Calories for a cause don’t count.

 

At least that’s what I told myself as I pulled up to the Spring Vendor Market at the Book Nook in Ball last week-end to support Starfish Ministries, Cenla’s newest foster care ministry designed to fill the gaps in the foster care system.

 

Speaking with founder Jessica Lachney over a plate of pancakes, she shared their vision. “Starfish Ministries was shaped by a group of passionate individuals from the Central Louisiana community with a heart for the at-risk populations, more specifically at-risk youth, single parents, and the foster care system. At the heart of the Starfish mission is the ultimate commitment to provide safe, nurturing, and impactful environments and resources for children entering foster care.”

 

Fundraising efforts are currently to designed to meet the needs of the first “leg” of the ministry. “In order to mitigate any further trauma exposure for the children who’ve been removed from their homes, Starfish has outfitted a home with means to meet the emergent needs of both the children and social workers. The home is open for immediate, temporary placement for the children to receive a hot meal, bath, clothing

and comforting home environment. A private office space is available for social workers to utilize on site for case management.”

 

My family had come with me and while my grandson was fascinated with face painting and my mom got lost in the books, it was the gun raffle that caught my dad’s eye. They told us they’d been put in Facebook jail 27,000 times for promoting that fundraiser. I laughed; I recently went to TikTok jail for playing Wild West with another grandson.

 

I only know toy guns but my dad assured me the real guns listed were well worth the $30 ticket. With a different gun raffled off every day in April, one ticket gets you entered for each daily drawing. Raffle tickets can be bought here: https://tr.ee/z5gd2jEZqT

 

While Harper Perkins, 7, was passing out butter and syrup to everyone, Amber Sayer shared another upcoming fundraiser. “We hope to continue this great community support with a Bingo Night April 12 at the Main Street Community Center in Pineville at 6 PM. We will have concession foods and community resource vendors.”

 

This is one thing I’ve noticed often at these events. They all promote each other. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

 

On my way out, I asked a set of twins why they’d come to get a pancake breakfast. Their collective answers perfectly represented what I call my pragmatic idealistic personality.

 

“To help kids in foster care,” John Mark Schwartz said while his twin sister Ruby was much more practical. “Because I was hungry.”

 

Read more about Starfish Ministries here: https://linktr.ee/starfishministries.