We're in it together!
Step by Step is a small 501(c3) non-profit, but when we could, we've always helped other organizations that also help disadvantaged WV communities and families.
The WV Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Network
The Network
mobilizes foster
and adoptive
parents to come to the legislature and make their voices heard. In this case, it was a bill that would have privatized important foster care functions
What is this? The organization was created in early 2019 to build a statewide network of foster, adoptive, and kinship families so they could speak in a collective voice.
WV families typically have not been at the table when important policy and program decisions were made in the past. The network will give families a platform and a collective voice, so they can work together and be heard on issues related to foster care and adoption.
Working together, parents can support and advocate for our kids much more effectively.
Want to get involved?
The facebook page brings you updates of issues and events. You'll find opportunities
to help.
Please share it with your own network. Help get the word out to every WV foster, adoptive, and kinship family!
Contact: Marissa Sanders
sandersmarissawv@gmail.com
Volunteers gather stories of survivors of abuse and other trauma for healing, peer support and community witness. Lighthouse presents at conferences, the legislature, and within community programs.
Contact: Michael Tierney, 304 941 3280
Since 1995, Step by Step has helped 15 community organizations get started, expand, start new projects or get over rough spots: providing staff help, fiscal sponsorship and/or management help.
As a VISTA/AmeriCorps hub, Step by Step has helped an additional 10 organizations get rolling, by assigning VISTA or AmeriCorps workers to help them with work that fits into Step by Step goals.
So, over the years, by giving a hand to other organizations, Step by Step has had a greater impact than anything we could have done as a single organization.
Testifying at the
legislature, giving
parents a voice.
a statewide advocacy group for West Virginia families
caring for kids who can't live with thebiological parents.
See box at right.
Get involved! Help build a voice for families in public
policy decisions affecting our kids! Contact: Marissa
Sanders, sandersmarissawv@gmail.com
Step by Step is proud to currently sponsor:
WV Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Network,
Institute for Geri Olympics and Active Living.
These folks provide recreation workshops for seniors, particularly those who live in nursing homes. They also sponsor an annual statewide competition in South
Charleston.
The 30-year old program has
inspired similar initiatives in Scotland
and the Czech republic. Step by Step
has sponsored it since DATE
For more information, contact:
Ted Muilenburg: htm406@aol.com
Financial Literacy Boot-Camp. Just
what the name says! Literacy education to prepare students to function well with their finances after (and maybe before) they leave school. The Boot-Camp and the following months give students practical skills in handling and growing money, mortgages, homes, and other investments.
Contact Mavery Davis: maverydaviscpa@gmail.com
What does sponsorship entail? As a sponsor, Step by Step provides fiscal support, liability insurance and the oversight of our staff and Board of Directors. At the same time, we recognize the advisory groups of the sponsored organization as the leads in charting the future of their organization.
The Lighthouse Project.
Over the years, Step by Step helped start:
Lincoln County Family Resource Center
Lincoln County Counseling Project (get real name)
APPALREAD
Family Leadership First
Lincoln County Girls Resiliancy Program
Concord Student Literacy Corps
The West Virginia Activist Archives
Bonner Scholars Program, Concord College
Lincoln County Starting Points Center
Lincoln County Energy Express
Families Leading Change
Step by Step VISTAs and AmeriCorps volunteers helped these groups keep going:
Try This West Virginia
Cafe Appalachia
Childrens Health Insurance Program
Rock Lake Community Center
United Methodist Community Development Outreach
Ministries (CDOM)
Southern Appalachian Labor School
East End Family Enrichment Center
ABLE Families (Mingo County)
Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center