Teen shopping is an annual event hosted by Child Crisis Arizona’s Foster Care and Adoption program. It gives teens who are in foster, adoptive or kinship homes the opportunity to shop for the holidays.
Each teen is given a Target gift card and paired up with a volunteer to shop with. The gift cards can be used for anything they choose, although every teen uses it as an opportunity to buy gifts for their foster/adoptive parents, birth parents, and siblings.
On Saturday, 54 teens were able to shop for the holidays. Teens and volunteers meet at Child Crisis Arizona, for breakfast and to plan their shopping experience. The shopping teams get to know each other while looking through ads before heading to the store. After all of the purchases are made, everyone returns for lunch and to wrap their presents. This year, Teen Shopping would not have been possible without Beth Gessler and the employees at ScanSource Catalyst in Tempe. Thank you for donating $3,500 in gift cards!
A majority of the volunteers for teen shopping are currently in the licensing and certification process to become foster or adoptive parents. This event gives prospective parents the opportunity to spend time with teens in foster care. There are many misconceptions regarding teens in foster care, sometimes leading to a negative reputation and leaving many without a home. In Arizona, there are more than 3,500 teens in out-of-home care. Approximately a third of those teens are placed in group homes because there will be no foster homes with beds available.
Alexis, a former Child Crisis Arizona foster child, lived with her foster parents for 10 years before aging out of the system. She is currently doing well, attending college, and is invited back to the Teen Shopping event each year. Alexis is passionate about explaining the importance of individuals being open to fostering and adopting teens. “Foster children are no different than non-foster children. Yes, some may go through rough circumstances but ultimately it is not their fault. We all can agree that events in our lives make us who we are today. So let’s invite these teens into homes where they can have positive life experiences and time to change and heal their broken hearts. Remember, it’s just like raising your own kids; it’s not easy but it is very rewarding,” says Alexis.
There are 3,500 teens out there waiting for families, to learn more about foster care, attend a foster care and adoption orientation.
