OKLAHOMA CITY – A lot of families have used this Thanksgiving weekend to put up those Christmas decorations.
But sadly, it isn’t the most wonderful time of the year for the thousands of kids in foster care in Oklahoma.
That’s why the group of lawyers giving them a voice in the courtroom are hoping to give them a little something extra this year, and they’d love your help.
You may remember DeMarco Davis. He was the kind-hearted kid with a camera on KFOR’s “A Place to Call Home.”
He entered DHS custody when he was 9, spending Christmas with foster families year after year. “You kind of feel like, even though you’re spending time with a family, it brings you back to ‘this isn`t my actual family,'” Davis said.
“These kids, life’s been hard for them, and it’s going to be hard,” Oklahoma Lawyers for Children CEO Tsinena Bruno-Thompson said.
Oklahoma Lawyers for Children is the non-profit that provides legal representation to abused and neglected children in DHS care.
But this year, they’re also playing Santa. They’ve been gathering wish lists from kids 14 to 18 years old currently in DHS care.
“We wanted to focus on the older foster youth this year, particularly the kids who are in permanent custody that are going to be aging out without a forever home,” Bruno-Thompson said.
DeMarco aged out of foster care but still found a forever family, and he got to open Christmas gifts with them last year.
“Just to know they were bought for me and by someone who cares for me, it just overfilled my heart,” Davis said.
Now he’s working as a peer mentor with OLFC, and he’s all over this project! OLFC is asking for your help. They need “angels” to fulfill all these wishes for kids who have gone through so much.
“They`re going to be our neighbors so anything we can do to help them be more successful is good for our community, and it’s good for them,” Bruno-Thompson said.
These kids are asking for “older” gifts than toys. A lot of them are asking for dress clothes as they prepare to enter the workforce. OLFC will be packaging and delivering the gifts the second week of December.
If you’d like to make a donation or pick up a wish list, contact tthompson@olfc.org or ddavis@olfc.org. You can also call the organization (405) 232-4453.
