What is Our Purpose?
To inspire, mobilize and support the church to live out the biblical mandate to care for vulnerable kids and families in need, and ultimately, create a church culture where caring for children will be a natural outcry of our love of Jesus and our recognition of our amazing adoption by Him.
Why Now?
Arizona is facing an orphan crisis. “Arizona is one of the states leading the nation in the number of children per capita in group or shelter care” according to the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), with 600 children removed from their home every month and climbing by 100 each month.
Why Me?
This crisis begs the question to each of us: How does God call you to serve the defenseless among us? The vast spectrum of needs within the foster care and adoption ministry is an all-call to Christians to share their unique gifts, resources, and experiences. Whether you welcome a child into your home or support neighbors who do, you could help make this ministry thrive.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” –James 1:27
Are you interested in information about foster care, adoption? Would you like to serve in this ministry? Are you a current foster, kinship, or adoptive family? If so, please complete this online form so we can come along side of you.
Foster Care Program Coordinator: Phoebe Johnson pjohnson@scottsdalebible.com
Central Director, Local Outreach Director: Shannon Mitchell smitchell@scottsdalebible.comI
Let us help you find a place to serve using your gifts and passions to make a difference. You can provide critical support services for kids in care, foster families, birth families, young mothers, or young adults who have aged out. We have the privilege of partnering with numerous local organizations who offer volunteer opportunities.
Find a place to serve in foster care and adoption
The engagement grid below shows the holistic approach and a variety of ways to get involved! From donating diapers and planning birthday parties to mentoring or fostering a child.
A key component of our For the Valley vision is expanding our efforts to care for children and families impacted by the foster care crisis in our state. We’re excited to announce that in March 2022, SBC began a new effort to bring a girl’s foster home called “Gigi’s Cottage” under the SBC ministry umbrella. Previously founded and run by a long-standing SBC family and their organization Firm Foundations, the home provides a home for girls ranging in age from 7 to 17.
Some of the girls who will live at Gigi’s Cottage come from a failed foster, adoption, or kinship placement; others from facilities that offer higher-level care, such as residential treatment centers or therapeutic group homes. Through new combined efforts, SBC will provide administrative and operational support to assist the Gigi’s Cottage team to help these girls move in a positive direction and experience the love of Jesus.
How can you get involved? First, pray for Gigi’s Cottage staff and the girls who live there. Second, get involved by volunteering. Opportunities to serve at the house will be posted here in the next couple months, but Gigi’s Cottage is currently seeking staff members including drivers, tutors, and direct-care staff.
Is Gigi’s Cottage eligible for AZ’s state income tax credit as a Qualifying Foster Care Tax Credit Organization?
Yes, you can confirm by visiting the AZ Dept. of Revenue’s website and looking for Firm Foundation Youth Homes https://azdor.gov/tax-credits/contributions-qcos-and-qfcos (scroll to the list for 2022 under QFCO). The QFCO code is 10054 which us used on the AZ tax form 352. The maximum credit allowed is $1,000 for married filing joint filers and $500 for single, heads of household, and married filing separate filers.
A Young Couple’s Adoption Story Kinship Adoption Special Needs Adoption Foster Care and Adoption International and Domestic Adoption Foster Care and Adoption When You Have Older Children “ReMoved” – a foster care journey experience through the eyes of a child removed from her home
