Piece By Piece - A Fundraiser for Dude and Dolly

When I first started fostering, I never could have imagined just how many amazing people that decision would bring into my life.  I never could have imagined that I would "meet" a group of women in the Blogsphere of all places, and that those women would turn out to be what I am fairly certain will be lifelong friends.  We foster moms are a close-knit bunch.  We have experienced each other's joy, frustration, sorrow, excitement, anger, and strong Mama Bear love for the children who have come into and out of our lives over the years.  We are members of a family who choose to make the safety and well-being of other people's children a top priority in our own lives, and when that safety is being threatened, we Mama Bears FIGHT.  We fight for our children.  And we fight for each other.

This past Monday, it became apparent in the case of Cherub Mamma's Dude and Dolly that the time to FIGHT is now.  After over two years in care, the state is determined to send the children to an unsafe relative placement despite numerous objections from attorneys, the children themselves, and even the judge on the case.  This past Monday, Cherub Mamma was flat out told by the children's attorney (and implied by the judge) "you need to intervene."  I know this was a huge decision for her and her husband.  They have hoped all along that the people whose job it is to stand up and keep the children safe would do their jobs.  This past Monday, it was made clear that wasn't going to happen.  The time to legally intervene on Dude and Dolly's behalf is now.

The decision to do so is huge.  Not only does it invite additional stress, fear, and worry into an already ridiculously stressful case, the decision adds an element that has not previously been a factor...  Intervening is expensive.  In complicated cases, it can be seemingly insurmountably expensive to the tune of $15,000-$20,000.  That alone is frightening.  I know that fear is one that has been tearing at Cherub Mamma, but I also know that it doesn't have to.

When I heard that the decision was made and that they were actively searching for an attorney, I told my fellow Mama Bear not to worry.  I told her to let me and the other Mama Bears take it from here, and I quickly came up with the idea to start a puzzle fundraiser in order to try to offset some of the attorney fees that will quickly be building up.  This is where you come in!

Cherub Mamma just ordered a 1,000 piece puzzle of a mama bear and her two cubs.  For every $5 raised, their family will be able to put a piece of this puzzle together.  Anyone who donates will have their names written on the back of their puzzle piece(s).  When the puzzle is complete, Cherub Mamma and her family will have a tangible keepsake with the names of every person who helped fight so hard to keep Dude and Dolly safe and to keep their family together.

To sponsor a puzzle piece, simply click the "Donate" button on the upper right-hand side of the blog and follow the prompts.  All donations go into an account that will be released as the attorney bills come piling in.  You can follow the progress here by checking the donation tracker under the donate button as well as watching the puzzle come to life on Cherub Mamma's blog.

I honestly believe that if every person who has been praying for Dude and Dolly over the past two years would sponsor just one puzzle piece, we can help give these children the permanency they deserve in a safe home filled with love.