OUT Maine proudly supports A Family for ME’s crucial work with children in foster care. OUT Maine’s Read the Rainbow book donation fundraiser was launched in the fall of 2021 and ships LGBTQ+ inclusive book sets, curated by grade level, to school libraries across Maine.
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. A Family for ME has donated the children’s book Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer to kindergarten through second grade book sets, bookmarks, and information about foster care. This collaboration hopes to raise awareness about the need for foster and adoptive parents in Maine, especially for LGBTQ+ youth.
A Family for ME is a partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services and Spurwink Services that focuses on raising awareness of the urgent need to engage and locate Maine families willing and able to parent children in foster care.
Since launching the Read the Rainbow program, thanks to the incredible generosity of OUT Maine’s steadfast donors, OUT Maine has ordered over 1,300 books through hello hello books in Rockland for enrolled school libraries in 15 of Maine’s 16 counties. School libraries requested book sets based on the grade levels served by each school. The overwhelming response from library staff to include these inclusive book sets in their catalogs continues.
OUT Maine remains hopeful that through outreach, donations will continue to be made towards this vital program, ensuring that the remaining 2,100 books requested will be shipped to the enrolled libraries. You can learn more about and support the Read the Rainbow program here: https://www.outmaine.org/read-the-rainbow/.
A Family for ME reminds Mainers that singles, same-sex couples, unmarried couples, empty nesters, and growing families are all welcome to learn more about becoming a foster/adoptive parent. Learn more on their website https://afamilyformemaine.org/.
