BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A little time can make a big difference for a child in foster care.
Victory Family Services supports children in foster care and young adults transitioning out of the system. Part of that work is finding safe, supportive homes. But it's also about giving kids a chance to step away from what they're facing and simply be kids.
Erick Voss, community outreach coordinator for Victory Family Services, said those breaks can take many forms.
"Sometimes it's giving them a teddy bear. Sometimes it's getting an ice cream with them, but it's giving them a break from whatever situation they're going through at the moment," Voss said.
Sometimes, the people helping make those moments possible are volunteers like Kelly Carrera. For her, it started with a flyer for an Easter event. She works downstairs from Victory Family Services, saw they needed help and decided to ask how she could help.
"So I asked them if I could help, and I just started asking for donations from some of our real estate agents and just other people in the area," Carrera said.
That one event led to the next, and since then, Carrera, a volunteer, has helped with holiday events, a Mother's Day celebration, and the recent Trunk or Treat community event. But she says it's not the events themselves that keep her coming back.
"It's the smiles of the people that we're helping. I mean, you genuinely see, like, the impact that you're making directly just in the faces of the people that we're helping. And that, that's what keeps me coming back," Carrera said.
For children who may already struggle to trust adults, Voss says there's power in seeing someone show up simply because they care.
"When they see somebody that doesn't have to be there, somebody that's not there to collect the paycheck, just show up... it brings that barrier down. It helps them say, 'Hey, you know what? Like, maybe there are people that care,'" Voss said.
For Carrera, that's enough of a reason to keep giving her time.
"I think a lot of people talk about building a legacy or leaving a legacy. And for me, I can think of no better way to do that than to donate and volunteer my time, helping those in need in our community," Carrera said.
For the volunteers here, it's time they say is well spent. Whether it's helping at an event or spending time with kids, they say the connections they build are what keep them coming back.
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