A Finding Families Adoption and Foster Care Conference in Columbia on Oct. 26 is open to anyone interested in helping his or her church be more active in serving the needs of foster children in South Carolina.
The conference will be held at Christian Life Church, 2700 Bush River Road, Columbia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint will host the event.
The conference is free, but registration is required. Visit www.demint.senate.gov and click on the Finding Families logo. Lunch and refreshments are available for $12 per person.
Rhonda Littleton, minister of children at First Baptist Church, Simpsonville, said the conference is designed to “get more churches involved with the need of reaching out to children in foster care in our state.”
This year, Hope for Orphans to South Carolina will be the conference keynote. Hope for Orphans is a nationally known organization of professionals dedicated to equipping churches with information and very practical “how-to’s” as they seek to fulfill the call of James 1:27. The organization has helped develop successful partnerships with social services, non-profits and churches in other states to further the goal of “no waiting child.”
As of mid-September, there were approximately 3,300 children in the South Carolina foster care system. Of that number, 530 are immediately eligible for adoption. Between 300 and 400 children “age out” of the system each year without knowing the permanency and love of a “forever family.”