It is hard to believe that Redwood Children’s Services has been providing foster care and therapeutic services to Lake and Mendocino County children and youth for 18 years.

We started as a small foster family agency with a commitment to doing all that we can do for our local children. We are pleased to now be adding Sonoma County to our Redwood family starting with foster care and soon to expand.

This commitment has been such an amazing and humbling experience with many emotional roller coasters, and so many amazing graduations, family reunifications, successful transitions to keep us committed to being the best possible program and staff to serve the most vulnerable children and youth in our communities.  

I continue to be amazed by the resiliency, honesty and bravery of our children many of whom have suffered poverty, neglect, child abuse, school failure and sometimes personal challenges that would cripple most of us.  

In light of these tremendous obstacles, with a bit of safety, love, direction, and support we have seen hundreds of our youth graduate high school, go to college, join the military, obtain successful steady employment, and start and continue to raise healthy and happy children.

There is no better reward, no better reason, to continue this work in light of the significant stress and struggle in the world of child and youth services.  

These are amazing children and become amazing adults if we can just offer a little bit of love, of security, of guidance, of support; this has been possible mainly due to the commitment and support of our local communities.  

The people of our communities have been strong advocates for programs, policies and resources to build on the strengths of our children and youth.  

The development of our transitional housing programs for young adults, our youth resource centers, the development of foster care services, and our employment and school support programs are all possible because of the investment in time, energy, and funding that you, the community and our public community leaders have given.

Once again, I am asking for your support this holiday season by donating gifts, gift cards or money to help grant the wishes of our many foster youth. Please contact Willow Anderson at 707-467-2010 or use the return envelope enclosed.

I have never forgotten the gift I have been given to live in such a giving community, raise my family, build my own support to others because of the gift of intervention, the gift of healthy adults and a system that helped me to become who I am today.

Thank you so much for remembering and supporting our children and youth. They could be your neighbors, your children’s friends or in your local churches. Thank you for doing your part to help … it makes a difference … we have served over 5,000 children and youth in foster care services and continue to be committed to serving our community children.

Camille Schraeder is executive director of Redwood Children’s Services Inc., based in Ukiah, Calif.