Varner Foundation for Children & Families

"FOSTER CARE MAKES CHILDREN PAY FOR THEIR PARENTS PROBLEMS." A few weeks ago I heard a young woman at a conference say, “Foster care makes children pay for their parents problems.” I can't stop thinking about that comment. Most kids don’t enter foster care because of something they did. They enter because of something done to them. Something completely outside of their control. Yet they are the ones that are expected to somehow adapt, heal, thrive and behave while they have often been separated from their siblings, friends, culture and friends. These kids have so much to overcome and this is why when they have a critical need that no church, other nonprofit or government agency can meet, the VF steps in and makes it happen. And it's all because of the donors who want to directly touch the lives of the kids who are carrying the burdens of their parents problems! Thank you donors, we will never be able to thank you enough! ❤️ Please consider joining us in helping these kids! LIKE-SHARE-FOLLOW

“Now what?” said the exhausted voice of an older woman at Goodwill in front of me in the checkout line. After a few words with her, I realized she was a new kinship grandma with three small grandchildren, and she needed a crib asap but there wasn’t one and buying new just wasn’t an option. Thankfully, I was able to give her information about a resource that could help her and one that is a VF Trusted Partner. Many kindship caregivers of infants are facing a new challenge in 2025 … secondhand cribs, crib mattresses, playpens and other baby furniture are not being given away/ sold in Goodwill and most other charities anymore due to safety concerns and new regulatory changes. For months, the VF has been helping with purchasing beds for a ton of kids and now the shortage and need has impacted the littlest of little ones removed from their abusive homes and placed with relatives. The VF donors are making such a difference in the lives of kids and those that have stepped up to care for them. Thank you! Please LIKE -SHARE -FOLLOW . They kids and families need your voice! varnerfoundation.org

“She didn’t talk to us for the first 4 days. She did what we asked, ate what we offered her, never smiled, or cried, but watched everything and everyone like a hawk. We were her 2nd foster home in this 5-year-old’s life and it was clear that she trusted no one or nothing. All that changed after her brand-new bed and bedding was delivered. She stood in the bedroom, she shared with our daughter, as we set up the bed with the pink and green floral bedding. When we were done and able to get her to understand that this was her bed, she slowly climbed onto the bed and smiled. That bed turned everything around. Her social worker later told us that apparently this was her very first real bed and somewhere in that little frightened brain of hers the new bed gave her the message that she was wanted. Thank you, Varner Foundation, for the gift of not only the bed and bedding but the key that unlocked so much for our family.” WIN! Thank you donors! Please Like, Share and Follow so the VF can continue to get the funds to impact fostered kids and their families. We don’t take even a single grant dollar for granted, ever! varnerfoundation.org

One of the ABSOLUTE BEST things the Varner Foundation’s donors make happen, is to STAND IN THE RESOURCE GAP to help enable good Foster/Kinship families TO STAY TOGETHER! Fact: Half the families in the U. S. who start to foster will give it up in the first year due to lack of resources and support. Our donors stand firmly with us to say: “NO, that’s not ok!” Because kids deserve to know what it feels like to be fully loved, to be chosen, to be valued, to be wanted. Because kids deserve to know what showing up for them looks and feels like, to trust, be protected, and not have people keep coming into their lives with promises that are always broken. There are no Do-Overs, this is real life … Thank you, donors! varnerfoundation.org Please help get the word out … LIKE – SHARE - FOLLOW

Each year in Hamilton County alone, over a hundred teens leave Foster Care and become instantly homeless but not this kid!! "She doesn't have a chance!" is what they said when she was placed in foster care at age 14. Now 19, she worked harder than most and graduated from High School, worked two jobs and is getting ready to live on her own. She is going to attending a community college in just a few weeks, has found a modest studio apartment, and searched thrift shops for everything. Everything except nowhere had a bed. Because of your donations to the VF, along with her grit and gusty determination, she now has a brand new bed and bedding to start this new chapter of her life proving those wrong who said, "she doesn't have a chance." Thank you! Go to varnerfoundation.org to give and to help us help kids that often don’t seem to stand a chance! PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, FOLLOW! #kids #Community #InvestInKids

Caring for three young grandkids, who have only known a trauma filled life of parental drug abuse, physical abuse and neglect. So many extra expenses on a fixed income! Multiple weekly trips to therapists, doctors, school, etc. So, when this grandma's only mode of transportation suddenly stopped working, so did access to all the "help" her grandkids desperately needed. Every church and agency she reached out to for help said, "Sorry, no we can't help you." Her Family Specialist at Beech Acres said, " Let's reach out to Varner Foundation". Because of all the faithful ongoing support from our donors, the VF was once again able to be "the last call" for this wonderful grandma. When everyone else says "NO" and the need is clearly significant, VF says "YES" because saying "YES" can change futures. varnerfoundation.org PLEASE-LIKE-SHARE-FOLLOW -it gets the word out so we can continue saying "YES".

YOUR DONOR DOLLARS AT WORK! “He was as confused as a 4 years old could be, and so frightened … and just like that, I was thrust into the world of parenting and the child welfare system – court dates, case plans, attorneys, and parental visits, to become my grandson’s Kinship Care provider. I had to navigate complicated family dynamics, have my home on display and scrutinized by children services for safety, and make it all work on my modest retirement income. Although Kinship Care is considered better than a traditional Foster Care, it has its unique challenges. Kids in kinship care have less trauma, do better at school and have less behavioral problems but, for the caregiver, it can mean emotional and psychological stress, navigating expensive legal processes and inadequate financial support. Standing in the resource gap for Kinship families is more than 75% of what the VF does each week! Since January YOU, our donors, have provided therapeutic camp, tires, shoes, washers & dryers, car repairs, daycare help, additional therapy costs, medical equipment, beds and more! YOU, our donors, have helped hundreds and hundreds of kids and their caregivers with a many, many challenges. Thank you! PLEASE Like...Share....Follow! varnerfoundation.org

For the men and women that sacrificed ALL for us! We will not forget you. ❤️ Varnerfoundation.org

"I'm just not sure we can do this anymore. I love this kid, and we want it to work but we just don't know how." Each year hundreds of foster parents ask that the child they are fostering be "rehomed". The decision for this is complicated, varied, and multi-layered but overall, it’s because foster parents don't feel supported, and often aren't, in their struggles. And most of these struggles are a result of the child they have brought into their care is Neurodivergent. The National Institute of Health reports that almost half of all the children in Foster/Kinship care are Neurodivergent and have also suffered trauma. Neurodivergent children can have difficulty communicating, have delays in speech, motor skills, dyslexia, be on the autism spectrum and other challenges. Add trauma in the mix, and they often develop PTSD and self-injurious behavior. The Varner Foundation is proud that we are able to help a lot of the fostering families who are struggling with this exact challenge and stand in the resource gap for extra therapy, funds to cover diagnostic care when the government won't, therapeutic camps, and other programs. When it’s a true NEED and NOT a WANT, when everyone else has said "NO" we help those that are turning their whole lives upside down to help a child have a loving, safe, caring family. We can only do this because of our donors. We can't be more grateful, THANK YOU! varnerfoundation.org

The Varner Foundations Fundraiser May 10 is officially SOLD OUT!! Thank you for all your support!! facebook.com/share/v/1ARwFP…

The baby no one wanted …. until someone did! Giving up his single life, downsizing to a smaller apartment in order to afford childcare while he worked, baby clothes, formula and other necessities, this young great uncle sacrifced a lot to became a new father. The only thing he still needed was a crib. His new son had outgrown his pack-and-play, and although a crib had been promised to him by children services for months, the crib never materialized. That is until his case worker reached out to the VF. Once again, thank you donors! varnerfoundation.org

Dealing with RED TAPE is terribly annoying for everyone, but for a certain family it came close to causing 2 young children to go into foster care. After having been severely, unimaginably abused by their custodial parent, the children’s non-custodial parent was awarded custody. The RED TAPE in the child support system is so inefficient that the new custodial parent was still paying to the old one for months. The children’s needs were difficult to meet without the funds in hand that should have been if only the system had been working properly. Thanks to you, our donors, the VF stepped in and provided support for the kids so they could stay with their loving, protective parent and continue to receive medical and psychological therapy. Help us help kids like this by donating to varnerfoundation.org

YOU ARE INVITED!! (Full Details/ Ticket Sales in link below) The kids and families in Foster & Kinship Care need you now more then ever! Please consider joining our Varner foundation board and team at our 2nd Annual “Bringing Home A Win” Fundraiser this May 10 at Belterra Park. Live Music from the amazingly talented and award winning band, Dangerous Jim and The Slims plus Amazing Auction items and Interactive games for your entertainment. We hope to see you there!! Click link for all details and ticket sales. app.aplos.com/aws/events/2nd…

Born at just 28 weeks gestation. Jeremy was born with multiple kinds of drugs in his little body. His mother was brought into the hospital in the middle of a drug induced seizer. To save both their lives, Jeremy was delivered. They didn’t have high hopes that Jeremy would survive but he did and after spending over 6 months in the ICU he was placed in a loving foster home with parents who wanted to adopt him, joining another foster-to-adopt brother and four brothers and sisters. Just 3yrs old, Jermey’s health has solidly improved, but he still can’t breathe on his own and needs to be on oxygen for many hours each day. As the other children in the family get older and more involved in sports and other activities, one parent is frequently tethered to home because the family does not have a portable oxygen machine. Everywhere they applied for the funds to purchase one were denied. As of two days ago, the family can now do overnights, visit their older son at college this fall, travel to see distant grandparents and spend an entire day away from home allowing Jermey to explore his world, all thanks to the VF donors and their new toddler portable oxygen machine. varnerfoundation.org

His friends questioned his sanity. What he was going to do would change his whole life! But, for this barely 23-year-old young man, he had no doubt that he needed to become the legal guardian of his two younger brothers instead of letting his mother's, all-consuming drug abuse, put his brothers in Foster Care. He used ALL his savings, resources, and vacation time from work to hire a lawyer, endured endless home inspections, background and financial deep dives and buying what he needed for his home to become his brothers' "forever home". And when that day finally came, he needed just a little help to get the whole plan over the finish line. Thanks to our donors the brothers are now safely and happily together and are building a new healthy life together. Our donors are the best!!! Join them by donating at Our donors are the best!!! Join them by donating at varnerfoundation.org

“It’s an emergency situation, will you take her? She needs a place tonight!” That was the phone call a fostercare couple received one late afternoon last week. Not yet a year old, a little girl had been terribly neglected. The couple, who already had several foster kids, quickly moved into action to get ready for her but they didn’t have the available funds to purchase a brand new car seat, as required by Children Services. Three hours later they had a new car seat…..no red tape….no waiting for an agency approval…..THIS is what our donors make possible. ❤️ varnerfoundation.org L

…..10 miles from their grocery store, 32 miles from their doctors and their therapists at Children’s Hospital, 8 miles from their laundry mat and now this rural kinship grandma’s car had broken down. Grandma and grandkids found themselves stranded and isolated, not able to access vital needs. Getting custody of her grandchildren, who had been neglected and in poor health, had cost her everything. Thankfully through their generous giving, the VF donors enabled her car to be fixed. For most of us temporarily going without a car is a huge inconvenience but for many of the families the VF serves, it can be devastating. Having fantastic VF donors in this case however made all the difference! www.varnerfoundation .org

Just a few months away from retirement, Kinship Grandparents went from a simple family of two adults to a family of six, after giving their 4 small grandchildren a trauma free home. These 4 little ones had been through so much and the struggle to get custody from their drug dependent parents had been hard, expensive and exhausting. Their grandfather’s retirement plans were put on hold, so they could afford to care for them, but there were still some basic needs left unmet … like beds. All the children were sleeping in makeshift blanket sleeping bags on the floor. This is known as “bedlessness” or “bed poverty” which leads to poor sleep that results in anxiety, depression, physical growth challenges, and learning disorders. “Bedlessness” in children has grown so big in the number of children it effects, it is now a recognized national crisis. To date, since the beginning of 2025, the Varner Foundation donors have made it possible for 14 children to no longer be counted in the number of children who suffer from “bedlessness”. Thank you! Join our donors at www,varnerfoundation.org

LITTLE MISS ELLIE ASLEEP FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN HER VERY FIRST BED EVER!!!! Nationwide, over 2.8 children don’t have a bed to sleep in. Instead, they sleep on the floor or a couch or a chair. This is referred to as “bed poverty” and child “bedlessness” is now a recognized national crisis. “Bed Poverty” leads to poor sleep that results in anxiety. depression, physical growth challenges and learning struggles. Causes range from poverty, homelessness, parents struggle to provide for their kids because of alcohol and drug dependency. A huge percentage of these kids are ending up in foster care and kinship care but, a judge cannot sign off for a child to be placed in foster care of kinship care home without a bed available and this can be a huge financial strain on caregivers. Thank you, VF donors, for standing in this resource gap so kids like Ellie can live in a safe home and sleep in a comfortable bed! varnerfoundation.org