San Angelo Family Network

UPDATE: We have received the necessary donations to complete this request!

Some heroes do not wear capes… sometimes they are simply called Aunt and Uncle. ❤️

This incredible couple opened their home and hearts to care for 9 nieces and nephews through September, in addition to raising two of their own children. With 11 kids under one roof, they continue showing what love, sacrifice, and family truly look like every single day.

As summer begins, they would love nothing more than to spend time outdoors making memories with the kids — especially taking them fishing together. Unfortunately, the family lost their fishing poles and tackle during last year’s flood and have not been able to replace them.

We are hoping our community can help bring a little joy and normalcy back to this amazing family by donating fishing poles, tackle boxes, bait gear, or gift cards for fishing supplies.

Sometimes the smallest things create the biggest memories. 🎣

If you would like to help support this family, please message us directly.

🌟 San Angelo Gives is May 5! 🌟

This is our community’s biggest day of giving—and a powerful opportunity to make a difference right here at home.

At San Angelo Family Network, we’re walking alongside kinship families—grandparents, relatives, and loved ones stepping up to raise children when it matters most. Your support helps provide resources, stability, and hope to these incredible caregivers and the kids they’re raising.

Whether you choose to support us or one of the other 270 local nonprofits participating, every gift—big or small—strengthens our community.

Together, we can show what San Angelo is made of.

https://www.sanangelogives.org/organization/sanangelofamilynetwork

Two little girls needed a safe place—and their grandparents stepped in without hesitation. ❤️ Now, they’re working two full-time jobs just to keep everything together. We’re raising support to help cover summer childcare until Pre-K and Head Start begin in August. Every share and donation makes a difference. 💛

Supporting grandparents with daycare assistance Support grandparents raising their granddaughters by helping cover essential summer childcare costs. This fundraiser provides critical support. Your donation helps keep these girls safe, stable, and thriving in a loving home.

Tonight!

Open Homes Initiative is hosting a Movie Night for foster, kinship, and adoptive families! 🎬🍿

Spaces are limited and will be filled first come, first served—but your spot is only secured once you register AND pay the minimal fee per family.

Don’t wait…grab your spot today! 👏🏼✨

Great interview by Open Homes Initiative about a kinship caregiver's journey! Thank you Shannon for sharing your story!

Shannon lost her husband and took in a nonverbal autistic relative within a month. No training, no long runway, just a phone call, a lot of prayer, and a simple conviction: “I could not let him go into foster care. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

In this conversation, we walk through what kinship care actually is, how it’s different from “traditional” foster care, and what it looks like to step into that role while carrying your own grief. Shannon talks about behaviors at home vs school, how trauma stacks on top of autism, the power of stability and routine, and the very practical ways her kids, church, and community have shown up, from home repairs to hot meals. We also get into safety plans, the legal side, why proximity to these stories matters, and how God had been preparing Shannon for years through her work with IDD long before this little boy ever moved into her home.

Join us for episode 6 Your Story Matters: Kinship Care
{ YouTube link for full episode in bio}

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Rust Street Ministries for partnering with us to help distribute the Kin-nected Family Kits.

Because of your team’s care during intake and your commitment to serving families with dignity, kinship caregivers in our community are receiving practical tools, encouragement, and support when they need it most.

Every backpack placed in the hands of a caregiver represents stability for a child and reassurance for a family stepping up in love.

We are grateful for your collaboration and your heart for the Concho Valley. Together, we are strengthening families. 💛

We’re excited to share some wonderful news for kinship families across the Concho Valley!
The San Angelo Kiwanis Club has awarded SAFN a $3,000 grant to launch our new Kin-nected Families: Kits for Growth and Healing program. The Dierschke Brothers Family has also contributed to provide even more resources!

These trauma-informed Family Kits will bring books, games, STEAM activities, sensory tools, and TBRI-based connection strategies directly into the homes of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and relatives caring for children after a family crisis.

We’re grateful for Kiwanis’ belief in this work and their commitment to strengthening families in our community. More details coming soon on how this program will roll out and the families it will support.

Learn more here: https://www.sanangelofamily.org/kin-nected-families-kits-for-growth-and-healing

Families & Whiskey — Rooted in Texas 🥃

We’re proud to announce that Austin Craft Spirits is now the Official Whiskey of the San Angelo Family Network!

Why Austin Craft? Because their story mirrors ours.
Crafted from 100% Texas grains and grounded in patience, authenticity, and tradition — their whiskey reflects the same values that shape strong families and resilient kinship caregivers.

This partnership is a celebration of shared Texas roots, community, and connection.

Read the press release here: https://www.sanangelofamily.org/kin-nector/austin-craft-spirits

Here’s to strong families, strong communities, and strong Texas spirits. 🤝🇨🇱🥃

Last week, we were contacted about a kinship family caring for two little ones — both under the age of three. Their daycare balance has already climbed past $3,000 while they wait for the state’s daycare assistance to be approved. DFPS asked San Angelo Family Network to help with that balance.

These caregivers did what our system, what we as Texans, asked them to do: they opened their home, kept the children safe, and both caregivers continued working full-time to provide stability. Yet, weeks later, they’re being billed thousands of dollars for daycare because support hasn’t kicked in.

We reached out to DFPS to understand how this process works and why families are left carrying such a heavy financial load at the very moment they need help most. So far, we haven’t received a response.

This isn’t an isolated case — it’s a symptom of a larger problem. When caregivers step up, the system should too. No family should have to go into debt to do the right thing.

It’s time for our state legislators to fix this gap Drew Darby for Texas ? Charles Perry ?— to ensure daycare assistance begins at the outset of placement, not weeks or months later.

Until then, we’ll keep standing in the gap — offering what support we can and calling on our community to help fill in where policy falls short.

If you’d like to contribute toward helping kinship families like this one, or learn more about how to advocate for change, visit https://www.sanangelofamily.org/donate