CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio _ Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for kids in foster homes, one picture can be worth even more _ it could just be the push they need to find a permanent family.
Caring for Kids held its annual My Time to Shine! event on Monday to help raise the profile of foster kids living in Summit and Cuyahoga counties and take their photos professionally at Roberts Middle School in Cuyahoga Falls.
Caring for Kids is a nonprofit based in Cuyahoga Falls that provides foster care, adoption and birth parent services. The organization works with Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruiters to help place children available for adoption in a forever home.
Molly Woods, a social worker with Caring for Kids, said she came up with the event when browsing through profiles of children available for adoption in Summit County.
"The kids with the wonderful photos stood out, and it seemed like a disservice to those who didn't have the wonderful photos," Woods said.
Woods set out to create an event where children could have their photos professionally taken. In three years, it has grown into a gathering involving Summit County Children Services and Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services for not only pictures, but fun for the kids.
Nearly 35 foster children were spread throughout the school and photographed in front of different backdrops set up by volunteers. Some posed in front of tulle or graffiti backgrounds, while others preferred natural scenery and sprawled out on the grass or in front of a bridge.
Before being photographed, the kids got the full salon treatment with free haircuts from Beyond Expectations Barber College, hairstyling and manicures. Beforehand, each received a $25 gift card to a clothing store to pick out a new outfit for the photo shoot.
Alexis, 15, sat in a chair smiling as a stylist curled her hair into shoulder-length ringlets. (The kids' last names were not allowed to be used for privacy reasons.)
"It's fun here, but it's a little overwhelming. I see a lot of people I don't know," she said. "I just want to be with a family who will always be there for me and love me no matter what."
"Every time I come here, I pretty much have a lot of fun. ... I just recommend it to a lot of kids that don't come," said Jeremiah, 14. "I just want little brothers and sisters."
While the kids waited for photographers, they had a chance to have some fun at a video game truck and a bite to eat from the Betty's Bomb Ass Burgers food truck.
Lena Brown, the owner of the restaurant, said her sister was adopted when she was 11. For Christmas, her sister asked for a little sister. Brown was born on Dec. 23, and her parents adopted her and brought her home Christmas Day.
"I definitely wanted to be a part of this," Brown said. "Anything with kids and giving them a little brightness in their life."
For many of the volunteers there, adoption services held a special place in their hearts. Mark Miller, a volunteer photographer, adopted both of his children through Caring for Kids.
"I was just looking for a way to give something back to the agency," Miller said. "It's a good way for [the kids] to get an opportunity that a lot of them would probably never get. It's things like this that can help show them there are people in the community who care."
Jill Davies, the director of domestic adoptions at Caring for Kids, said there's been a large influx of kids in need of foster homes in the past year, which she attributes to the drug epidemic.
Brent Hite, a home-finding recruiter for Summit County Children Services, said more than 2,000 children in Summit County are receiving their services. Of those 2,000, about 600 are in their custody. There are currently around 50 children who are available for adoption.
For more information on foster care and adoption, call 330-379-1990, or visit www.summitkids.org.
