Oct9
Respite night: Halloween
5:30 – 9:30 PM · St. Barnabas hall
Costumes optional, candy sorted for allergies. 14 spots left.
Respite nights
The kids get a party. You get the night off.
Second Friday of every month, 5:30 to 9:30 PM, at St. Barnabas hall on Central Ave. Every child in the house is welcome, foster, adopted, bio or grand.
Every sitter is background-checked and has done the same trauma-informed training foster parents do.
How the night goes
What happens at a respite night
Most kids ask to come back. Some parents go to dinner; most go home and sleep.
A Friday, hour by hour
Drop-off and name tags
Each child picks a color group for the night.
Pizza
Long tables, grown-ups eating with the kids.
Crafts, gym or the movie room
Teens get their own room with a console and snacks.
Pick-up
Kids go home with whatever they made and a sleepy story about it.
Rooms
Three rooms, by age
LittlesNursery, ground floorBirth to 4
Cribs, a rocking chair, soft toys and two volunteers who have rocked a lot of babies. We follow your bedtime routine.
Get connectedMiddlesMain hall and gymAges 5 to 11
Crafts, a bouncy gym game and a movie at 8. A volunteer reads stories to anyone who wants quiet.
Get connectedTeensUpstairs youth roomAges 12 to 17
A console, board games, their own snacks and two young adult volunteers. Nobody makes them do crafts.
Get connectedBook a Friday
Next respite nights
Add to calendar
Nov13
Respite night: Pie and a movie
5:30 – 9:30 PM · St. Barnabas hall
Kids bake mini pies to take home for Thanksgiving.
Dec11
Respite night: Gift workshop
5:30 – 9:30 PM · St. Barnabas hall
Kids make and wrap a present for you, so bring a bag to hide it in.
Nothing in that category this month.
Questions
Caseworkers, siblings and big feelings
Does my caseworker need to approve?
Check with your agency. Most treat our nights as babysitting by approved sitters, and we can send them our background-check and training policy.
Can my bio kids come too?
Yes. Every child living in the house is welcome, up to age 17.
What if my child has big behaviors?
Tell us when you book. We'll plan one adult for your child and a quiet space. Many of our volunteers are foster parents themselves.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. Respite nights are paid for by donors and two local churches.
Book a respite night
Spots open on the first of the month. Siblings always book together.