Avoyelles says 'Thanks' to foster parents

 

      Just because the biological parents  are unable or unwilling to care for their child does not remove that child’s need for parents.

Those special individuals who believe that and live that are known as “foster parents.” May is Foster Parent Appreciation Month, and organizations involved in the care of children in need took time out to honor those special people with an appreciation luncheon this past Thursday (May 14).

     “There are about 66 foster children from Avoyelles Parish,” Department of Children & Family Services area director Diane Dubroc said. “We have about 22 foster parents in the parish.”

      Children in need of foster care may be assigned to foster parents in another nearby parish.

     While there have been many outstanding individuals who have served as parent to someone else’s child, perhaps the best known is a man whose fiancee became pregnant but accepted her and the child as his family. He raised the son and taught him a trade. The son followed his foster father’s footsteps, taking over as the village’s carpenter before embarking on His real Father’s mission for His life. 

      The history of mankind would have been greatly different had Joseph, a carpenter in Nazareth -- a village in what is now northern Israel -- made a different decision over 2,000 years ago.

      The foster parents honored at last Thursday’s luncheon may not be responsible for such world-changing events, but they have done what they can to change the world of those young ones who are entrusted into their care -- whether it is for a few months, a year or, in many cases, as new members of the family through adoption.

      “Being a foster father means the world to me,” Matthew McGee, of Marksville, said. “I love being a part of a kid’s life who needs guidance and love.”

      McGee said he works with the state Department of Corrections “and everyday I see young men who didn’t have the proper guidance and family life when they were growing up.”

     McGee and his wife Mary have been foster parents for about five years and have fostered five children. They adopted their last foster child, a 4-year-old son.

     McGee’s oldest daughter is 26 and teaching kindergarten in Dallas, but the McGees don’t mind the wide range in their children’s ages. He has another son and daughter in between.

      Wendy Guillot of Marksville has been a foster mother for four years and has had seven children in her home.

    “We had one for a year, and it almost broke our heart when he had to go,” she said. “He went to live with his grandparents, so he’s with family and is well taken care of. We still visit him.” She said she and her husband “bring these children into our home as our own.”

This past year, they adopted a 2-year-old boy that was in their care.

     McGee also said it’s hard to say good-bye once a child has become part of your family, but it’s part of the job of being a foster parent.

    “I was out trick-or-treating with my youngest,” McGee said, “when all of a sudden I saw a boy running across the field as fast as he could go.” It was one of his former foster sons.

      "He said, ‘Hi Dad’ and threw his arms around me,” McGee continued. “It just about melted my heart. I almost started crying right there.”