Ministry continues to serve foster, kinship families at Union Station
Congregants of a West Liberty area church came together during the holiday season to give generously and bless a local ministry and area foster and kinship families in the New Year, surpassing a goal of raising $15,000 for a special Christmas Challenge.
Sunday, Jan. 15, Quest Community Church presented a donation of $21,072.25 to board members of Raising Arrows, a ministry housed at Union Station, 613 Hamilton St. The non-profit organization, founded in the spring of 2021, offers families with clothing and shoes to outfit their foster and kinship children, along with furniture and other supplies, all free of charge.
“The money being donated by Quest is a huge blessing to us,” Raising Arrows co-founder and board member Crystal Burgel said. “It will cover our rent for all of 2023, plus leave plenty of money for the items we buy brand new (cribs, car seats, bunk beds, diapers, socks and underwear).
“It will also allow us to host events this year. We would also like to do some additional things in 2023, such as start support groups for foster and kinship families and provide scholarships for foster/kinship kids to attend summer camps.”
Quest Community Church has hosted the Christmas Challenge for more than 10 years, alternating between local ministries and global ministries through the idea started by founding Pastors Bill and Mary Walker. Attendees are challenged to donate money that they would normally spend on Christmas gifts.
Raising Arrows originated from several local families, who also serve in this important role of foster and kinship care. Cable area residents Mrs. Burgel and her husband, Shane, noted when foster children enter their home, they arrive “with only the clothes on their backs.”
“We usually would have to go shopping right away, even for essentials like toothbrushes and toothpaste,” Mrs. Burgel said in a previous Examiner article during Raising Arrow’s opening.
Her family learned of a similar program called Seeds of Hope in Troy that provides clothing and other items for foster families. She would pack up her family to make the one-hour trip to that location.
“On one of our many trips there, I had the thought that, ‘Maybe we could start something like this a little closer to home?’ I know there’s so many other families who have a similar need.
“Little did I know that God had placed this dream on other people’s hearts at the same time.”
Mrs. Burgel said she posted on Facebook about her idea and got a quick response from Nicki Kimball, who said, “I just had a dream about doing this.”
A fellow foster parent, Katie Krabill, also told her that she had been in talks with area foster care agencies about offering this type of ministry.
While starting out small in the Burgels’ garage in April 2021, Raising Arrows quickly grew its inventory through many generous area donors and moved into Union Station that June.
Now Raising Arrows Board members include these three women, along with fellow members Jodi Montgomery, Kim Cline, Nikki Blair and Megan Kandel.
In the New Year, the non-profit organization is busy moving into an even larger space within Union Station, adjacent to its former room, and is looking forward to expanding its programming through the funding boost.
“The Christmas Challenge also has been so wonderful in that it’s brought us more volunteers as well,” Mrs. Burgel said. “We now have a group of ladies who come in each week to help with whatever tasks we might have for them.
“We’ll be moving all of our items into the new space, which will have even more shelves and will be a great set up our for families to be able to ‘shop’ for items.”
Last year, Raising Arrows served approximately 371 children, providing 211 bags of clothing, 10 bunk beds, 13 pack N plays, 28 car seats and 10 toddler beds. Many other supplies and child and infant items were offered to foster and kinship care families as well, from diapers to wipes, blankets, bottles, thermometers, bibs, blankets, baby monitors, high chairs, strollers and more.
In addition to the physical items given away, the ministry was also able to offer special programming in 2022 for foster and kinship families, hosting a Carnival & Lunch (75 people attended), a Back to School Bash & Dinner (83 people attended), evening at the Splash Pad in West Liberty, a pool party at the Bellefontaine Municipal Pool, and a Mom’s Brunch (20 moms and 50 plus kids), along with providing Christmas for 30 kinship children.
The organization’s Facebook page “Raising Arrows Ohio” is a “great place for people to see what we are doing, to reach out if they are a foster or kinship family and would like to get connected,” Mrs. Burgel said.
An Amazon Wish List is is available at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1UDOV30S037VK?ref_=wl_share, where people can see/shop for items for the ministry.