L to R: Dustin Rhodes, Denny Tester, Chet McKinney, Carol Underwood, Andrea Holt, Paul Michael, Rebecca Patton-Harper, Demetre Phillips
THE SHOALS-If you had to move and only had five minutes to gather your things, what would you take? Would you remember to bring essentials like socks, underwear, and toiletries? Would you grab your favorite toy and pajamas? Now, imagine that you are in this situation as an eight-year-old child. Perhaps you can’t process why you are going to a new home tonight, much less think about what you will need for the days, weeks, or even longer that you are there. When your world changes in an instant, you don’t have time to think.
When children are removed from their home for safety, sometimes there is little notice to gather items for the move. Oftentimes, children placed in foster care do not have clean clothes or basic hygiene items to pack. “I’ve even heard former foster youth say they never had a toothbrush until they entered foster care,” said Andrea Holt, Executive Director of Shoals CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). “Our child welfare system does have resources to help provide some of these items for children; the challenge is that the process may not provide the items immediately. If a child comes into care over the weekend, there could be a delay in helping the foster parent secure the essentials for the child right away.”
Leadership Shoals, a program of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, stepped in to help streamline this process. This program, which allows community members an opportunity to better understand and appreciate the 
Shoals community, also includes a group project participants select to make a positive impact in the Shoals.
“For this year’s project, Leadership Shoals elected to make a positive change in the lives of abused and neglected children by creating the Shoals Shining Light program,” said Chelsea Kauchick, Shoals Chamber Director of Marketing & Leadership Programs. “This project provides children moving into the local foster system with their very own duffel bag packed with age, gender, and size-specific items.” Each bag will include personal hygiene items, essential clothing needs such as underwear and socks and other items that will help the child in the transition.
“When we heard about the children coming into foster care without basic life necessities, it broke our hearts and built the foundation of our project,” reported Tasus Plant Manager and Leadership Shoals participant Denny Tester.
“Many of our Leadership Shoals classmates had some knowledge of the foster care system, so together, we brought a vast amount of resources together to create a plan to benefit the children without duplicating services provided by other agencies,” explained another participant, Mike Randall from Coldwell Pinnacle Properties.
Shoals Shining Light is not possible without the help of individuals and organizations in the community. In addition to the social workers who oversee the cases of each foster child and foster family, several local churches have established a supply of clothing items foster parents can access as needed. Shoals CASA also provides Volunteer Advocates to ensure the needs of foster children are met.
Leadership Shoals participants, along with their companies and support networks, have vowed to ensure this program continues to serve children coming into foster care for as long as necessary. “We didn’t want to create a one-time opportunity to serve children,” said Rebecca Patton-Harper, a member of Leadership Shoals. “Instead, our group worked to create a long-term opportunity for any child in the future to benefit from this project. We want to ensure the pieces are in place to continue this project after our class graduates.”
“April is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month so I can’t think of a better time to bring attention to the needs of children in foster care,” added Holt. “These children are counting on us to help, and this class has created a way to give them that help.” Children coming into foster care range in age from birth to 18 years of age and enter into the system for a variety of reasons. Whether the children stay in foster care for a few weeks or a few years, they each deserve our attention. If you or your business would like to become a partner in the Shoals Shining Light program, visit www.shoalsshininglight.com.
For more information, please contact:
Chelsea Kauchick
Director of Marketing & Leadership Programs
Shoals Chamber of Commerce
256-764-4661
