Family and Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County held its annual Families to Permanence Appreciation Dinner on Oct. 24 at the Ariss Valley Golf and Country Club.
The event was part of National Foster Family Week, which is held the third week of October each year.
“We are thanking all of our foster families, as well as our families that have recently had a child join their families through adoption and those families recently approved to adopt children or youth for the important role they play in the lives of children in our community,” Susan Lapper, Families to Permanence supervisor, said in a statement.
The appreciation dinner is held across Canada to recognize foster parents and those who recently had a child join their family and honour their efforts, hard work and care.
Numerous foster parents were recognized at the Ariss dinner; some have been fostering for five, 10, 15, 20 and even 30 years.
“It was a calling. In the Bible it says to take care of the widows and orphans and we as Christians felt called to that responsibility,” said Gord Tosh, of Rockwood.
He and his wife Wilma, who have two natural children of their own, have been foster parents to about 80 children over 30 years.
“It’s a family affair. To foster you need the support of your own children,” Wilma said.
Families to Permanence official Kirk Jenkins said the Toshs are “exceptional” foster parents.
“They’re very child-focused,” he said. “Their whole family is involved … Fostering is a part of their family.”
In a speech at the appreciation dinner the Toshs’ natural daughter Jennifer Gleva said, “My parents’ choice to foster has been a generous contribution to our community.
“This decision has also shaped the people we are today. There were many valued lessons … It taught us empathy, hospitality and generosity. Most importantly we learned that second chances are possible.”
Gord noted one of the hardest parts about fostering is the “goodbye, when kids left and you weren’t sure where they were going was going to be okay.”
However, there was one child they took in at the age of seven to whom they never really had to say goodbye.
Ben is now in his 30s and still calls the Toshs “mom and dad.” Cousins refer to him as their cousin, aunts and uncles as their nephew, and Gord and Wilma’s two natural children refer to him as their brother.
“We shared him with his natural family,” Wilma said.
The Toshs say they are now in the “grandparent stage” and will not be raising children, but they will continue to be a part of short-term care.
“That’s the beauty of fostering, you can change the type of placements you take as your life progresses,” Wilma said. “The agency does their best to do a two-way fit.”
Throughout the 30 years, Gord and Wilma have built relationships with other foster families and children; whom they refer to as “extended family”.
Gord and Wilma do not currently have any children in their care, but hope to help out again in the near future.
“I am a foster parent, that is my vocation. I’ve only worked part-time in my life; my main focus has been the children I’ve helped raise,” Wilma said.
Gord added, “We had a family home and we felt like we had something to share with these children. It was good to give children who had not come from a stable home, a chance to experience one.”
The other foster parents and families recognized at the Oct. 24 appreciation dinner are:
– 20 years of fostering: Susan Mellor;
– 15 years: Jodi and Tony Cormier and Jane Wood;
– 10 years of fostering: Pat and Merle Brubacher, Bobbi Hayes and Richard Berthiaume, and Karen White;
– five years of fostering: Trisha and Peter Awad, Patty and Chad Best, Pamela Corella, Amy and Denis Diefenbacher, Ellen and Garth Franklin, Shirley and Lloyd Franklin, Jeanette Koetsier, Doris and Steven Martin, Fran and Andy Turner, Laura Varcoe, and Julie and Edward Veldman.
For information visit www.fcsgw.org.
