ABOVE: (From Left to Right) One Hope United Champaign employees Carla Bradford, Elizabeth Stonum, Karen Kietzmann, Katie Arnold, Laken Waltz and Myriam Molina

CHAMPAIGN, IL – One Hope United is now providing foster care services to 75 youth in four Central Illinois Counties,  to ensure they are properly cared for in their transitional foster home and to help them achieve a permanent home, whether they are returned their birth parents, another guardian, or an adoptive family. The new services cover the counties of Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, and Vermilion.

One Hope United, with offices throughout Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Florida, is widely respected throughout Central Illinois as a high-quality provider of foster care services, including its strong track record of helping youth find permanent homes. In nearby Charleston, where One Hope United has provided services for decades, the organization currently exceeds the goals set by child welfare officials to find permanent families for youth in foster care.

To encourage potential foster parents to learn about One Hope United, the organization is welcoming the community to an Open House on Friday, August 2nd, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at 1902 Fox Drive, Suite E, Champaign, Illinois (217-850-0500). Community members are invited to drop in, meet the staff, enjoy light refreshments, and learn more about the services, including the process of becoming a foster parent or family.

“There is a shortage of foster parents nationwide, and we want to encourage more individuals and couples to become foster moms and dads,” said Charles A. Montorio-Archer, President and CEO of One Hope United.  “Our new presence in the Champaign area reflects our vision: For every child and family, a life without limits,” said Montorio-Archer.

“Foster parents play an indispensable role in helping our children reach permanency,” says Lindsey Hoover, director of One Hope United’s foster care programs in Charleston and now Champaign. “Through their patience, love and compassion, they provide a safe and secure environment for the children we serve.” Foster parents may also be a permanency option themselves, Hoover adds, as foster care can be a path to adoption.

Champaign-area individuals and families interested in fostering who cannot attend the open house should contact One Hope United’s licensing manager, Myriam Molina, at mmolina1@onehopeunited.org or 217-508-6388.

To get acquainted with area residents, One Hope United employees, supporters, and youth will participate in Run Mahomet on Saturday, August 3, 2019. For the second straight year, the “Run Hope United” team will run the race benefitting the Mahomet Area Youth Club.

“Last year’s ‘Run Hope United’ was a great way for the One Hope United community to bond while supporting a cause that we all believe in – children,” says Tim Snowden, Executive Director of Community-Based Family Services, which include foster care. “We are thrilled to be participating in Run Mahomet for the second year, this time as a service provider in the community.”

Race attendees and spectators are encouraged to say hello to the Run Hope United team and learn how they can support area children through the organization’s foster care program.

About One Hope United

One Hope United is a private human service organization that offers a diverse array of prevention, intervention and community-based programs including early education, foster care, adoption, residential, and other support services. What began in 1895 as a children’s home in suburban Chicago now serves 9,000 children and families each year in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Florida and employs nearly 800 passionate and talented professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.onehopeunited.org.