We were excited to announce the launch of our Be The Village Match Challenge in November 2025. For six months, every financial gift to The Village will be matched dollar for dollar, up to two hundred thousand dollars. The generosity of donors will immediately double in impact and help strengthen and expand The Village’s work across West Virginia.
Four years ago, The Village began with a simple idea. Most West Virginia churches want to help children and families connected to foster care. Many simply do not know how or where to begin. The Village stepped into that gap with a clear purpose. Guide, equip, and connect churches so that vulnerable children and families never walk alone.
West Virginia continues to have the highest rate of children in foster care per capita in the nation. There are not enough foster families. Families who do step forward often lack the steady support they need to remain in the work. Yet something unmistakable has become clear. It is working. When churches are guided, equipped, and supported, families stay in the fight, children receive stability, and communities begin to change.
Foster families describe this reality with honesty and gratitude.
- “We could not continue to do this without the people around us. Their support is the only reason we are still in it.”
- “Support has kept us in foster care. Without it, I do not think we would still be here.”
- “The community of people surrounding us was vital in helping us walk through that season and come out on the other side saying we would not change a thing.”
Support is not theoretical. It is meals. It is respite. It is prayer and encouragement. It is a ride, a moment of relief, or a volunteer showing up with something small that becomes something significant. It is the church saying to a family, “You will not face this alone.”
The evidence of progress is unmistakable. Nearly sixty churches across seventeen counties have been involved. More than 100 families are being supported, have been supported, or are otherwise in the process of receiving support through Care Communities. More than six hundred volunteers have stepped forward. CarePortal and other activities have strengthened cooperation between churches and child welfare staff, and collaboration across counties continues to deepen.
Pastors and ministry leaders see the change.
- “It has been a profound blessing for us as a church because it really does work.”
- “The ministry brought order to all of the hearts of the people so that everyone had a place to do the thing God had called them to do.”
- “It is not that hard to make a world of difference.”
Volunteers share the same experience.
- “When you provide a meal or a ride or babysit for a night, it may seem small, but it is the difference between a family making it or giving up.”
- “Being part of a care community means you get to be the light for families who are in the darkness. That is powerful.”
- “It is not just helping kids. It is helping families stay in the fight and not quit.”
The Village vision looks toward a future where trained team members serve in communities across every region of West Virginia, working alongside churches and local partners. They will guide and equip churches to confidently support foster, adoptive, kinship, and vulnerable families in meaningful and sustainable ways. Using activities and infrastructure like CarePortal, these team members will strengthen partnerships with state and local agencies so churches can respond quickly in moments of crisis. As this presence grows and collaboration deepens, communities will move from not enough families and support to more than enough for every vulnerable child. This unified statewide network will enable West Virginia churches to care for children and families with clarity, connection, and lasting impact.
As of today, The Village presence and impact is strong in several regions. Families are receiving support, churches are stepping into their calling, and cooperation with child welfare partners continues to grow. Now it is time to accelerate, expand, and strengthen this work so that every community in West Virginia has access to the support that is already proving effective.
This is what the Be The Village Match Challenge makes possible.
Matched gifts will strengthen the operational foundation, expand the team, and increase our presence across the state while deepening what is already in place.
As this year concludes and as we enter 2026, we invite you to consider a matched financial gift to The Village. When you give, you are joining a movement of churches, volunteers, and partners determined to ensure that families caring for vulnerable children never walk alone.
We humbly ask that you prayerfully consider participating in this Match Challenge. You will equip more churches. You will support more families. You will help move West Virginia from not enough to more than enough families, support, resources, and connection for vulnerable children.
To participate in the Be The Village Match Challenge you can:
Thank you for being on this journey with us!!