Foster Pantry

08/21/2026

These little guys are starting school with some super cute hair cuts ✂️ thanks to our friends at Bangz Hair Salon & Spa.

We are always looking for community partnerships to help ease the transitions of children effected by foster care. So when they reached out wanting to know how they could help, we sent a few of our families to give us some feedback.....and these boys gave them three thumbs up 👍👍👍.....and mom reportedly left the salon with sanity still in tack!

Needless to say we are excited to continue this partnership, offering not just haircuts to our foster care community, but providing dignity, confidence and a reason to smile!



✂️🩵✂️🩵✂️🩵✂️🩵✂️

08/19/2026

Calling all local church leaders and ministry teams! 👥✨

We are so excited to gather NEXT WEEK with our friend and partners for the Foster Care Network quarterly meeting. As a network, our heart is to see more local churches actively step up to serve and support vulnerable children right here in our community.

Whether you’re already serving or looking for ways your church can get involved, this meeting is for you!

🗓 Date: Tuesday, August 25
⏰ Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
📍 Location: Lifepoint Church (3600 S. College Rd.)
🥪 Lunch: Provided FREE with registration!

👉 Register Today: givebutter.com/fcnaugust26

How you can help spread the word:

Invite a friend, pastor, or ministry leader to join you!

Share this post and the attached flyer to your page.

We can’t wait to collaborate and make a lasting impact together.

See you there! 🙌

08/12/2026

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
It was a beautiful day to cook out with the New Hanover County NCLINKS youth to celebrate Back to School!

✏️🎒✏️🎒✏️🎒✏️🎒
Thanks to the awesome support of our community we were able to provide them with the items they need to start the year prepared!

Closet Factory
Bombas

08/08/2026

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
🩵💚🩵💚🩵💚🩵💚🩵

We are grateful for our partnerships with the many organizations across the area that support our foster care community!

Parenting as a foster, adoptive or kinship caregiver looks a little different than traditional parenting and sometimes we feel out of place in standard "parenting trainings" as we have to sometimes parent under different rules.

Below we highlight the data from Family Support Network of Southeastern NC, Inc. Foster Care Wrap Around Support program that is designed to give our caregivers the space to be in the same room with other caregivers like them during these trainings and ask the questions that only a foster care caregiver would understand.

Over the last year we were also able to bring in our friends from Carousel Center to share Steward of Children training, NHC Resiliency Task Force to share some self care and resilency skills, and Healthy Blue Care Together to share additional resources and plan information with our families.

🩵💚🩵💚🩵💚🩵💚🩵💚

💙 Every Family Deserves Support. Every Caregiver Deserves Community. 💚

Behind every child in foster or kinship care is a caregiver who is learning, advocating, and showing up every day. Our Foster Care Wrap Around Support Program is designed to ensure those caregivers never have to do it alone.

The results speak for themselves:
✨ 100% of participants said they would recommend the group to others.
🤝 98% said they found people they can turn to for help and information.
💚 98% said the group helped them connect with others who share similar experiences.
📚 94% reported increased confidence in caring for the children in their care.
📍 92% learned more about available community resources.

Participants who attended the majority of the groups also reported increased knowledge of:
✔️ IDEA (special education rights)
✔️ Stepping Stones Triple P
✔️ Community Resiliency Model (CRM)
✔️ Kids WRAP
✔️ Community resources available to support their families

These numbers represent more than survey results—they represent caregivers who feel more confident, connected, and equipped to provide stable, nurturing homes for children.

Thank you to every caregiver who joined us and shared their journey. Together, we are building stronger families and brighter futures.

Take a look at our infographic to see the impact your support is making!

08/06/2026

🌟🌟 FOR KINSHIP CAREGIVERS - WITH DSS INVOLVEMENT 🌟🌟

Are you a kinship care provider or do you know one for a child with DSS involvement?

Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina is bringing the Kinship Care Conference to the coast!

Here is what you can expect if you register today!
🏨 Complimentary hotel room (Space is LIMITED! First come, first served!)
⛽ Travel reimbursement to help cover gas
👶 Free childcare (Space Limited)
🎁 Door prizes
🌟Resources
ℹI Informative Workshops
👥Networking Opportunities
💙Meet fellow Kinship Caregivers

See post below for more details! Or visit:
https://www.ffa-nc.org/kinshipconf

📣 NCKinship Caregivers - we are talking directly to YOU! 💙

We know life is full and getting away is not always simple. That is why FFA-NC is pulling out all the stops to make sure you can join us at the 2026 Kinship Conference - because this day was truly designed with you in mind.

Here is what we are offering exclusively for NC kinship caregivers:
🏨 Complimentary hotel room (Space is LIMITED! First come, first served!)
⛽ Travel reimbursement to help cover gas
👶 Free childcare
🎁 Door prizes
Plus - a full day of relevant training, networking, and connection with people who get it. Lunch is provided too! 🌟

📍 September 26 - Wilmington
📍 October 17 - Asheville
🕘 9am - 3pm

Get all the details and register at https://buff.ly/liuKTG7 - then reach out to us directly to arrange your accommodations and travel reimbursement.

08/03/2026

Back to School 2026 is a wrap!

Events like these are made possible by you - the community - who show up with donations, as volunteers, and make it easy to show up for our community like we did today!!!

👟106 pairs of NEW shoes
🎒112 Backpacks stuffed with School supplies
🏫10 Educational Resources for our families to learn more about
🍧Yummy Italian Ice from our friends at Jeremiah's Italian Ice
...and plenty of supplies and shoes left to continue to provide for our foster care families that could not make it.

A very big THANK YOU to everyone that contributed! With a special thanks to:

The Bridge Church The Bluffs on the Cape Fear National League, Inc. - Sea Turtle Chapter Closet Factory Family Support Network of Southeastern NC, Inc. Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern NC DREAMS Center for Arts Education The Children's Museum of Wilmington Anthony's Road to Kindness StepUp Wilmington Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington Education Without Walls Cape Fear Guardian ad Litem Association Nourishnc Bombas and donors Leslie M. & Debbie H. who keep our shelves full of all the things, including School supplies!

🎒✏️🎒✏️🎒✏️🎒✏️🎒✏️

08/01/2026

This morning we attended Rooted in Compassion, a youth led Foster/Adoptive Parent Confernce hosted by the Youth Advisory Board of the Onslow County NC LINKS program.

We enjoyed seeing everyone, handing out school supplies and meeting new familes!

The keynote speaker, Mr. C.L. King shared his own lived experience of foster care, encountering adversity and his personal choices to become the person he is today.

Awesome job goes out to the youth who worked hard to give the youth perspective on foster care as at this event. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

07/31/2026

In North Carolina, only about 57% of children in foster care graduate high school.

🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓

This year, your support helped us celebrate 36 high school graduates in 7 counties!

Last week, we were invited to celebrate with the New Hanover graduates. Thank you New Hanover County Health & Human Services for inviting us to be a part of the celebration and to our friends at Cape Fear Guardian ad Litem Association for partnering with us and providing a great meal, while we provided the gifts.

A round of applause goes out to the graduates for doing the hard work to beat the odds, as well as the social workers, Guardian ad Litem - New Hanover and Pender Counties, Judge and his court staff, and friends, family and caregivers who all help them reach this milestone.

We can't wait to do it again next year!

🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓

07/28/2026

Are you a Kinship Caregiver, caring for a child with DSS involvement such as Foster care, or In-Home Services?

Sign up today, and join us at the the Kinship Conference in Wilmington, hosted by Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina.

➡️➡️ https://www.ffa-nc.org/kinshipconf

Not from the area? Travel arrangements and reimbursement available. Just contact them after you secure your spot for details.

Join Family Support Network of Southeastern NC, Family Support Network of NC, and Foster Pantry as we proudly participate in the Kinship Conference, presented by FFA-NC and NCDHHS on September 26, 2026 from 9am - 3pm. This uplifting event unites families, caregivers, and community partners to exchange resources, foster connections, and strengthen support for kinship care throughout North Carolina. See flyer for details on how to register.