The difficulties of living in foster care can take a significant toll on children's mental and behavioral health. Up to 80 percent of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared to approximately 18-22 percent of the general population. This year, Psi Pi Omega, in collaboration with Project Pink & Green Foundation, supported foster care and mental health awareness by assembling toiletry bags for children in care and bringing them out to the CCKids' 1K for Kids & Story Stroll.

Story Stroll Draws Crowd to Raise Awareness for Foster Care

May 31, 2023

Port St. Lucie – More than 100 people attended CCKids’ Third Annual 1K for Kids and Story Stroll Saturday, marking a turning point for the foster care awareness event.

Past events, hosted since 2021 at Port St. Lucie’s Hillmoor Lake Park, have drawn fewer than 50 participants.

“I don’t know if it was the merchandise, better outreach or just more people getting out after the pandemic, but we saw a nearly 100 percent increase in attendance this year,” said Christina Kaiser, community relations director for Communities Connected for Kids, the nonprofit organization that oversees the child-welfare system in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties.

Participants who signed up for and attended the event received a free tee-shirt with a unique 2023 foster care message that reads, “I went 1K for Kids… How far will you go?”

“In the previous two years, we had lots of shirts left over,” Kaiser said. “This year, we had plenty of room in our cars for the drive back home.”

A prominent feature of the event is the Story Stroll, a 1K walk along a tree-lined trail dotted with the stories and videos of children and families of the local foster-care community.

It was all in celebration of National Foster Care Month, celebrated every year in May.

“We want our community to know the children and families who make up foster care,” Kaiser said. “Their stories are worth telling, and we think we’ve created the perfect interactive experience to share them.”

Event organizers also dovetailed the event with a toiletry drive called Project Sparkle. Many people brought donations with them to the park, while the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha brought bins and boxes full of individual toiletry gift bags for both girls and boys.

VISA Gift Card Drawing!

CCKids entered the names of those who brought toiletries into a raffle to win a $50 Visa gift card. We are very happy to announce that Susan Jones is the winner of this raffle! Susan, if you're reading, please email your contact information to Christina.Kaiser@CCKids.net. Click the link above to see the drawing.