It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves: “What is the meaning of life?” Discovering why we are here and the purpose of our existence is an important and powerful journey that can influence our happiness and contentment.

When you listen to the incredible individuals who care for children and teens in foster care, it seems like they have an answer. Helping kids is their purpose in life and gives meaning to their days.

If you are searching for meaning in life, there are kids in crisis waiting right now who need someone to care for them. There are more than 400,000 children and teens in the United States foster care system. These are children who have experienced child abuse, severe neglect and other serious family challenges.

Watch this video below to hear from real foster and adoptive parents. They share why they decided to help children in this way and what personal rewards they have experienced.

Finding Joy

So many times, people think that foster parenting is hard. It is. It is also one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. Being a parent to a child, even temporarily, can bring so much joy into your life.

What is the meaning of life? It’s helping a child who was never taught how to brush their teeth be able to learn how to do that. It’s getting a hug from a child who didn’t trust you at first but now knows that you are a safe space. It’s helping a teenager navigate the many decisions they face in high school and as they prepare for college or other vocational training.

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Many people have worries about caring for children in foster care. Be secure in knowing that KVC helps to train you with the skills you need to parent, handle difficult challenges and be successful in helping children. We provide 24/7 support in times of crisis and in times of happiness.

What is the meaning of life? It’s realizing that your heart was aching to help other people, and finding a way to do it. It’s sharing your empty bedrooms for a child who needs one today.

A Place to Belong

Children who need a home simply want a place to belong — a place to feel safe, secure and loved, where they know that every day they will have food to eat and someone to care for them.

As a foster parent, you can provide that. You can also receive that sense of belonging and support. There are many support groups, expert panels and a community of people who have fostered children right alongside you. At our recent KVC Resource Family Conference held in December 2018, our Chief Clinical Officer Chad Anderson asked the room of resource families — a term used to describe relative caregivers and foster rand adoptive families — how long they have been foster parents. Hands stayed up for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, and all the way up to 50 years!

What is the meaning of life? It’s finding a place to belong. There are people, right in your community, who have walked in your shoes. They have experienced the challenges and struggles you may feel through foster parenting. They have also found the meaning of life: a purpose that comes from helping others.

Get Involved

Talk to one of our foster parent recruiters today! KVC cares for nearly 7,000 children in foster care each year across Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska and West Virginia. Our foster parent recruiters can help answer any questions you have, share some experiences and help you determine if foster parenting is right for you. Contact us.