Testimonials

I was abused, and separated from my siblings as child and went through multiple foster homes over the years. I started going to Love Fosters Hope camps when I was 13 years old, after my CPS worker informed my foster parent about the camps. Just when I was ready to give up on life and say goodbye to what little hope I had left, Camp literally SAVED me. I had never had so much fun, and everyone felt like a family.  As a foster kid sometimes you say stuff but it seems like nobody cares, but at camp I felt everybody loved me. The organization focuses on you. From camp, I knew my life wasn’t over, and that I mattered in the world.  Through camp I also learned to bond and feel the joys of establishing relationships instead of avoiding them. I knew people genuinely loved me without expecting anything in return.

Outside of camp, Love Fosters Hope also graced with a mentor that would extend that love and support throughout the year. So even when camp was over, I still had the support of the volunteers to reach out to me through both my struggles as well as my celebrations. I had multiple mentors who I still rely on today. I attended camps from  13-19 years of age and loved it so much.

Upon graduating from camps, I serve at Love Fosters Hope at a volunteer capacity and have returned to serve every year for the last 10 years at these amazing camps. I have served as activities director, assistant director for TRAC Boys and Girls teen camps, and will serve as TRAC Boys Director in 2024. I love being able to tell the kids how I was once in their shoes, and I enjoy setting an example of hope that was shown by those before me. I will forever be thankful for everyone who has made camps, mentoring and all Love Fosters Hopes programs possible because they saved my life. 

Thanks to the support I was given, I graduated from Sam Houston State University, and now I am also blessed to be a mother, wife, and a proud advocate of Love Fosters Hope among other joys in life.
 – Mayra