We have an exciting event coming up that will be a “must see” for foster parents and potential foster parents. But it is open to everyone, so I want all of you to be aware and mark your calendars.
Selena Burks, a professional filmmaker and former foster child, will show her film Saving Jackie and share her life’s story at an Oct. 13 event designed to benefit the area’s foster care community.
The documentary Saving Jackie is an intimate portrait of a middle-class family destroyed by the abusive nature of drug addiction. Selena’s mother, Jackie – a 42 year-old recovering crack-cocaine addict – takes an intense look at her life through the course of the film. She eventually acknowledges and accepts responsibility for the deterioration of her relationships with her two daughters.
Selena spent time in the child welfare system and will discuss how a loving foster mother helped her during troubled times.
Saving Jackie premiered at the 2005 Sundance International Film Festival and was also an Official Selection of the 2005 Cleveland International Film Festival, 2005 Urbanworld Film Festival, First Annual Black Eyed Susan Film Festival, the 2005 Black Harvest Film Festival and the 2005 African American Film Marketplace. More information on the film can be found at www.savingjackie.org.
Burks, a Rockefeller Foundation grant winner who has worked with famous film producer Oliver Stone, shows her film to foster parents, churches, drug rehabilitation centers, youth groups, high schools and universities in an attempt to convey the message of forgiveness portrayed in the film.
The presentation, scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center, 8485 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, is being hosted by the Everyday Heroes’ collaborative of foster care providers.
The Everyday Heroes collaborative is a partnership between Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services and several private foster care agencies with a goal of recruiting more foster families for the region’s foster children. In Hamilton County alone, more than 800 children a day need temporary homes with loving families because they are the victims of abuse or neglect. The department also has about 215 children available for adoption.
The event is open to foster parents, friends of foster parents and members of the public who are interested in becoming foster parents. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent and want to hear this presentation, please call 946-7587 to register. Seating is limited.
