Dear Mockingbird Supporter,

As always, we have updates to share about each of our programs, but first, we want to remind you that it's not too late to GiveBIG! Every one-time or monthly recurring gift for GiveBIG makes a real impact in the lives of young people and families.

This year, a generous funder has committed to matching the first $15K of individual donations, so now is the time to give! 

Here's a special message from our Executive Director, Yvonne-Monique Aviva, about how your support makes a difference: 

Youth Programs

📱Tune in for a livestreamed conversation for National Foster Care Month on May 18

In observance of National Foster Care Month, we're hosting a livestream on May 18 with two young advocates and Mockingbird's Executive Director, Yvonne-Monique Aviva. This conversation will explore why lived experience is important in advocacy leadership spaces, why advocacy for improving foster care is crucial, and the misconceptions and realities of experiencing foster care. You won't want to miss this-- mark your calendar and tune in on May 18th!

Public Policy & Advocacy

📰 Recent news article features young advocates' Extended Foster Care work

Check out this article from The Imprint about Mockingbird advocates and their work related to Extended Foster Care in Washington state:

MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™

🌟A month of outreach and learning, from Santa Clara to Spokane

Our MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ team has been busy this month as they focus on outreach, learning, and sharing about the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ framework in spaces across the state.

The team had the chance to travel and visit our partners in Santa Clara, California for their fidelity review (pictured in the center photo above and the header image of this newsletter). Fidelity reviews are a chance for our MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ consultants check in with staff and families in an area one year after they launch their first Constellation. The team got to attend a local Constellation gathering, meet the local Hub Home carers, and spend time with our partner organization in Santa Clara. It was a really meaningful time to celebrate this growing community of foster youth and families!

Our team also got to join our DCYF partners at a Mariners game for We Are Family Day at T-Mobile park (pictured above in the photo on the left), which was lots of fun. It was a fantastic day of meeting, supporting, and showing appreciation for the foster, kinship, and adoptive families in our community. 

Finally, the team got to attend the Children's Justice Conference in Spokane (pictured above in the photo on the right) and share about MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ with child welfare professionals from across the state.

In honor of National Foster Care Month, we'll be sharing more stories from MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™, so be on the lookout for those on our social media!

Thank you for reading our May Newsletter! To stay connected with us, follow us on social media or visit our website. 

With Gratitude,

The Mockingbird Society

🌟 Learn, Connect, and Give 🌟

Have questions or want to get in touch with us? Reply to this message or email laurenmorelli@mockingbirdsociety.org.