About Our Organization
Purpose:
To enrich the lives of children.
Mission:
Our mission is to enrich the lives of children in care in BC. We do this by providing advocacy, support and education to help foster parents and their families thrive.
Values:
We are an organization comprised of foster parents and understand the challenges foster families face.
We value:
- cultural safety
- community
- empowerment
- self-advocacy
- inclusivity
We believe in safe reunification, permanency and above all, children’s psychological, physical and cultural safety. We believe it takes a village to thrive as a foster family.
Our History
Fraser Valley Foster Parents Association was formally founded in 2002, although existed informally many years before that. In the 1990s, it became clear that foster parents in the area needed to come together in order to support one another. Significant growth has occurred over the last 20+ years which included incorporating under the society act and become a registered non-profit charitable organization. Many great foster parents came before the current board and paved the way for us to do the work we are doing now: advocating, educating and supporting foster parents from the Fraser Valley and across British Columbia.
Our Board Members
Get to know the members of our board
Lisa
president
Lisa has been fostering since March 2014 and her and her husband have two biological children. They are a Safe Baby home and although they usually foster newborns, they’ve cared for every ages and stage. Lisa is also a mentor for out-of-care caregivers and assists in the safe babies training with MCFD. When she’s not with her kids she loves a good horror movie. Lisa is passionate about supporting other foster parents/caregivers and was the first to introduce social media to the fostering community.
Ashifa
vice president
Ashifa and her husband have been fostering for almost 7 years. She feels as though fostering is her life calling. She started out fostering teens, but now takes children aged 0-2. She loves babies! She has two biological daughters and cares for her former foster child who has aged out as well as his brother. She has also adopted a 2 year old boy. They also have 3 small dogs. Ashifa loves being outdoors, doing puzzles, as well as taking workshops that help her better understand the children and babies that come into her care. She loves spending quality time with her family. She believes that each one of us can make difference in the fostering world by supporting each other and coming together to have a strong voice for the association. She is passionate about making this world a better place and what better place to start than the children that will one day be our future.
Joanne
treasurer
Joanne and her husband have been fostering since January of 2017. They have 3 adult children with a school aged child at home. Currently they have two grandchildren. They are a safe babies home and typically have children 0-5 on a full time basis or as respite and relief care. They both enjoy gardening, landscaping, relaxing in the backyard with family, camping, kayaking, cross country skiing and walking. The sound of children playing is music to Joanne’s ears. Joanne loves to experience the world through the eyes of young children as they discover new things with awe and wonder.
Velma
director
Velma and her husband have been fostering for 25 years. They have 5 permanent children, 3 of them are adults. She usually cares for children 0-5, but if they have older siblings she will take them too! She enjoys family visits and dinners with her adult children. Get together with other friends with kids or just other friends for adult times. They love boating in the spring, taking the kids to experiences such as parks, museums, aquariums, movies, anything to provide enrichment to the lives of all her children. They also love to travel, especially sunny vacations! Velma describes herself as a positive person and likes to focus on the positive. She believes change and moving forward needs to have respect for the past yet a new vision for the future.
Dusty
director
Dusty has been a foster parent for 9 years. She is also an FASD key worker in a community non profit agency. Although she started fostering teens, she now typically takes ages 5-10. She currently has a house full of boys with 3 foster children and her 20 year old adopted son. She enjoys taking her kids to sports, attending camps to learn new skills and being with their friends. She enjoys watching her boys play sports and cheering them on. She also enjoys crafts, playing sports herself, reading and hanging out with friends. Dusty’s passion is to support other caregivers and assist them in advocating for the best interest of the children in their families and help them problem solve if issues arise in their homes.
Trudy
director
Trudy and her husband have been fostering for 26 years. She is a registered nurse who has worked in labour and delivery, Pediatrics and currently in the NICU. She says “families are my thing”. She typically takes newborns, but if they have older siblings she’ll take them too! She has 4 adult children and is in the process of adopting a sibling group of 3. In her spare time she loves the beach, reading, sewing and camping.
How You Can Help
Do you care about the fostering community, but can't foster yourself? There are many ways that the community can support our organization and the foster parents we support.
Financial Support
We accept donations and can provide a CRA donation receipt for amounts over $20 for Canadian donations. All funds go directly to support the care of children in foster care in BC. We have yearly bursaries for camps and supplies needed for foster families, as well as provide support to foster parents during difficult periods (death of a family member, abrupt moves, illnesses, new placements, etc)
Tangible Support
We are always looking for community members to support our families through meals, driving, babysitting, yard work, handy work, etc. If you have a skill and the time to share it, we would love to hear from you. We also have a facebook group for community members to connect with foster families. Please join us:
Ongoing Campaigns
Our Association has ongoing backpack and diaper bag campaigns. We collect new items to fill backpacks and diaper bags for infants and youth coming into foster care. If you would like to support one of these campaigns, please reach out: