West NY News

During the holiday season, Hillcrest Church and Hillcrest Preschool demonstrated remarkable generosity by collecting donations for foster families in Chautauqua County. The contributions, including handmade holiday cards, blankets, toys, and more, brought joy to over 40 families and highlighted the ongoing need for foster homes in the community.

Audra Moeller, Senior Caseworker for the Home Finding Team at the Department of Social Services, expressed her gratitude: “We received an abundance of donations made by members of the congregation and students of the preschool. The contributions included handmade holiday cards, gift cards, blankets, stuffed animals, hygiene items, books, toys, games, hats, scarves, gloves, Bibles, and gift bags to package the items. These heartfelt donations were collected with our Chautauqua County foster families in mind. It was such a heartwarming outpouring of support for our local foster families who sacrifice so much on a daily basis for the youth in our county.”

A touching moment was shared by a preschool director when a young student donated a cherished stuffed animal. Before placing it under the donation tree, the child said goodbye to it with love.

Hillcrest Church’s lead pastor emphasized these efforts' significance: “Anything we can do to encourage more support for foster families is a win.”

Thanks to this generosity from Hillcrest community members over 40 foster families received extra holiday joy. Currently Chautauqua County has 66 certified foster homes consisting of both regular non-relative homes and kinship homes where caregivers have pre-existing relationships or are relatives.

Foster homes play an essential role in providing temporary care for children removed from their families due to various challenges endangering their safety. These children range from infancy up to age 18 often having special needs or being part of sibling groups kept together whenever possible.

Chautauqua County residents interested in fostering can attend an orientation session on February 3 at Bemus Point Methodist Church without needing prior registration. Those unable to attend but seeking information may contact Audra Moeller via email or phone as detailed above; additional resources are available online through county services' website.