Our History
The State of Arizona provides children in foster care the necessities of life – food, clothing and basic medical care. Anything beyond the essentials falls to foster families, kinship caregivers and group home providers. As much as they’d like to, most caregivers cannot afford to do more. In 1983, concerned members of Arizona’s Foster Care Review Board realized the state foster system simply wasn’t able to do enough to help rebuild the lives of children placed in foster care. These members founded the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation (AFFCF). We made our first award of $29.61 in December 1984.
Since that time, we have made 50,589 awards totaling nearly $10.6 million to children in foster care in Arizona. Whether it’s tutoring to catch children up to grade level, music and dance lessons or sports equipment (and more!), our simple awards help children in foster care in Arizona experience the kind of childhood every child deserves. The more than 13,000 children currently in foster care in Arizona depend on AFFCF to provide them with something extra to help raise their self-esteem and bring them closer to experiencing a normal childhood.
In December 1984, a young woman in Prescott was playing with her high school band and needed some “encouragement.” Our first award of $29.61 covered the cost of a flute rental so this young lady could continue doing what she loved. Since that time, we’ve made more than 58,589 awards totaling nearly $10.6 million in awards to children in foster care in Arizona.
