Hope is an essential ingredient in advocacy

We do our work with vision. 

And we do our work with hope. 

We who are foster care advocates will have days of disappointment. We will weather waves of grief over those who are lost, and those we worry that we are losing. 

We will also have experiences that fill us with deep, fierce - and, in that moment, fearless - joy. 

There will be times when we are able:

• To witness a wrong that we experienced and be a force in that moment for making things better. 
• To empower the formerly voiceless and listen to the amazing and powerful things that they have to say, and the recommendations and solutions that they have to offer.
• To help plan and facilitate impactful opportunities, and witness the synergy of bringing others together. To see the smiles on their faces and feel the warmth of love fill our heart. 

And so much more. Let those moments imprint themselves upon your heart. Capture them in photographs. Hold them tight in your heart and remember them when a day seems dark and the world feels full of apathy. We - have - hope.