Savannah Bananas baseball team (maybe you’ve been lucky enough to see them in person this season, or at least on ESPN?) as well as their philanthropic effort Bananas Foster, dedicated to Bringing Families Together by focusing on celebrating those who are doing amazing things in the foster care world while educating and inspiring others to get involved. 

Because of all that Emily, her husband Jesse, and the team do for our foster youth, Comfort Cases will award them our special Barbara Harrison Award at our Farm-to-Feast Annual Fundraising event on September 28. This award is given annually to someone who truly is changing the lives of those in the foster care system.

If you would like to celebrate Emily, Jess and many other “Good Humans”, we would love for you to join us on September 28. Tickets are available at https://comfortcases.org/feast/. If you have an item you would like to donate for our live auction, you can also find information on the site.  Our annual fundraiser is held on a beautiful farm in the Maryland countryside.  There will be entertainment by our friends, the Como Brothers, fabulous food and wine, and other surprises.

Emily shares her story with Rob on today’s podcast. We hope you will find it inspiring and motivated to become involved in your community, be it foster care or some other form of charitable act.

To learn more about Bananas Foster, please visit: https://bananasfoster.org/ and visit https://thesavannahbananas.com/ to learn more about the Savannah Bananas Baseball team!

You can follow Emily and the Bananas on Social Media:

Instagram: @EmCole3 @thesavbananas @bananasfosterinc

TikTok: @SavBananas

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSavBananas

To listen to previous episodes of Fostering Change, please visit: www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.

If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write us at [email protected].Thank you for listening and we’ll see you next Tuesday for the start of Season 6 of Fostering Change!!!

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Welcome back to the “Best of Fostering Change: Season 5.”  Today, we revisit what was our final episode of our season - our interview with our good friend, Sarah Fraser.  Sarah is not just a friend - she’s an extremely talented broadcaster as the host of one of the most popular podcasts out there, the eponymously titled, “The Sarah Fraser Show.” 

On her show, Sarah talks about reality TV, interviews unique guests and talks about her own fun life.  She has so much more going on, we highly recommend you follow her on social media (links below) to keep up-to-date!

Many first became aware of Sarah’s talents when she was the co-host of Hot 95.5’s “The Kane Show” in Washington, DC  and then on DC’s 107.3’s “Sarah, Ty, and Mel”.  She was also an entertainment contributor for FOX 5 in DC for 13 years!  

Sarah is also looking to become a foster parent.  She and Rob have a lively discussion about the hoops many need to go through to become a foster parent - and Rob also offers a possible solution to Sarah that she hadn’t considered before.  (You’ll have to listen to the end for this!)

Our final “Best of” episode will post August 27 - we then kick-off Season 6 in September.

If you have any guest suggestions, please let us know. Please each out to us at [email protected]. 

 You can always catch up on previous episodes of all 5 seasons of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.

Thank you again for being such supportive listeners!

Follow Sarah here!

Facebook

@thesarahfrasershow

Instagram

@thesarahfrasershow

Twitter/X

@sarahfrasershow

TikTok

@thesarahfrasershow

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May 1 was the first day of National Foster Care Awareness Month. The team at Comfort Cases wants to take a moment to thank and recognize all of the foster parents, foster families, youth who are currently in foster care and those who have “aged out”. Thank you to the CASAs and the social service agencies and workers who are doing their best.

And thank you to YOU, our faithful (and new) listeners of Fostering Change. We produce this podcast for you and in support of all you are doing. Thank you for your comments and sharing episodes with friends, family and colleagues.

We couldn’t have asked for a better guest for this first episode airing during National Foster Care Awareness Month.  Award-winning journalist Rob Henderson vividly recounts growing up in foster care, enlisting in the Air Force, and surprisingly attending elite universities in his raw coming-of-age memoir, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family and Social Class.

Rob’s book was an instant USA TODAY Best Seller.  In the book and in his interview with Rob Scheer (who is a Navy veteran), he discusses his pioneering concept of “luxury beliefs”: ideas and opinions that confer status on the Upper Class while inflicting costs on the less fortunate.

Rob Henderson was born to a drug-addicted mother and a father he never met, ultimately shuttling between ten different foster homes in California. When he was adopted into a loving family, he hoped that life would finally be stable and safe. Divorce, tragedy, poverty, and violence marked his adolescent and teen years, propelling Henderson to join the military upon completing high school.

An unflinching portrait of shattered families, desperation, and determination, Troubled recounts Henderson’s expectation-defying young life and juxtaposes his story with those of his friends who wound up incarcerated or killed. He retreads the steps and missteps he took to escape the drama and disorder of his youth. As he navigates the peaks and valleys of social class, Henderson finds that he remains on the outside looking in. 

Rob Henderson is a columnist at The Free Press and his weekly newsletter is sent to more than fifty thousand subscribers. Learn more at RobKHenderson.com.

To find out more about:

Visit Rob’s Website and Subscribe to his newsletter: https://www.robkhenderson.com/

Twitter: @robkhenderson 

To learn more about or purchase Troubled, please visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Troubled/Rob-Henderson/9781982168537

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with York Bradshaw, Ph.D. President, Urban Hunger Project, Inc.York Bradshaw had a long career at several universities, where he served as Professor of Sociology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. His academic work focused on improving education and health in cities in both the U.S. and Africa. More recently, he served as an educational consultant and professional grant writer. And he is now President of the Urban Hunger Project.

Urban Hunger Project is a nonprofit organization that serves food to 2,000 homeless and impoverished people each week in the most forgotten neighborhoods of Baltimore City.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ What is the current state of homelessness in Baltimore? And how does it compare to other cities?

🖐️ What does the Urban Hunger Project (UHP) do in light of these concerns?

🖐️ What can citizens do to help feed hungry people and alleviate homelessness?

You can find out more about York by visiting:

Facebook: @urbanhungerproject

Instagram: @urbanhungerproject

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Susan Silverman, a rabbi, writer and activist. She is the author of Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World (Da Capo Press) a memoir that weaves the story of her family, formed through birth and adoption, with Jewish theology and ritual. Susan is the founding director of Second Nurture: Every Child Deserves a Family -- and a Community. Second Nurture partners with communities in LA County and Columbus, OH, to help them prioritize fostering  and adoption from foster care among their member families. While some step forward and foster/adopt, many other members support those families in a variety of meaningful ways leading to more permanent, loving families for the kids who need them.

On June 19, 2nd Nurture is co-hosting a large event in Los Angeles.  It’s titled: “Treasures Not Trash: We Ready to Nurture and Comfort”.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Second Nurture

🖐️ Treasures Not Trash: We Ready to Nurture and Comfort

🖐️ Second Nurture’s Mission and Growth

To register for the “Treasures Not Trash” event on June 19 in Los Angeles, please visit: https://www.2nurture.org/event-details/im-not-garbage

Thank you to our contributing organizations:

SheReady:  

Twitter: @shereadyfound 

 Instagram: @shereadyfoundation

Book Foundation: 

Twitter: @book_foundation 

Instagram: @makegoodinc

Second Nurture: 

Twitter: @2ndNurture   

Instagram: @2ndnurture

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Marcy Bursac, Adoptive Mom, Author, Podcast Host, and App Designer. Foster care adoption was Marcy's Plan A. She and her husband adopted a biological sibling pair. While remote schooling her children during the pandemic, Marcy began to see a gap between adults with a desire to adopt and the 115,000 adoptable children within the United States.

With a heart for those children and a deep desire to take action, Marcy wrote a book, The Forgotten Adoption Option: A How-To and Self-Reflection Guide for Pursuing Foster Care Adoption, and launched a podcast, The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast. After winning the People's Choice Award and placing in the Top 16 at the 2022 United States of America's Mrs. pageant, Marcy created an app (The Forgotten Adoption Option App) to teach 25,000 adoptive families how to get licensed to adopt through foster care.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Marcy learned pageant skills and became USOA Mrs. Ohio to expand the light shining on our country’s 115,000 waiting children.

🖐️ Marcy wrote “Are You a Forever Family?” – a children’s book that creates conversations about who can become a forever family.

🖐️ In teaching and mentoring people around the country, the most frequent question is how to get licensed. Insert The Forgotten Adoption Option App.

You can find out more about Marcy by visiting:

Facebook: Marcy Bursac , USOA Mrs. Ohio , The Forgotten Adoption Option by Marcy Bursac

Instagram: @marcybursac , @usoa.mrsohio , @forgottenadoptionoption

Linkedin: Marcy Bursac ,The Forgotten Adoption Option 

Learn more about Comfort Cases by visiting: https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week's episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks with Nancy Molenda, Executive Director, Mattel Children's Foundation and Mattel Corporate Philanthropy, and Brittany Cruickshank, Senior Specialist, Mattel Children's Foundation and Mattel Corporate Philanthropy.

Everyone at Comfort Cases is thrilled with our new partnership with Mattel. They have kindly donated many hundreds of stuffy's and UNO card games and other assorted items. We look forward to their continued support.

At the Mattel Children's Foundation, play is one of the most powerful ways we can affect meaningful change in kids' lives. So whether it's on the playground, at home, or at one of our many volunteer events, Mattel is committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to play.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Mattel’s Mission

🖐️ Foster Child Awareness Month

🖐️ Play it Forward

You can find out more about Brittany and Nancy by visiting:

Facebook: @mattel

Instagram: @mattel

Twitter: @mattel

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Kate Trambitskaya, Chief Executive Officer, Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children. As Chief Executive Officer, Kate oversees the administration, programs, and strategic plan of Spence-Chapin. Kate began working at Spence-Chapin in 2012, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, General Counsel for the organization. Before coming to Spence-Chapin, Kate was a Senior Team Leader/Attorney for the Family Court Legal Services, Administration for Children’s Services in Brooklyn for six years, representing the Commissioner of Social Services in court and various judicial proceedings. Kate is a Posse Foundation alumna, a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, a member of New York Attorneys for Adoption & Family Formation (NYAAFF), and board member of the National Council For Adoption (NCFA).

Kate received a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and a JD from St. John’s University School of Law.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Adoption and Adoption Services

🖐️ Assistance to Children without Families Living in Institutions Overseas (Our Granny Program)

🖐️ The State of Child Welfare System Locally

You can find out more about Kate by visiting:

Facebook: /spencechapin

Instagram: @spencechapinsvc

Twitter: @SpenceChapinSVC

Tik Tok: spencechapinsvc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spence-chapin

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Rita is a national non-profit public charity executive with extensive national experience in fundraising, grantmaking, strategic planning and organizational management and program growth. Children's social justice issues are always a focus while providing a business environment of accountability and excellence in finance management, marketing, communications, governance and planning on their behalf.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Who does DTFA Serve? 

🖐️ What does Scaled Mean? 

🖐️ More than 11,000+ children have been Adopted from the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program

🖐️ Why are Youth Lingering in Foster Care?

🖐️ DTFA is Celebrating 30 Years as a Foundation

You can find out more about Rita by visiting:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption

Instagram: @dtfa

Twitter: @dtfa

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Leigh Anne Tuohy, Foster Care advocate, Motivational Speaker, NY Times Best Selling author and Interior Designer. Leigh Anne is an interior designer by trade, but her heartbeat is advocating for children at risk of slipping through the cracks of society.  Leigh Anne and her husband Sean live in Memphis, TN. They are the proud parents of daughter Collins, and sons Michael and Sean, Jr.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️ Forever Family Friday

🖐️ Build a Community that Inspires You. Surround Yourself with Others that Want to Make a Difference.

🖐️ Take Action! Purposefully! Get Out of your Comfort Zone. There’s no Overnight Success Story!

You can find out more about Leigh Anne by visiting:

Facebook: @LeighAnneTuohy

Instagram: @LeighAnneTuohy

Twitter: @LeighAnneTuohy

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

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