Gallery of Strength

Read about local Cedar Rapids’ foster families and their experiences on our JLCR blog! The Chase Family The Gansen Family The Heidgen Family The Herring Family The Lentz Family The Warth Family The Zhorne Family

Gallery of Strength: Zhorne Family

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“You gotta learn as you go” Matt and Amanda were not prepared to take in Jeremiah ten years ago. They had gone through the classes and had been contemplating opening their home, but never felt that the time was right. One night changed their lives forever. It was that fateful evening when DHS had called […]

Gallery of Strength: Warth Family

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“Give Them A Chance” “I think that people are afraid to work with teens, but we need to give them a chance.” Holly said. Holly has a soft spot in her heart for the older foster youth. She knows firsthand from years of being a social worker, and understands the struggles of finding good foster […]

Gallery of Strength: Lentz Family

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“Investing in All People!” “Being a foster parent has made me a better parent and has made me more compassionate toward all people.” When Sarah had a family member who needed help, her heart told her to get involved. She began with taking care of the family member’s children. Then became a licensed foster parent, […]

Gallery of Strength: Herring Family

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“They are completely innocent and need stability and love.” Amber’s story begins a little differently. “I grew up with my grandparents always fostering. They have done it for over 50 years and had well over 500 kids placed in their home.  They still do it to this day. I witnessed the emotional toll it has […]

Gallery of Strength: Heidgen Family

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“Using My Experiences!” “What works for 80-90 percent of your students might not work for children who have experienced trauma or were exposed to drug use in utero,” says Julie. Julie’s experiences as a teacher and foster mom have given her the strength to support and advocate for foster parents, children, and fellow teachers. Now […]

Gallery of Strength: Gansen Family

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“Our job is to love kids, make them feel safe, and give them a good home!!” Five years ago, Therese and her husband Joel had their whole world changed.  They were “blown away at the amount of children in the foster care system for our small demographic.” Therese said. After a friend had planted the seed […]

Gallery of Strength: Chase Family

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“Love. They’ll Never Forget It” “If you have an opportunity, do it. It’s well worth saving them from what they could possibly face. It’s worth falling in love with the child and having them feel safe and secure and experience the feelings that love, even if it’s a short time, they’ll never forget it.” says […]

Stuff the Bag Challenge

There are more than 900 youth in the foster care system throughout Linn and Johnson County. Help JLCR provide the resources these youth need to live independently by donating your gently used items to Stuff Etc!  

Women’s Self-Defense Seminar

Saturday, January 12, 2019

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Join Junior League of Cedar Rapids for an awesome Personal Safety Seminar! All funds support our New Member Class projects. This 3 hour seminar/ training class is only $30 for non members ($25 for members). Class size is limited to 40 people due to space so sign up today! Feel free to share with friends […]