FALMOUTH, Maine — Staff at a real estate agency in Falmouth are collecting holiday gifts for kids in foster care to help families with the extra costs of caring for another child.
Co-owners of Elevate Maine Realty Melanie Crane and Michael Navarro are sponsoring 100 families through a partnership with Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine.
Crane, a former licensed clinical social worker, said she remembered how her mother fostered children when Crane was young. Now, Crane is vice president of the board for AFFM, a position she has held for two of her three years on the organization's board.
"A lot of these kids are overlooked," Crane said. "To be able to just bless one kid with a couple of things on their wish list makes all the difference and truly makes an impact and makes them feel seen."
Last year, they sponsored 85 families. Crane and Navarro said families who foster or care for their relatives' children, known as kinship families, have extra costs during the holidays that state stipends for foster families do not cover.
"A lot of these kids are entering into foster families [who] weren't really planning for this," Navarro said. "It's a great opportunity to bring a little joy, you know, not just the necessities. It adds something more to their experience at the holidays."
Crane and Navarro said the agency would be accepting donated gifts at their office through Dec. 3. Then, AFFM staff would pick up all the gifts and deliver them to the sponsored families.
Anyone who want to contribute can mail or drop off gift donations at 211 U.S. Route 1, Falmouth, ME, 04105.
Elevate Maine Realty said they were also using this opportunity to talk to adoptive, foster, and kinship families about MaineHousing's first-generation homebuyer's program. Any child who has been in foster care, even for just one day, is eligible for the benefits.
The benefits include lower interest rates on mortgages and up to $10,000 toward closing costs. Participants also go through a free financial literacy course.
Crane and Navarro are using this connection to host monthly seminars through AFFM to teach kids and families about the first-generation homebuyer's program.