Fostering Dreams Dallas

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Check out Vallery’s Feature in Voyage Dallas!

Fostering Dreams Dallas

From Voyage Dallas http://voyagedallas.com/interview/meet-vallery-mitchell-fostering-dreams-foundation-dfw-metroplex-surronding-cities/

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vallery Mitchell.

Vallery, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a 24 year old Dallas Native. I was removed from my biological mother at birth due to testing positive for drugs as well as fetal alcohol syndrome. Statistics said I shouldn’t have made it out of the womb. During the five years I spend in foster care, doctors and caregivers said I had Special Needs, I wouldn’t be able to talk correctly, I wouldn’t be able walk without braces on my legs, I was too aggressive and that I had mental health issues. At the age of 5, I was adopted by forever family that loved me because of my differences and not in spite of them. I was raised by a loving family and I am so grateful for everything my adoptive family has done for me. I graduated from Canterbury Episcopal College Preparatory (Go Cougars!) in 2012. I graduated from Midwestern State University (Go Mustangs!) with a degree in Criminal Justice in May of 2016. In September of 2015 I started Volley for the Children, a nonprofit that throws charity volleyball tournaments to raise for foster care shelters. Volley for the Children also raised funds for athletes that wanted to play club volleyball but needed financial assistance doing so. This year I changed the organizations name to Fostering Dreams Foundation so that our supporters could have a clear understanding of what we do. I am currently in graduate school seeking a Masters of Public Administration. My life revolves around making sure children are safe and protecting them from people that cause them harm. I love raising awareness about the foster care system. My ultimate goal is help re-create the foster care policies and making a child’s stay in care a bit easier.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a pretty smooth road for Fostering Dreams Foundation. Whatever issues came about, the team resolved. Our biggest problem is, of course, getting people to donate.

Fostering Dreams Foundation – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Fostering Dreams Foundation purpose is to help children in foster care system achieve normalcy through support and sponsorship. We host charity events to raise funds and items for children in foster care and emergency shelters. We fund extracurricular activities that foster children would like to participate in but their foster families cannot afford. We host events that allow foster children to enjoy themselves at no expense to the foster family. The main thing that sets Fostering Dreams Foundation apart from others is the fact that we service the foster care system. Fostering Dreams is known for the events that are thrown in deep ellum as well as the events we put on specifically for foster parents and youth.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Fostering Dreams Foundation hosted a Foster Parent Night out event on 8/17/2018 and it was absolutely amazing! Fostering Dreams Foundation with help from the Waxahachie YMCA was able to provide free child care so that foster parents could enjoy some time to themselves. Fostering Dreams Foundation also provided each foster parent couple a gift card for them to have dinner. The foster parents stated they had never experienced such an amazing experience and they look forward to future events from Fostering Dreams Foundation.

Pricing:

  • Fostering Dreams Foundations accepts Donations all year.

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