For Tim Wingate, there’s nothing more important than impacting the life of a child. He knows firsthand. Wingate will share his personal story of his foster experience as a teenager living with Marion’s Shelly and Ray Parker, the foster family whom Wingate says “saved his life.”

Marion County Children Services will host this informational program for prospective foster/adoptive families on Thursday, May 15, in Maynard Hall on the Ohio State Marion campus.

Free and open to the public, the informal program begins at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.

Free parking is available in the visitor lot adjacent to Maynard Hall, the newest building on campus.

Following Wingate’s presentation, Terrie Robinson and Toni Fisher from Children Services will discuss the requirements of becoming a licensed foster parent or an approved adoptive parent, along with the challenges and rewards of opening your heart and home to children.

“Our program is a good introduction to learn more about becoming a foster family,” Robinson explains. “It’s a big decision and a challenging experience, but those who serve as foster families say the rewards are just as great.”

For those who have already made the decision to become a foster or adoptive parent, Children Services offers the State-required series of parent training classes beginning Wednesday, May 28, at the agency, 1680 Marion-Waldo Road.

“This series of classes is packed with excellent, up-to-date, engaging information that applies to children of all ages,” explains Julie Daiber, training coordinator. “We talk about all of the issues surrounding caring for foster children, along with the rewards of making a difference in a child’s life.”

The classes are taught by Lynn Anderson, a foster parent herself, who is as an independent trainer for Children Services organizations across the State of Ohio.

Classes are interactive and encourage participation, and focus on topics including discipline, attachment and separation, teambuilding, effects of care giving on the family, and how abuse and neglect impact child development.

All classes are free.

A complete list of classes and dates can be found at the Children Services’ web site: www.marionkids.com under the “Foster/Adopt” tab.