1 0 DECEMBER 1 5, 2008
Smoke Signals
Couple buys gifffts floor TirilbsiD foster dholdireini
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
"I know the Tribe can't afford
much (extra) these days," said
Tribal member Ann Lewis, who is
a realty specialist with the Tribal
Lands Management Division, "but I
wanted to start a fund for our foster
kids, so I did it myself."
Actually, Lewis and her husband,
Kenneth, first agreed to forgo pres
ents for themselves to buy presents
for the children, said Lewis.
Then, out she went to the stores
and came back with way more than
an armful. Unfortunately, she for
got to buy for teens.
"And the number of presents for
boys was this big ..." she said as she
held her arms wide apart, "and the
number for girls was only this big," as
she narrowed the space between.
"So out I had to go back and get
more," Lewis said.
With about 100 Tribal children
now in the Tribe's foster care pro
gram 75 in foster care and 25 in
guardianships or adoptions the
foster care children are in every
age range up to 18 years, accord
ing to Dana Ainam, supervisor for
the Social Services Indian Child
Welfare unit.
When Lewis returned, she
brought her SUV filled with pres-
1 fcWtf
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Ann Lewis, Tribal member and realty specialist with the Tribal Lands
Management Division, unloads presents from her car on Monday, Dec. 8,
that will go to children in the Tribe's foster care program. Lewis and her
husband, Kenneth, took the money that they would have spent on presents
for each other and bought gifts for the foster care children instead.
ents wrapped and labeled over
to Social Services. They filled a
conference room table and included
about 75 separate gifts including
stocking stuffers.
"I want to say how appreciative
the program is," said Ainam. "For
me, it's not only a great gift for kids,
but it's a great gift for the program
because it shows support for the
program. It shows that people ac-
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knowledge the work that we do and
acknowledge the need of these kids
that are in the system."
Mechele Johnson, the Tribe's
foster care recruitment specialist,
did not know about the gifts ahead
of time. She walked into the confer
ence room where the presents were
stacked and said, "Oh my gosh!
That's so cool."
"We usually do a party for the
kids for Christmas," Johnson said.
"We give one gift - it's a pretty big
one, though but that's usually all
we're able to do for them. For most
in a foster home, it's the best gift
they get.
"This is going to make a world of
difference."
"The fact that someone in the
community is taking time to try to
make the life of these kids a little
better shows the real spirit of a
Tribal community," Ainam said,
"which is taking care of others."
Lewis's ultimate goal is to make
this an annual Tribal event with
everybody pitching in.
"I have a personal connection to
the Tribal foster care program,"
Lewis said, "and what I have wit
nessed is that these children are
innocents. My goal is to start a fund
for our Tribal foster children.
"I call it the 'Happy Tree' fund.
I chose this name to represent not
only the Christmas tree that the
presents will go under, but the
family tree that all Tribal members
belong to." B
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