Planting Seeds of Change: How the Blossoming Children Forum Sparked Big Dreams for Virginia Beach’s Youth

On April 10, 2025, the Interfaith Alliance at the Beach (IAB) hosted its Blossoming Children Forum, bringing together faith leaders, advocates, child welfare professionals, and community members who share a common goal: ensuring the safety, stability, and well-being of every child in our community.

Teresa Stanley straightens the IAB sign

What bloomed from this gathering was a garden of bold ideas, passionate concerns, and hopeful dreams—captured in a Dream Board that reflected the collective wisdom and heart of all who attended.

The Dreams We Shared

At the forum, participants envisioned a future where:

• No child is without a home. Families in crisis would have access to safe, affordable housing and shelter options that prevent the trauma of separation.

• We have more foster homes than children who need them. Recruitment of foster, adoptive, and respite care families would become a movement—especially within the faith-based community.

• Kinship caregivers receive the support they deserve. Financial resources and respite care would be available to those caring for loved ones outside the foster system.

• Mental health care in schools is accessible, inclusive, and stigma-free. Services would meet children where they are—with compassion and choice—not funnel them into one-size-fits-all solutions.

• No child goes hungry. Food security and knowledge about nutrition assistance would be widespread and easily accessible.

• Transportation is never a barrier. Every child would have a way to get to their well-child visits and critical appointments.

• Our schools reflect the diversity and needs of our community. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) supports would remain a foundational element in education, with special attention to children with unique learning and behavioral needs.

• Faith and community work hand-in-hand. By connecting volunteers and organizations with families in need, we can harness the power of many to make the work lighter and more effective.

  
  

A Call to Action

These aren’t just dreams—they’re roadmaps. The ideas shared at the Blossoming Children Forum point to what’s possible when we collaborate across sectors, listen to one another, and commit to action rooted in love and justice.

The forum reminded us that no one organization can do this work alone. It will take all of us—faith communities, nonprofits, schools, city leaders, and everyday citizens—to make these dreams reality.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who participated in this powerful conversation, and we invite you to join us in the next steps. Together, we can build a community where every child blossoms.