MFA Cares for Kids

After a year-long campaign of fundraising, MFA Cares presented a check for $35,000 on Feb. 4 to its 2024 chosen charity, the Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association (CMFCAA). The organization provides essential services and support to the kinship, foster and adoptive children, youth and families in Central Missouri.

Guy Clow, CMFCAA director of development, accepted the donation and shared information about the organization’s work.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Clow said. “It’s great to know that people are excited about our organization and what we do.”

Founded in 2007 by a former foster youth, foster parents and adoptive parents, the CMFCAA has grown into a multifaceted organization that currently serves more than 640 foster families, 1,400 foster children and 400 adopted children in a 24-county region.

“Anyone who has foster, adoptive, relative or guardianship care of children in their home can qualify for our services, and there is no charge to those families,” he explained. “We’re one of the three adoption resource centers recognized by the State of Missouri, which means about 70% our funding comes from the state. The remaining 30% or so comes from fundraising and donations like this.”

CMFCAA offers a variety of programs and services, including:

• Physical resources such as clothing and furniture

• Support groups and training for foster and adoptive parents

• Advocacy and legal assistance

• Educational resources and tutoring

• Mental health and wellness programs

• Respite care and emergency support

• Community events and family activities

“We can provide some of the basic things that foster, adoptive or kinship families may not have when they’re getting ready to welcome a child into their home,” Clow said. “The work we do in advocacy is also very important, helping these families navigate the bureaucracy and red tape and language that can be confusing in the child welfare system.”

MFA Cares’ partnership with CMFCAA will continue throughout 2025, and several fundraising opportunities are in the works—including the current Super Bowl Squares contest, open until Friday, Feb. 7. Learn more here.

To learn more about MFA Cares, contact Melanie Gates or visit the MFA Cares page here on myMFA.

For more information on the Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association, visit  https://mofosteradopt.com/.