Donations Sought So Jamie Can Come Home
WARREN, Ohio – Trumbull County Children Services reports it has found a home for little Jamie, the 5-year-old foster child who received a lifesaving liver transplant last year, as well as her 7-year-old brother Jeremiah. But the family that wants to adopt the children – as well as their two other siblings — does not have a home big enough to comply with state adoption rules.
A fundraising campaign has begun to secure at least $85,000 needed to build an addition to the family’s home in Vienna, says Marilyn Pape, director of Out of Home Services at the county department of Job and Family Services.
State rules stipulate bed and room requirements and prohibit adult children from sleeping in a bedroom with foster or adoptive children. The Vienna family has two biological children, one of whom is a young adult. At least two additional bedrooms and a bathroom need to be constructed before Jamie and Jeremiah can move in, Pape says.
Andy Bednar and his staff of the architectural firm of Baker Bednar Snyder and Associates, Warren, have donated the blueprints for the addition, she notes. “We are turning to the community and beyond to help us reach our goal. We want these children home by Christmas.”
Donations can be made at the crowdfunding website YouCaring.com/HomeForJamieAndJeremiah or to the branch of Talmer Bank, which will become Chemical Bank Nov. 14, at 2001 Elm Road NE. The account is named, “A Home for Jamie and Jeremiah.”
For more information, contact Pape at 330 372 2010 or at Marilyn.Pape@jfs.ohio.gov.
Pictured from left: Jamie’s sister, her brother Jeremiah and Jamie.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
