Fostering Hope is a nonprofit support group for foster families. It resulted from the 2006 collaboration of two foster moms from Christ’s Church of the Valley, Royersford. They turned to each other when they opened their homes to foster children, according to Caitlin Rearden’s WFMZ 69 News report.

The Fostering Hope founders are Alyssa Dourte and Adrienne Cavanaugh.

Dourte is a wife and a mother of three children that include a foster daughter.

Cavanaugh’s family comprises a husband and three children, one of whom is a foster son.

They united having navigated the difficulties of welcoming children into their homes, which often include abbreviated timelines and little prep time.

“Neither of our families had the things that we needed for our first placements,” Dourte said. “But within a matter of days, our support system provided everything we needed.

“We felt so cared for and more prepared to take care of and focus on the children. And we realized that all foster families should have that opportunity.

“We wanted to remove barriers for foster families to say ‘yes’ to kids. And we decided that Fostering Hope would be our opportunity to supply that support,” she concluded.

Fostering Hope has grown since then.

Its newest “Share Closet” — a supply site for free equipment, clothing, and other childcare essentials — now serves Berks County.

More information on that outreach is at WFMZ 69 News.

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The Fostering Hope founders tell their backstories.