June 2020 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER 5
Boys and
Girls Aid
By ZOE NIKLAS
The power to get
through the pandemic
is within the people
Every morning
I run around the
house disinfecting
surfaces with hot
water and bleach
until my eyes water.
I move
NIKLAS around the house
like the Madwoman
of Chaillot,
with my much too long hair in disarray
and a mad/slightly crazed glint
in my eyes. My husband just rolls his
eyes as I nag him about washing his
hands when he returns home. I am
scared of the pandemic and I don’t go
out much. What I experience when I
wipe the refrigerator handle is the
flash back to my 12-year-old self,
washing the handle of our repossessed
fridge, as the workmen waited
to haul it away. My folks were
gone, their money was spent, there
was no food and I was alone to deal
with the repo men. I was terrified
and completely at a loss.
I hate feeling powerless. It is intolerable.
I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. So
when I disinfect the house I mourn for
the pain I know foster kids and those
that love them, are undoubtedly experiencing.
The impact of this pandemic has put
the Boys and Girls Aid in a challenging
position. The video, with the director
Suzan Huntington, clearly delineates
their objectives: continue care for all
the children in the program (at pre-CO-
VID-19 levels), and continue to support
the excellent staff, foster parents and
volunteers that believe all kids deserve
a forever home. Suzan put it succinctly,
“No giving up on kids” is the
motto for this organization for 135
years. She reports that the foster kids
COURTESY PHOTO
Dr. Suzan Huntington, CEO and president of Boys
and Girls Aid.
are responding well to the quarantine.
The stay-at-home order gives them a
sense of certainty to their uncertain
lives. The director finishes her video
praising everyone’s hard work and that
they haven’t had to lay anyone off. She
hopes they meet us all face-to-face at
the Salmon & Rib Dinner July 18.
The restrictions of social gatherings
have impacted the Cypress Auxiliary
branch in Charbonneau as well. So this
is how the Cypress Branch has readdressed
their skillsets to meet the
needs for the out-of-work young foster
kids in the program.
Members of Cypress branch made
and delivered 50 face masks to the
Boys & Girls Aid office for those who
work there and needed them. Homemade
dinners were delivered by Cypress
members to the 15 residents in a
Safe Place. Cypress members supported
the Transitional Living Program
residents who have lost their jobs and
are without funds, by purchasing Fred
Meyer gift cards for them. So far, the
seven residents have been assisted. If
you are interested in making and/or
purchasing and delivering meals,
please let Megan know at 503-542-2345
or mbos@boysandgirlsaid.org.
A program like this deserves our
combined energies, much better than
stewing at home feeling powerless. If
you haven’t yet contributed to one of
these endeavors, there is time to do so.
These needs will not end until everyone
can go back to work.
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