Posts

Closing our Chapter, Continuing the Mission

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Wrapping It Up As we close out this semester with Light For Little Lives and our partnership with Isaiah 117 House, our group has spent a lot of time thinking about what this project has taught us. When we started, most of us only understood the foster care system from a distance. But through writing, reflecting, and learning more about the experiences of children entering care, this cause has become something significant to all of us. A theme that kept coming up in our conversations was just how much we all benefited from the stability, safety, and opportunities we grew up with. College has shown us how different each person’s starting point can be, and working on this project made us even more aware of the privilege that shaped our own lives. Some of us connected this work to past volunteer experiences, whether through shelters, nonprofits, or organizations that support people facing domestic violence or homelessness. Seeing how early instability can follow someone into adulthood u...
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Devin's Post

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🎄 Hi! My name is Devin Glogowski , and I am a current student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a member of Light for Little Lives . This semester, my group and I have gotten the opportunity to partner with Isaiah 117 House to raise money for their cause of providing temporary housing, care, and love to foster children. As the holiday season approaches, I've become overwhelmed with gratitude for the home and family I have to return to in Baltimore, and for the home and family I've found here. My appreciation for these safe spaces came naturally as a kid. For me, it was always my parents' bedroom. There was something about that room that made me feel untouchable to the outside world, possibly because their bed was just outright massive. Growing up, I thought everyone had a safe space like I did. It wasn't until I got older and started to hear more about the realities of the foster care system that I realized just how lucky I was. Some kids don't get ...
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Claire's Blog

Claire's Blog Post Hello! My name is Claire Schmidt, and I am a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a member of Light For Little Lives, a student group raising money to benefit the Isaiah 117 House. This organization provides temporary housing for children awaiting placement in the foster care system by giving them a bed to sleep in, homemade meals, and a store where the kids can receive any necessities they may be missing, such as toiletries, clothes, and new underwear.  This cause is immensely important, and reflecting on my own life has helped me realize its true significance. Growing up, I took for granted all of the opportunities and resources I was given, and coming to college has broadened my perspectives on each person's unique experiences. My hope for these children is that they will be given these same resources and placed in loving homes, and the Isaiah 117 house is a fundamental part of fostering their success.  One reason that this organizatio...
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Millies Post (1st)

 Hi everyone!! I’m Millie Reinbold , a student at the University of Tennessee, and over the next few months, my group and I are partnering with the Isaiah 117 House here in Knoxville. Isaiah 117 House supports children entering the foster care system by giving them a safe and comforting place to stay on one of the hardest days of their lives. Instead of spending hours in a government or office, these kids are welcomed into a warm home, where they’re cared for, fed, and given a sense of safety and belonging until their foster placement is ready. This project is especially meaningful to me because I previously interned with The Doorstep Project , a nonprofit that provides housing and support for women surviving domestic abuse. During my year there, I helped create branding and marketing materials that amplified their mission and strengthened their voice in the Nashville community. That experience opened my eyes to how powerful it can be when compassion meets organization, when peo...
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Our Purpose!

What is Isaiah 117:  The Isaiah 117 House is a non-profit organization that operates throughout Tennessee and beyond. Its mission seems simple, but it changes many lives. They provide safe, comforting, and loving interim housing for children who are displaced from their homes in times of crisis and are not yet in the foster care system. Instead of waiting in offices or sterile government buildings with people they don't know and not knowing where they're going to go, the children of Isaiah 117 house are welcome into a cozy home and given a chance to feel safe during some of the hardest days in their lives, as well as a sense of belonging. What are we raising funds for?  Isaiah 117 addresses the root of the problem by providing a safe and comforting home environment during their first hours of displacement; however, they are entirely funded by the community. Well, they're not a government entity or organization; they cannot do anything that they do without Community support....
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