Support "Raise Me Up"

September 15, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

Today, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and Casey Family Programs launched an important campaign - Raise Me Up - designed to inspire people to support children in foster care and prevent child abuse and neglect in communities throughout New Jersey.

New Jersey's children need our help.

The primary message of the Raise Me Up campaign is: "You don't have to raise a foster child to raise them up. You just have to raise your hand and say you'll help."

DCF, with the financial support from Casey Family Programs, will launch this media campaign using the powerful television, radio and print ads to invite the public to get involved by first visiting the Raise Me Up Web site.

The Raise Me Up campaign offers easy ideas on how to make a difference in a child's life. By simply visiting the campaign Web site - www.RaiseMeUp.org - and clicking on New Jersey, interested people will be linked with a variety of options on how to help foster children in their own communities. Opportunities to help will range from fostering, adopting or mentoring a child to distributing vital child safety and abuse prevention materials in your neighborhood.

You have the power to help vulnerable children in your community by supporting the campaign. I urge you to spread the word about Raise Me Up, and talk about the campaign whenever you can, to whomever you can.

You can also help by posting the attached Raise Me Up Web icon on your organization's Web site.

New Jersey's Raise Me Up campaign will benefit programs and services including:

* Recruitment of foster and adoptive families for teens, sibling groups and medically-fragile youth

* Support for adolescents transitioning from care by supporting their college education and career development

* Community involvement in local Family Success Centers, which support families in need

* Finding new mentors for local community Boys & Girls Clubs

* Donations to benefit recently reunified families

* Support for the state's Court Appointed Special Advocates

* Raising community awareness of supports for youth in need, including a statewide, 24-hour youth helpline.

* Spreading the word about New Jersey's child safety campaigns to prevent injury or harm.

On any given day, there are 8,800 children in foster care in New Jersey. The Raise Me Up campaign aims to not only help support children while they spend time in foster care, but help eliminate the need for foster care all together.

You can view all of Raise Me Up's media advertisements on the Web site: http://raisemeup.org/ads.aspx

If you would like to receive outreach materials to help spread the word about Raise Me Up or would like more information about this campaign to support New Jersey's most vulnerable children, please contact Leida Arce or Marcella Butkewicz at 609-292-0422.

Sincerely,

Kimberly S. Ricketts
Commissioner