The organization went national in 2016, and now has chapters across the country.
Austin Angels primarily serves Texas Foster Care Region 7, which encompasses around 30 counties in central Texas, including Travis and Williamson.
According to Austin Angels case manager and Community Programs Manager Krista Wilbur, there are 4,500 children waiting to be placed with foster families in this region alone, including in the Pflugerville and Round Rock areas. For both the children and families, additional support can be extremely beneficial, Wilbur said.
"When I talk to volunteers and we're matching the families and youth, I always tell them, 'We truly cannot do this work without you,'" Wilbur said. "We know when we're working with kids and people in general [that have] experienced trauma, the number one thing that prevents trauma and the number one thing that heals trauma is healthy relationships."
Austin Angels volunteers show up for the family or child they are matched with, becoming a supportive part of their lives akin to additional family members, Wilbur said.
This can take the form of someone who is approved by the foster care system to help babysit small children, provide meaningful mentorship and other types of support to allow them to continue fostering children.
Wilbur said many homes, when overwhelmed and under supported, end up closing after the first year.
"If a child is reunified we want them to remain open so that they can be a safe place for future placement," Wilbur said. "If a child is adopted, we want them to continue to foster if they have faith in their home. If we can just show up and provide support from our community for families, that can make them feel like they're not doing it alone, because it can be really isolating."
Wilbur is fostering a child in addition to working with Austin Angels.Wilbur said Austin Angels looks for volunteers who are willing to commit, with the level ability to provide time and financial assistance matched to the needs of families and children— no one is required to give a minimum amount of money or time.
"I always knew that I would do it," Wilbur said. "I was adopted as a teenager and had really just amazing influences in my life, people who gave me really the relationships that I needed to believe in myself and get to become a really successful person."
Austin Angels
512-312-4500
[email protected]
9901 Brodie Ln., Ste. 160 PMB 255, Austin
According to Austin Angels case manager and Community Programs Manager Krista Wilbur, there are 4,500 children waiting to be placed with foster families in this region alone, including in the Pflugerville and Round Rock areas. For both the children and families, additional support can be extremely beneficial, Wilbur said.
"When I talk to volunteers and we're matching the families and youth, I always tell them, 'We truly cannot do this work without you,'" Wilbur said. "We know when we're working with kids and people in general [that have] experienced trauma, the number one thing that prevents trauma and the number one thing that heals trauma is healthy relationships."
Austin Angels volunteers show up for the family or child they are matched with, becoming a supportive part of their lives akin to additional family members, Wilbur said.
This can take the form of someone who is approved by the foster care system to help babysit small children, provide meaningful mentorship and other types of support to allow them to continue fostering children.
Wilbur said many homes, when overwhelmed and under supported, end up closing after the first year.
"If a child is reunified we want them to remain open so that they can be a safe place for future placement," Wilbur said. "If a child is adopted, we want them to continue to foster if they have faith in their home. If we can just show up and provide support from our community for families, that can make them feel like they're not doing it alone, because it can be really isolating."
Wilbur is fostering a child in addition to working with Austin Angels.Wilbur said Austin Angels looks for volunteers who are willing to commit, with the level ability to provide time and financial assistance matched to the needs of families and children— no one is required to give a minimum amount of money or time.
"I always knew that I would do it," Wilbur said. "I was adopted as a teenager and had really just amazing influences in my life, people who gave me really the relationships that I needed to believe in myself and get to become a really successful person."
Austin Angels
512-312-4500
[email protected]
9901 Brodie Ln., Ste. 160 PMB 255, Austin
