Spring 2012 Fostering Hope Newsletter - COBYS Family Services
Spring 2012 Fostering Hope Newsletter - COBYS Family Services
Spring 2012 Fostering Hope Newsletter - COBYS Family Services
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong><br />
SPRING <strong>2012</strong> VOLUME 22, NUMBER 1<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> Supportive Relationships<br />
Is This Couple’s Specialty<br />
Matt and Marie Cooper came to<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong> in 2008,<br />
intending to adopt a son. They<br />
ended up “adopting” not only a<br />
son, but the parents of the foster<br />
children they have provided care<br />
for since then.<br />
“I love the mothers almost as<br />
much as I love the kids,” Marie<br />
explains. “I just see the struggles<br />
that they have grown up with, and<br />
I can empathize with them. I can<br />
understand how difficult if would<br />
be to make good choices.”<br />
Matt, a longtime science<br />
teacher at Lampeter-Strasburg<br />
High School, actually had felt<br />
called for some time to get<br />
involved in caring for kids, but<br />
Marie was hesitant. Finally, after<br />
nearly a decade of wrestling with<br />
a call, Marie heard a sermon on<br />
sharing abundance. “It clicked<br />
with me that we had an<br />
abundance of love in our home,”<br />
she recalls.<br />
They also had an idyllic setting<br />
for kids on their 5.5-acre Strasburg<br />
Township farmette, where horses<br />
roam the pasture, dogs and cats<br />
rub against your legs, and a<br />
swimming pool provides summer<br />
respite.<br />
Already parents of four<br />
biological children, Matt and<br />
Marie were approved as <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
resource parents in September<br />
2008. They thought they would<br />
adopt one nine-year-old boy.<br />
Instead, three-year-old Luis came<br />
into their lives in<br />
February 2009 and<br />
became their adopted<br />
son on April 1, 2010.<br />
“After that, we felt we<br />
were called to do<br />
more,” says Marie.<br />
In January 2010 that<br />
call to do more began<br />
to take shape through a<br />
telephone call from a<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> resource home<br />
coordinator,<br />
asking whether the Coopers<br />
would welcome a newborn boy,<br />
who needed a home immediately.<br />
Marie called Matt at school, Matt<br />
said, “Go for it,” and two hours<br />
later Marie brought little Zameer<br />
home from the hospital.<br />
Matt sent an e-mail around to<br />
friends and colleagues at school,<br />
asking for items to care for a baby,<br />
and they were in business.<br />
Marie says she could tell<br />
Matt & Marie Cooper (above) have<br />
become much more than foster<br />
parents for Zameer (left) and his<br />
mother, Bianca.<br />
immediately by the way Zameer<br />
was dressed that he had a mother<br />
who loved him, and her hunch<br />
was confirmed when Zameer’s<br />
mother, Bianca, brought pumped<br />
breast milk to their first visit a short<br />
time later. Outgoing Bianca made<br />
an even better impression in<br />
person. And the positive vibes<br />
were mutual.<br />
“When I first met Marie,” Bianca<br />
(continued on page three)<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 1
Mission Statement<br />
Motivated by Christian faith, <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
<strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong> educates, supports,<br />
and empowers children and adults<br />
to reach their full potential.<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Whit Buckwalter, President<br />
Tom Weber, Vice-President<br />
Rose Walmer, Secretary<br />
Gail Graybill Carson, Treasurer<br />
Pamela Ament Arthur Kreider<br />
Wendy Egolf John Layman<br />
Nancy Fittery John Wise<br />
Debra Krantz<br />
Administrative Staff<br />
Mark Cunningham, Executive<br />
Director<br />
Mary Sourber, Director of Placement<br />
<strong>Services</strong><br />
Donald Fitzkee, Director of<br />
Development<br />
Cynthia Umberger, Controller<br />
Bethany Kauffman-Raub, Office<br />
Manager<br />
Janae Sauder, Adoption Supervisor<br />
Michele Romeo Martin, Supervisor of<br />
Counseling <strong>Services</strong><br />
Abby Keiser, <strong>Family</strong> Life Education<br />
Supervisor<br />
Sharon Kingsley, Foster Care<br />
Supervisor<br />
Nicole Schwartz, Permanency Unit<br />
Supervisor<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> is the quarterly<br />
newsletter of <strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong>,<br />
a Christian family service agency,<br />
affiliated with the Atlantic Northeast<br />
District of the Church of the Brethren.<br />
Editor/Designer: Donald R. Fitzkee<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong><br />
1417 Oregon Road<br />
Leola, PA 17540<br />
Phone: 717-656-6580<br />
800-452-6517<br />
Fax: 717-656-3056<br />
www.cobys.org<br />
Embracing Our Christian Identity<br />
Last fall, consultant Geoff Davis, of Conversations (and of Hempfield<br />
Church of the Brethren, where he serves as an associate pastor) led<br />
the staff of the <strong>COBYS</strong> leadership team and six board members<br />
through three half-day sessions of strategic planning. The goal was to<br />
evaluate where we are as an organization and determine directions<br />
for the future.<br />
A 30-page document containing a number of<br />
insights resulted from those meetings, which will help<br />
move us forward for the next five years. While<br />
specific goals for <strong>COBYS</strong> came out of the<br />
discussions, the underlying theme that permeated<br />
the entire process was a strong desire for <strong>COBYS</strong> to<br />
be an organization that embraces and celebrates<br />
our Christian identity.<br />
As a first step in implementing our Strategic Plan,<br />
at its January meeting the Board of Directors reaffirmed our mission<br />
statement: “Motivated by Christian faith, <strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong><br />
educates, supports, and empowers children and adults to reach their<br />
full potential.” Additionally, the board approved new core values to<br />
further define what kind of organization we are and aspire to be:<br />
Core Values<br />
• Life is Sacred. Believing that all people are created in the image of<br />
God, we recognize the inherent worth of each client by exhibiting<br />
empathy, compassion, and respect.<br />
• Integrity. We strive to be honest, authentic, and trustworthy in saying<br />
what we mean, matching our behaviors to our words, and taking<br />
responsibility for our actions.<br />
• Faith. Jesus is Lord of our organization. We trust him to provide for our<br />
ministry’s needs and to empower transformation in our own lives and<br />
in the lives of those we serve.<br />
• Teamwork. Respecting our unique contributions, we value and care<br />
for each other, both personally and professionally, and enjoy working<br />
and growing together.<br />
• Servanthood. Servant leadership is reflected perfectly in the life and<br />
person of Jesus Christ. We seek to integrate the highest standards of<br />
professionalism with Christ’s example of joyful service.<br />
You may have noticed that the first letters of our core values form<br />
the acronym LIFTS, which can remind us how we seek to help our<br />
clients rise above their circumstances. (I would have preferred to list<br />
Faith first as the foundational value, but somehow “FLITS” didn’t seem<br />
quite as inspirational.)<br />
While we don’t always take ourselves too seriously, we do take our<br />
Christian vocation seriously. It is my expectation that everything we do<br />
and hope to be comes out of our relationship with and calling from<br />
God. It’s a high calling, but one that we are committed to living out.<br />
Mark Cunningham, Executive Director<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 2
(continued from page one)<br />
recalls, “she just came up to me<br />
and gave me this hug and said<br />
everything was going to be fine.”<br />
The Coopers made it their<br />
goal not only to foster Zameer,<br />
but to foster a supportive<br />
relationship with Bianca. During<br />
the nine months Zameer was in<br />
their home, Matt and Marie<br />
regularly texted updates and<br />
pictures to Bianca.<br />
Marie gave Bianca her phone<br />
number and they began daily<br />
phone conversations. In addition<br />
to interacting at court-appointed<br />
visits, Marie and Zameer met<br />
Bianca at her workplace to go<br />
out for lunch a couple times a<br />
week so mother and son could<br />
form a stronger bond.<br />
The Coopers supported<br />
Bianca as she dealt with criminal<br />
proceedings against Zameer’s<br />
father, whose abuse of Bianca<br />
contributed to Zameer’s<br />
placement in care. They<br />
encouraged her as she got the<br />
help she needed with counseling,<br />
parenting and life skills, and<br />
more. At her own initiative,<br />
Bianca participated in extra<br />
parenting training through the<br />
intensive <strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> Nurturing<br />
program.<br />
When the caseworker felt it<br />
was appropriate, the Coopers<br />
invited Bianca to begin attending<br />
church with them at the Lampeter<br />
Church of the Brethren. “It was<br />
kind of scary at first,” says Bianca,<br />
“because I was the only colored<br />
person. But as I entered the door<br />
everybody was so open.”<br />
Lampeter members Drew and<br />
Pam Brubaker became an<br />
additional support and provided<br />
regular transportation to church.<br />
In spring 2011, Bianca was<br />
baptized.<br />
Bianca, now 27, marvels at<br />
how supportive the church has<br />
been. Last summer the Coopers<br />
and Brubakers organized a youth<br />
work day at Bianca’s home. While<br />
Marie, Pam, and Bianca enjoyed<br />
a night at the movies, a swarm of<br />
youth and advisors from the<br />
church cleaned and<br />
redecorated the house.<br />
In September 2011, Zameer<br />
returned home, but the<br />
relationships that had been<br />
formed while he was in care<br />
continued. Bianca now considers<br />
Matt and Marie to be her parents,<br />
and the Coopers have formed a<br />
grandparenting relationship with<br />
Zameer. They babysit regularly<br />
and converse with Bianca by<br />
phone or text several times a<br />
week.<br />
“Marie was like a mother to<br />
me from the first time I met her,”<br />
Bianca states. “Matt Cooper is my<br />
father.” Matt signs his texts to<br />
Bianca, “Love Dad,” she says.<br />
Acknowledging that her own<br />
childhood was full of pain and<br />
trials, Bianca explains, “Marie<br />
and Matt gave me another life<br />
story. When I’m in<br />
their home, I feel<br />
like I always lived<br />
there. I love them<br />
Frank, Katie,<br />
and their<br />
daughter, Aliza,<br />
count the<br />
Coopers as<br />
special friends.<br />
as if they were there when I was a<br />
baby. I didn’t have a family circle,<br />
so they built me one—with God in<br />
the middle.”<br />
Bianca now is pursuing nursing<br />
training. She continues regular<br />
visits to the <strong>COBYS</strong> Permanency<br />
Unit in Lancaster to see her<br />
special needs son, Janiel, who is<br />
being cared for by another family.<br />
Reaching Out Again<br />
When new foster children<br />
Christopher and Aliza arrived in<br />
the Coopers’ home in May 2010,<br />
Marie and Matt lent the same<br />
support to five-year-old Aliza’s<br />
parents—Frank and Katie—that<br />
they were providing for Bianca. At<br />
the time, behavior related to<br />
Frank’s alcohol addiction had<br />
landed him in prison, and Katie<br />
had neglected her four children<br />
while using illegal drugs. Losing<br />
her children was a wake up call.<br />
“I met Katie at court after<br />
three days (having her children),”<br />
Marie recalls, “and I liked her<br />
immediately.”<br />
Matt and Marie both admired<br />
Katie’s determination to turn her<br />
life around. She ceased her drug<br />
use and utilized the resources<br />
made available to her to remain<br />
drug-free, improve parenting skills,<br />
and more. The <strong>COBYS</strong> “3 R’s”<br />
program for families struggling<br />
with truancy was one resource<br />
that she found helpful.<br />
During weekly visits, the<br />
Coopers and Katie began to<br />
build a relationship. When Frank<br />
exited prison and entered a<br />
rehab program in Lancaster in<br />
December 2010, the Coopers<br />
reached out to him, as well, but<br />
initially Frank was wary.<br />
“Emotion came up in Frank the<br />
first time he saw Aliza call Matt<br />
‘Daddy,’” says <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
(continued on page four)<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 3
<strong>COBYS</strong> GGC Program Promotes Positive Choices<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> educators<br />
Jess Schrodel (above)<br />
and Beth Ressler (left)<br />
led the Guiding Good<br />
Choices program at<br />
Donegal Middle<br />
School this winter.<br />
(continued from page three)<br />
Permanency Caseworker Becky<br />
Frey. “To ease that discomfort,” she<br />
recalls, “he and Matt had a<br />
conversation, and I think that’s<br />
when their relationship started to<br />
grow into a friendship.”<br />
Matt and Frank now get<br />
together a couple times a month<br />
for breakfast and text and call<br />
each other regularly. Frank has<br />
been sober since completing his<br />
rehab program in January 2011.<br />
“Matt raised my daughter for<br />
me when I couldn’t and did an<br />
outstanding job,” Frank says now.<br />
Frank points to a shared Christian<br />
faith as the foundation of their<br />
relationship. Matt says a common<br />
interest in the Pittsburgh Steelers<br />
also helps.<br />
The Coopers invited Frank and<br />
Katie to attend church at Lampeter,<br />
which they did for a time, before<br />
transitioning to a church closer to<br />
their home in the city.<br />
While Christopher has required<br />
additional care in another setting,<br />
Aliza returned home last June,<br />
after a little more than a year at<br />
the Coopers. She’s still a regular<br />
visitor at the Coopers’ home, and<br />
Frank and Katie also get together<br />
with Matt and Marie. In the<br />
summer there are cookouts and<br />
swimming. “It’s just a good<br />
relationship,” says Frank.<br />
So close is the relationship that<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 4
and Jess Schrodel worked with<br />
parents and teens to help the<br />
teens develop “refusal skills” to<br />
say “no” when peers entice<br />
them to make bad choices.<br />
Another session teaches the<br />
STARR method of controlling<br />
anger. Parents are taught to<br />
Stop and recognize their anger,<br />
Think about the consequences<br />
of losing control, Ask themselves<br />
what they want to happen,<br />
Reduce their feelings of anger,<br />
and Reward themselves for<br />
success.<br />
As a result of their<br />
participation in the program at<br />
Donegal, Stacie Detter and Rob<br />
Cawller instituted weekly family<br />
meetings with Stacy’s daughter<br />
to talk about school, friends,<br />
and family matters. “These<br />
family meetings have really<br />
become a part of our family<br />
now,” says Stacie, and have<br />
opened lines of communication.<br />
“It’s been good for all of us<br />
to learn how to help our kids<br />
make good choices,” sums up<br />
Mary Allman, who participated<br />
with her husband, Bryan, at<br />
Donegal. “We’ve only had little<br />
troubles in our family so far,” she<br />
continues. “We’re hoping to<br />
on January 21, 2011, Aliza served<br />
as flower girl at the Coopers’<br />
oldest daughter’s wedding. It just<br />
so happened that the wedding<br />
took place on Aliza’s birthday.<br />
Reflecting on what qualities<br />
enable the Coopers to build such<br />
supportive relationships with<br />
biological parents, Becky Frey<br />
points to their nonjudgmental tone<br />
and view of foster care: “When<br />
they foster kids,” she says, “they<br />
look at it as a temporary situation<br />
learn how to avoid big<br />
troubles.”<br />
In addition to the Donegal<br />
program, GGC has been held<br />
at Burrowes Elementary School,<br />
Wheatland Middle School, and<br />
J.P. McCaskey High School<br />
(twice), all in School District of<br />
Lancaster. The McCaskey<br />
programs were for parents in<br />
the district’s Project Forward<br />
Leap, an educational<br />
enrichment program for<br />
disadvantaged communities.<br />
Other programs have been<br />
offered in partnership with<br />
Cocalico Middle School in<br />
Cocalico School District and<br />
Blue Ball Elementary School in<br />
Eastern Lancaster County. A<br />
program is running currently at<br />
Hans Herr Elementary School in<br />
Lampeter-Strasburg School<br />
District, and two more programs<br />
will be scheduled this fall.<br />
GGC is funded by a $73,000<br />
grant from the Pennsylvania<br />
Commission on Crime and<br />
Delinquency (PCCD), and its<br />
continuation will be dependent<br />
on identifying ongoing funding<br />
sources.<br />
to help someone else out. They<br />
understand that the biological<br />
parents really deserve a chance<br />
to get their kids back.”<br />
Katie has an even simpler<br />
explanation. She says of Matt and<br />
Marie, “These people are special.<br />
It’s like God created them exactly<br />
for what they do.”<br />
Meet the Coopers and others<br />
featured in this article in person at<br />
the March 15 <strong>COBYS</strong> Fancy Ball.<br />
Fun Walk<br />
Slated at<br />
Peter<br />
Becker<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong><br />
<strong>Family</strong><br />
<strong>Services</strong><br />
will host<br />
the 18th<br />
annual <strong>Family</strong> Fun Walk on Sunday,<br />
May 6, at Peter Becker Community,<br />
800 Maple Ave., Harleysville. The<br />
walk begins at 4 p.m., with<br />
registration at 3:30.<br />
The event consists of a threemile<br />
walk, followed by ice cream,<br />
refreshments, and awarding of door<br />
prizes. Walkers pay a fee or enlist<br />
sponsors to benefit <strong>COBYS</strong> ministries<br />
to children and families.<br />
Seventy-two participants in the<br />
2011 <strong>Family</strong> Fun Walk raised more<br />
than $8,500 for <strong>COBYS</strong> ministries.<br />
Goals of 100 participants and<br />
$10,000 have been set for this year.<br />
Top fundraisers can choose<br />
between grand prizes of a night’s<br />
stay for two donated by Willow<br />
Valley Inn & Suites, near Lancaster<br />
and two tickets to Jonah, donated<br />
by Sight & Sound Theatres, Lancaster.<br />
All participants receive a t-shirt, ice<br />
cream and refreshments, and a<br />
chance to win a door prize. Youth<br />
groups who raise $1,000 or more<br />
earn a gym and pizza night.<br />
Costs of the event are<br />
underwritten by Bauman <strong>Family</strong> Fruit<br />
Butters and Cider, Sassamansville.<br />
Additional business supporters are<br />
being sought.<br />
For the second year, the walk<br />
will be staged from Orchid Terrace,<br />
located inside the main building at<br />
Peter Becker Community. The event<br />
will be held rain or shine.<br />
Printable brochures and sponsor<br />
sheets will be available at<br />
www.cobys.org/news.htm by mid-<br />
March. For more information about<br />
the event or becoming a business<br />
sponsor, please contact Don Fitzkee<br />
at 800-452-6517 or don@cobys.org.<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 5
Campolo, Blackwoods Headline Praise Dinner<br />
A popular story teller and a<br />
gospel quartet with a storied<br />
history will headline the 17th<br />
annual Wenger Foundation<br />
Praise Dinner on Thursday, May 3,<br />
at 6:00 p.m., at the Lebanon<br />
Expo Center. The event will<br />
benefit <strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong><br />
and three other ministries.<br />
Preacher Tony Campolo will<br />
give an inspirational message.<br />
Campolo is professor emeritus of<br />
sociology at Eastern University<br />
and president of the Evangelical<br />
Association for the Promotion of<br />
Education. He has written more<br />
than 35 books, blogs regularly at<br />
his website, redletterchristians.org,<br />
and speaks some 400 times a<br />
year.<br />
Also performing will be the<br />
Blackwood Brothers Quartet. In<br />
existence since 1934, the<br />
Blackwood Brothers have<br />
recorded over 200 albums and<br />
toured in 47 countries. They have<br />
won eight Grammy<br />
Awards and six Dove<br />
Awards and were<br />
inducted into the Gospel<br />
Music Hall of Fame in<br />
1998.<br />
In addition to the<br />
inspiration provided by<br />
Campolo and the<br />
Blackwoods, the evening<br />
will include a buffet meal<br />
catered by Country Home<br />
Catering. Other<br />
ministries benefitting<br />
from the event are<br />
Evangelical Seminary,<br />
Friendship Community,<br />
and On Fire Youth<br />
Ministries.<br />
The cost to attend<br />
is $100 per person or<br />
$1,000 per table of 10<br />
guests. One hundred<br />
percent of donations support<br />
the designated ministries.<br />
Underwriting all of the event’s<br />
expenses are the Achey family,<br />
Tony Campolo will<br />
speak and the Blackwood<br />
Brothers Quartet will sing<br />
at the May 3 Wenger Foundation<br />
Praise Dinner.<br />
Thanks for the Memories (and Hamballs!)<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> Executive Director Mark Cunningham surprised Marion Brubaker<br />
with a bouquet of roses and some words of gratitude at the <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
Resource <strong>Family</strong> Christmas Party at Florin Church of the Brethren in<br />
December. (Full Disclosure: The Florin Brethren provided the roses; the kind<br />
words were from Mark.)<br />
The Florin congregation has provided the annual dinner for some 15<br />
years, serving up ham balls and Christmas cookies. For most of that time<br />
Marion was the primary organizer. Now a resident at Brethren Village, she<br />
is relinquishing the organizational responsibilities, but not giving up<br />
involvement. Lord willing, we expect to see an apron-clad Marion in the<br />
kitchen again next year, dutifully following instructions from her successor.<br />
At this year’s party, approximately 150 <strong>COBYS</strong> resource parents,<br />
children, and staff enjoyed a meal, entertainment by Steven Courtney<br />
(pictured top right), and the annual appearance of Santa & Mrs. Claus<br />
(who bear a resemblance to Florin members Marty & Lois Witman).<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 6
Plain & Fancy Custom Cabinetry;<br />
John Byler; Roger & Marjorie<br />
Gerhart; Roger & Carolyn North,<br />
North Group Consultants; Sight &<br />
Sound Ministries, Inc.; the<br />
Wenger <strong>Family</strong>, Wengers of<br />
Myerstown; and other<br />
anonymous contributors.<br />
The Wenger Foundation, Inc.,<br />
was established in 1996 as the<br />
charitable giving arm of the<br />
Wenger <strong>Family</strong> of Companies.<br />
Since then, the Foundation has<br />
awarded nearly $2 million to a<br />
variety of Christian and<br />
community ministries, including<br />
$242,306 to <strong>COBYS</strong>, which first<br />
became a beneficiary of the<br />
Praise Dinner in 1999.<br />
Last year’s Praise Dinner<br />
attracted 800 people and raised<br />
nearly $90,000, including<br />
$16,940 for <strong>COBYS</strong>.<br />
Invitations to the event will be<br />
mailed in March. For more<br />
information, please contact the<br />
Wenger Foundation at 717-866-<br />
2130 or rwalmer@wengers.com.<br />
You on Facebook? If you are, why not sign up to follow <strong>COBYS</strong>? We’re up<br />
to 128 fans, to date, and our Facebook page is becoming a great<br />
source for inspiration and information. Here are a couple recent posts:<br />
A six-year-old counseling client was asked by his mother what adoption<br />
means. His response was quick: “Adoption is when you’re stuck with the<br />
same family.” Out of the mouths of babes...<br />
“We have to learn to make room for<br />
God—to give God ‘elbow room.’ We<br />
calculate and estimate, and say that this<br />
and that will happen, and we forget to make room for God to come in<br />
as He chooses.” —Oswald Chambers<br />
We were blessed by several churches and church groups who gave in<br />
special ways during the Christmas season. Manor Church, Ridgeway<br />
Community COB, and Wyomissing COB donated offerings from special<br />
services; volunteers from Lancaster Evangelical Free Church provided<br />
wrapped Christmas presents for children and teens in our Permanency<br />
program; and Myerstown COB Women’s Fellowship donated gift cards to<br />
benefit various parts of our ministry. We are grateful for all the support<br />
we received during December from individuals, businesses, churches,<br />
and others. We were reminded again of how generous people can be!<br />
A Place Called Home<br />
My expectations are so high<br />
But all I gotta’ do is try<br />
I just want my kids to feel stable<br />
To sit and eat dinner at the table<br />
To have a big happy family<br />
Or just the kids and me<br />
Going on family trips<br />
Or to the pool for a quick dip<br />
Playing board games<br />
Loving each other all the same<br />
I’m tired of living like a mouse<br />
I just want to give my kids a house<br />
We’ve gone from place to place<br />
Moving like we’re in a race<br />
I just want them to have a place to call home<br />
Not one they built as a kid outta’ foam<br />
I’m talking four brick walls. . . and halls<br />
For more than a decade <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
<strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong> has provided intensive<br />
parenting training through the <strong>Family</strong><br />
Nurturing Education and Support<br />
Program. <strong>Family</strong> Nurturing is approved<br />
by the Lancaster County Children &<br />
Youth Social Service Agency and often<br />
serves parents who are seeking to<br />
make a fresh start. A participant in the<br />
program, who recently had been<br />
released from prison, shared her<br />
aspirations for a stable home life in<br />
the form of a prayer.<br />
I’m not too picky as long as it’s clean<br />
You couldn’t imagine some of the places I’ve seen<br />
We don’t need diamonds or furs<br />
I just want to offer them structure<br />
Is that too much to ask? What do ya’ say?<br />
Father God, I pray. . .<br />
Please give us all this blessing<br />
So our hearts will forever sing<br />
Amen<br />
<strong>Fostering</strong> <strong>Hope</strong> 7
Last Call for The <strong>COBYS</strong> Fancy Ball<br />
This is your last call for The <strong>COBYS</strong><br />
Fancy Ball. There’s still time to<br />
sign up, get cleaned up, and<br />
join us for our<br />
attempt<br />
(doomed<br />
though it<br />
may be) at<br />
a gala<br />
event.<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> will<br />
be serving up<br />
fun, food, and<br />
inspiration at our<br />
annual banquet on Thursday,<br />
March 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Middle<br />
Creek Church of the Brethren,<br />
351 Middle Creek Road, Lititz.<br />
During the program guests<br />
will meet Matt & Marie Cooper<br />
and friends (see cover story);<br />
Ryan & Erica Onufer and their<br />
four adopted children; Judge<br />
Jay Hoberg, who presided over<br />
the Onufer adoptions (and many<br />
other <strong>COBYS</strong> adoptions); and<br />
District Magisterial Justice Rodney<br />
Hartman with <strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> Life<br />
Education Supervisor Abby Keiser.<br />
Providing music is a quartet<br />
comprised of members of the<br />
Susquehanna Chorale, including<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> Controller Cynthia<br />
Umberger, alto; Brethren Village<br />
Pastor Mark Tedford, tenor; Sara<br />
Zentmeyer, soprano; and<br />
Stephen Schaefer, bass.<br />
Black ties (any ties, for that<br />
matter) are optional, but you can<br />
expect some people will be<br />
decked out in all their finery for<br />
an event such as this.<br />
There is no cost to attend<br />
(other than your limo and tux<br />
rental), but reservations are<br />
required. We understand you will<br />
want to look good, but please<br />
don’t spend all of your money on<br />
a new outfit. Save some to to<br />
support <strong>COBYS</strong> ministries when<br />
given the opportunity at the<br />
banquet.<br />
Register as soon as possible<br />
by contacting Mr. Fitzkee at<br />
don@cobys.org or 717-656-6580.<br />
For more information,<br />
including the full invitation and<br />
response card with directions to<br />
the church, visit the News &<br />
Events page at www.cobys.org.<br />
<strong>COBYS</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Services</strong><br />
1417 Oregon Road<br />
Leola, PA 17540<br />
Non-Profit<br />
U.S. Postage<br />
PAID<br />
Permit No. 52<br />
Lancaster, PA<br />
Address Service Requested<br />
Hey, we make mistakes! Please mail us the label from this<br />
page with corrections if:<br />
• Your name or address is inaccurate.<br />
• You would like to be removed from the mailing list.<br />
Become our fan on Facebook.