A Unique Opportunity to Help Teens in Foster Care
Family & Youth Initiative is a caring supportive community of adults and teens. And the only DC area organization focused exclusively on helping teens in foster care make lifelong connections with caring adults.
We match youth with host parents and mentors, and help them find adoptive families.
Join us if you want to be a mentor, host parent, or adoptive parent. While the path to each is a little different, they all include attending events, a program orientation, training, and completing background clearances.
Not sure yet what you want to do? That's perfectly fine. Start participating and get to know us and the DCFYI teens as you decide.
Program events (at least one a month) bring adults and teens together to have fun and get to know each other. Adult-teen matches whether for mentoring, host parenting or adoption are made based on relationships that form naturally through the events.
Adults develop relationships with many teens, not just the one they get matched with. Those relationships are an important part of the DCFYI “village.”
Want to see for yourself? Please join us for an upcoming program event.
Where else could you get together with a great group of people for interesting activities and help change the lives of wonderful youth?
Every month Family & Youth Initiative holds events to bring together teens and adults to share an activity and have fun. Large events are open to everyone. Small events offer adults and teens an opportunity to get to know each other better.
We welcome adults who are at any stage of getting involved to join us for events: get to know DCFYI youth and learn from and develop supportive relationships with other adult volunteers.
Dates of all events are on the DCFYI calendar.
All events have the same purpose: to foster relationships that will lead to adult-teen connections and result in matching teens with mentors and host and adoptive parents.
Almost anything that appeals to teens and adults, allowing everyone to get to know each other while having fun. Some of our favorite large group activities:
- Bowling;
- Scavenger hunts;
- Playing games (we’re pretty competitive);
- Annual birthday party for all program participants;
- Annual holiday party;
- Summer pool parties;
- Kayaking.
And favorite small group activities:
- Cooking (we do lots of cooking);
- Playing games;
- Craft projects.
The DCFYI events are FUN, and have exposed me to a range of institutions and places I did not know existed.
- DCFYI Mentor
Join us.