Written by Makayla Malotte // Photo provided by Makayla Malotte
The process of adopting or fostering proves to be difficult in many situations. Supporting a child requires thousands of dollars, and this limits the number of families who are able to foster or adopt. Fortunately, organizations exist to ease such a financial burden.
Located in Searcy, Imagine and Believe strives to give foster families the peace of mind to be able to get clothing, furniture, toiletries and several other things at no expense.
Originally called “Searcy Foster Care Boutique,” this nonprofit organization is purely volunteer-based, and every item and dollar that is donated goes toward helping families and giving back to them.
Founder of Imagine and Believe Christine Faith said the task of starting the organization was daunting to begin with.
“I remember asking God, ‘How are we going to fill this room with clothes?’ And look at where we are now,” Faith said.
What started in a small office has recently relocated to a bigger facility and is now growing its inventory and starting to get donations daily. Organizations across Searcy like Harding University, Cloverdale Church of Christ and various other businesses have started donating to this organization, giving item donations and volunteering their time to help organize and give their support to this cause.
Each donation goes through a process to make sure each item is there to support families with what they are doing and to help them feel that support. The process and organization used in the shop ensures that parents can go in and grab whatever they need.
Once a month, Imagine and Believe hosts a dinner for foster families and adoptive parents to come in and have a nice meal, do some shopping in the boutique and interact with other families and to hear their stories.
Faith said the goal in organizing various events is to bring together families involved with foster care.
“The dream that is made in my heart is the connections it will make between foster and adoptive families with each other,” Faith said.
Those at Imagine and Believe hope that in the future, they can host a retreat for both foster and adoptive parents to teach them about a condition called “vicarious trauma.” This is when the foster parents start taking the emotional stress that the child has gone through, which can make it difficult for both the parent and the child to process while they are still going through their case. Allowing parents to come together and heal from those experiences is a moment that Imagine and Believe wants to work toward.
In the state of Arkansas, almost 5,000 kids are going through the childcare system without homes or a loving family to go to at the end of the day. Imagine and Believe is always looking for volunteers or people willing to donate to this project. Dr. Devin Swindle, director of the Center for Preaching, said Imagine and Believe is invaluable to families wanting to foster.
“Imagine and Believe helps take away the concern with people asking, ‘How can we afford this?’ Swindle said. “That’s because places like Imagine and Believe can help you.”
Swindle, who has fostered children in the past, said having a place in town that offers help has been beneficial to him and his wife.
“We would go over there and by the grace of God through these people, we could get the things we needed to make sure our little boys could have what they needed,” Swindle said.
Sarah Knight, who was quoted in Searcy Living Magazine, acknowledged that fostering is not easy, and that organizations that provide help are crucial to the process.
“I know fostering isn’t easy, and I just wanted to say thank you to the many people who give themselves to this mission, either directly through being actual foster parents, or indirectly such as those who in various ways support organizations like Imagine and Believe,” Knight said in the article.
