Barb Moore remembers how it all got started, back in 1982. With her children off to school, she told her mom she missed the joy and happiness of having kids in the house. And she knew she still had more love to give. She saw a flyer about foster parenting and called Beech Acres Parenting Center to learn more.
“That first call made me want to become a foster parent to make a contribution myself, for parents who needed help with their kids,” she remembered.
That day was the beginning of a 42-year journey through which she provided a loving foster home for more than 50 children from Beech Acres Parenting Center. Barb retired from foster care in November.
“It’s about sharing your love, helping others and guiding these children to find success in life, and it made me happy to do it,” she said.
Barb’s service was especially important considering the need for foster parents like her. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 22 percent of the youth in foster care in this country are Black or African American, significantly higher than those communities’ representation in the overall population.
“With so many Black and Brown children in foster care, there is a need for foster parents and kinship parents from communities of color,” said Rebecca Ranford, director of foster care and adoption for Beech Acres. “We also need foster parents for teens, as Barb was. But what matters most is the endless love she gave to each of these children by providing a warm and caring home where they could grow.”
Over the decades, Barb took dozens of foster children on vacation with her. They still go on trips together, even with the kids aging out of foster care. She celebrates when they have children of their own and find good jobs, and they make her day when they return to visit.
“They’re all just family to me, that’s how we raised them.”
She credits her conversations with other foster parents in the Beech Acres community and Beech Acres social workers for giving the support she needed.
“I just leaned on my willpower and knew that I could do this, even when it was hard,” she said. “Beech Acres gave me someone to call when I needed help, so I could be stronger and better as a foster parent.”
Why did she continue for so long?
“I don’t know – maybe that’s what my calling was, to help raise these kids and be a helper to people who needed help. It was just something I loved doing, and when you love doing something, you give it your best.”
“Barb has been a generous, loving foster parent who changed the lives of so many children for the better,” said Ranford. “We will always be grateful to her.”
To learn more about the need for foster parents and how you can get involved, contact Beech Acres at beechacres.org or (513) 233-4707.
About Beech Acres:
At Beech Acres Parenting Center we uncover the natural gifts of children by unleashing the power of parents and caregivers. As a contemporary parenting center, BAPC serves over 32,000 people annually through a wide range of services including foster care, kinship care, adoption, behavioral health support in schools, parent coaching and much more. All of our programs are founded in our Natural Strength Parenting™ (NSP) framework which enables parents to unlock their own potential by building on their unique strengths. For more information, visit www.beechacres.org.