MISSION
The mission of Foster Care Awareness centers around helping foster care families provide a safe, nurturing, and supportive homes for children and youth who have been removed from their families due to abuse, neglect, or other challenging circumstances. Our organization strive to ensure the well-being and stability of these children by informing, recruiting, and supporting foster families while advocating for children’s rights, promoting permanency, and collaborating with social services to enhance the overall foster care system. Our ultimate goal is to help children heal, thrive, and regain a sense of belonging, either by reunifying them with their biological families or finding them permanent adoptive homes. Our unique approach is to enrich a foster child’s life by providing something unique that perhaps their families are unable to afford. The government helps reach a minimum safe environment but we a child’s life should not be the bare minimum. Therefore, we also help orphanages and foster families’ home reach or maintain better than average living conditions for their children by finding new beds, fixing leaky faucets, providing a special meal, providing music lessons, gifting tickets to special events and so on.
Our nonprofit service-oriented community receive constant praises from our families.
How can we serve you today?
Ernesto Cividanes, Founder/Director
Ernesto started a computer consulting business after graduating college. After 4 years, he entered the world of pharmaceutical sales. After several promotions, he left as Director of National Accounts and started working at Foster Care Awareness by traveling cross-country and bringing special meals to many orphanages and foster care families. It would not be until 2024 that he would formalize the organization and open the doors to many more families. Ernesto was a foster dad to two children for more than 2 years and has 4 biological children of his own. He says “Since the moment I held my first-born, I realized I had a passion for family. Balancing life and work is imperative and although I can get side tracked, I always go back to the center: loving my family. Then we decided to foster care and that was the beginning of an eye-opening experience. We saw first-had the tremendous need these children have. That’s why we decided to start the Foster Care Awareness non-profit organization.”
Laura Cividanes, Founder
Laura moved from Puerto Rico to Florida when she got married at the age of 21 when she had just finished college. She was the foster care mom for two children and has 4 biolocal children of her own. Laura homeschools her children and has a simple approach to her faith which has carried her all her life. Laura tries to stay as “child” and God has always protected her. Her and her husband, Ernesto, have taken on challenges that she never thought she would. Laura says “We have now seen half the country and I can’t wait to see more! I pray that you are open to God’s will.”
Dr. JP Keener, Director
Education, Curriculum, Technology and Instructional Design Professional | International Ed-Tech & STEM Specialist | State Statute, Policy and Standards Expert | Strategic Planner and Transformational Leader
Nancy Bartoszewski, Director
Nancy is a homeschooling mom of 3 boys. She has been using the classical approach to education with her children for 11 years and was thrilled to find an option that incorporated our Catholic faith. The classical approach, teaching of religious doctrine, art and science projects and opportunity for a Catholic homeschooling community is what really inspired her to open a chapter for Catholic Schoolhouse. Nancy and her family moved from Houston, TX in 2017 where she served as Co-Director for the Catholic Schoolhouse chapter there. She is excited to be able to operate a chapter here and make Catholic Schoolhouse available to more families in South Florida!
48
States serviced
Since 2020, Foster Care Awareness has been doing work through-out the country bringing smiles to Foster Care families and orphanages.
100%
Successful events supported
Pajama Parties and Family Fun Days are one the most successful evenings where our volunteers care for 120+ children so their parents can spend some much needed R&R. Contact us for help in providing this service in your community.
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Shared Love
Foster Care Awareness is more than an organization and works more like a ministry. The passion of our volunteers is expressed daily through their shared love for families.
Our Amazing Team
Our expert team ensures all our families are heard and taken care. of