Hi, my name is Nancy Bennett and I am fundraising for a special mom.

This is my first Go Fund Me request ever.

Typically, when I know someone is in need, I can quietly reach out to some folks and together we make things happen. This time I could use some help.

I want to share a story with you that has brought me to this site.

About 5 years ago, I fostered a boy named B. He was 9 months old when he came into foster care. His parents had been going through some drug addiction issues and the county pulled this child out of that and placed him with me.

The purpose of foster care is to give the parents an opportunity to get their lives together and after some time and life changes, get their children back. In many cases, they cannot do both at the same time, so a foster family will take care of their children while the family works on their case plan. This is the entire premise of Foster Care.

I met the bio parents during the numerous visits that were scheduled. We also participated in Child and Family Team meetings (CFT’s) where interested parties gather to discuss what is working, not working and where to go from here. A case plan is developed and if the parent(s) work that case plan then they can reunify with their kids.

The county always works with families to provide services, classes, and many levels of support during the case. They also want to keep the connection between the children and their parents as much as possible (and if it is safe).

It was during these CFT meetings that some tough discussions were had. Anyone that knows me, will tell you that I can be very direct, honest, caring, and tough.

I fell in love with their child B while he was living with me, which made it more important for me to advocate for the bio parents to work out their plan. I was also coming from experience, having my own past addiction and successful sobriety story to share so they could see that anything is possible.

I will just share that some of those meetings ended up with some tough ‘come to Jesus” moments. I could emphasize with these parents up to a certain point, but they were on the verge of losing their child, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

Unfortunately, the bio parents were not able to reunify with baby B and he was placed with the grandparents, who later adopted him.

A couple of years later, these same bio parents had another baby. Her name is C. She was born and immediately taken from her parents and placed in foster care. I got the call to take this precious newborn and went to pick her up from the hospital.

Social services again laid out a case plan for the parents to follow, in the hopes that they could reunify the baby with the mom at a minimum.

That was two years ago.

I must share with you that I am so proud to share that bio mom did get her baby C back home!!!

She has been clean and sober for over two years, she worked her case plan, found a safe place to live, and is in school now to get certified for a job/career after never having a job before. She shows up every day for her daughter and has won full custody of C. It’s a miracle and I mean that!

Each week there is a zoom call to get the kids together and check in with the family. The grandparents join with B and the bio mom gets on with C. My little guy and I are on there too. It has been incredibly supportive to all of us, especially during the Covid lockdowns.

We also have swim lessons each week with the kids too. Staying connected, supporting, and offering some guidance here and there while expanding my circle of “family” has been an amazing result of being a foster parent. My life is better with this family in it, and I am so proud to call them my friends.

The reason for the Go Fund Me is that last night bio mom’s car was stolen in Vallejo, wrecked, and is totaled. This was her only transportation. She cannot pick up her son at school each day, she cannot get to swim lessons, grocery store and more. She lost the car seat and stroller that was in the car too.

She is in school now and taking care of her daughter during the day. She does not have the means to replace this car currently or in the near future, as she is on school grants and living very frugally while working towards her new career.

So, I started this Go Fund Me page to see if we can raise $6,000 and get her another car. A car that is safe, dependable and will last her for a few years as she continues to better herself, stay sober and begin a new job/career.

I could use some help in this endeavor. I’ve already started looking at used cars to see what’s available.

If you would be interested in helping, please know that the money will be used only to find a car, make sure it works well (inspection), brakes, tires, etc. and purchase a new car seat and stroller.

She can manage the car insurance and regular maintenance as she was immensely proud of owning a car of her own these past couple of years. My "car" friends and I will find the right vehicle for her and deliver it in grand fashion, as you can imagine. I’m sure there will be a social media post about this story too.

I love this family and I am especially proud of the work that bio mom has accomplished!

I have always believed that if one person can change the destructive path that they were on for the better, then the ripple effect of that will go on for generations. I hope you agree!

Thank you for reading and potentially supporting this endeavor.