Respite Night

A Much Needed Break

What better time for a night off than Valentine’s weekend? Defend the Fatherless hosted our 2nd annual Valentine’s Respite Night at Forest Hill Church, Fort Mill. Over 65 volutneers including teens gathered to create the best night ever for our local foster and adoptive youth. Before the families arrived, volunteers were treated with a Chick-fil-A dinner and thanks to Elevation Church, Riverwalk plenty of caffeine from the Pour Farmer coffee truck.

Children began arriving promptly at 5:00pm and were greeted by their 1:1 buddy who lead them to a table of Legos. Each child picked out a box of Legos and enjoyed creating while dining on Chick-fil-A nuggets and chips; basically a childhood dream come true. Once the creations were complete, everyone made their way into the sanctuary for a movie and popcorn. The younger children and those with a little too much energy to sit through a movie had fun building obstacle courses and crashing into sensory mats with their teen buddies.

Of course the littlest ones had plenty of snuggles in the nursery.

At the end of the night, children were excited to show their parents the Lego creations that they got to bring home. There were tears as buddies said their goodbyes. There were smiles from parents who hadn’t had a few hours of uninterrpted time together in months and there were warm hearts from staff and volunteers who knew that they made a small difference. Rest assured that everyone slept well after such a fun night!

We are grateful for the families that make the choice to say, “Yes” to the Fatherless every day. We are grateful for the team of volunteers who made Respite Night Possible and we are grateful for our sponsors: Forest Hill Church, Fort Mill, Elevation Church, Riverwalk and Chick-fil-A, Cherry Road.