Shineforth

20/11/2025

Our friends at the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing are spreading holiday cheer once again! This year, they’re supporting youth in our Child & Family Healing Center by providing three of the “12 Days of Christmas” stocking-stuffer gifts. Their contributions include holiday gel pens, DIY ornament kits, and mini gingerbread house crafts.

These thoughtful items will be tucked into stockings and shared with our youth in the 12 days leading up to Christmas — adding joy, creativity, and a little holiday magic to the season.

17/11/2025

Thank you, 12 On Your Side, for having Shineforth Program Director Alexa Reitz, LCSW, on-air to discuss the urgent need for safe and loving homes for the more than 5,500 children and teens in foster care in Virginia.

Watch full interview here: www.12onyourside.com/video/2025/11/14/interested-becoming-foster-parent/

14/11/2025

We had the honor to be welcomed to Trinity United Methodist Church Richmond VA's 72nd annual Harvest Day! The event, organized and put on by Trinity UMC’s United Women in Faith group, was grounded by this year’s theme of “Light Bearers,” and Shineforth’s new name and brand were front and center.

Shineforth President and CEO Dr. Nancy Toscano was invited to be the day’s guest speaker, celebrating our organization’s strong legacy of care in the community and shining a light on our bright path ahead. It is because of faith partners like Trinity UMC that we have been able to help children spark their inner light for over 125 years.

The day's events were incredibly bright. Through the Harvest Day offering, over $1,000 was raised in support of Shineforth’s transformative Virginia programming. Thank you to the Trinity UMC United Women in Faith for championing Virginia children and families!

14/11/2025

Thank you, WAVY TV 10, for connecting with Mary Davies and Melani Ferrer from Shineforth's Tidewater team to discuss foster care and adoption.

Watch the full interview to learn more: www.wavy.com/hr-show/hrs-nation-adoption-month/

Mary Davies with Shineforth Child and Family Services and longtime foster parent Melani Ferrer joined HRS with more on the mission and need for foster parents.

12/11/2025

We were thrilled to welcome award-winning author Scott Shigeoka to our historic Richmond campus yesterday as the latest guest in our growing Speaker Series. We're grateful to everyone who joined us from near and far for what was truly an enlightening afternoon of curiosity and discovery.

An internationally recognized curiosity expert, Scott has a knack for learning, an inquisitive personality, and an incredible talent for leading meaningful conversations. During his keynote, he discussed some of his strategies, including how to elevate conversations by asking great questions and how to enhance one's own curiosity through visualization.

Thank you, Scott, for sharing your talents with our community. And thank you also for asking attendees a question that quickly sparked our entire community: "Who is someone in your life who helped you Shineforth?"

10/11/2025

Shineforth's Annual Report is now available, and its pages are filled with outstanding outcomes and celebrations, all of which are possible because of unwavering champions like you. Also featured in the Annual Report is the illuminating story of two business-savvy teenagers who met while living at Shineforth's residential program for youth, the Child & Family Healing Center.

Learn more about these incredible outcomes here: https://tinyurl.com/3brkzdzt

06/11/2025

“The mission of the UMC, and the mission of Shineforth complement one another. We are in the same business of spreading light to as many people as we can reach.”

We’re grateful to Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and the entire team at the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church for their unwavering support as we move forward under the new Shineforth name. The Virginia Conference is an essential thread in the fabric of Shineforth’s 125-year legacy, and we simply wouldn’t be here today without them.

04/11/2025

Thank you, , for providing the opportunity for our Tidewater team to connect with the Norfolk community and share the urgent need for foster parents. There are more than 5,500 children and teens in foster care across Virginia, and each and everyone one of them deserves a loving home. Find out how you can help at Shineforth.org.

03/11/2025

Many thanks to Amy and Dr. Jeffery Olrick for bringing their expertise and passion to our campus in Richmond for a two-day conference as part of Shineforth's ongoing Speaker Series.

The Olricks are parents of three and co-authors of the book "The 6 Needs of Every Child: Empowering Parents & Kids through the Science of Connection." Their presentation on Thursday and Friday provided conference-goers with tools and strategies for strengthening relationships with the children in their care.

We were thrilled to also have Erin Lingo join the conference. Erin is a somatics practitioner, coach, and facilitator, and she led attendees in mindful movement throughout the event.

02/11/2025

We had the pleasure of welcoming Union Presbyterian Seminary President Jacqueline E. Lapsley, Ph.D., to our Richmond campus last week.

Dr. Lapsley and Foster Family Outreach Specialist Joshua Lewis, M.Div.,
discussed the impact that Shineforth is having in communities across the commonwealth, the urgent need for foster parents, and the important role faith groups have played throughout our 125-year history.

Thank you, Dr. Lapsley, for being an unwavering champion for children and families.

01/11/2025

Adoptive families are extraordinary.

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween! Students at Charterhouse School in Richmond took a break from the boo-ks this afternoon to show off their amazing costumes. Teachers at CHS and staff from all departments across campus got in on the fun. Special moments happen every day at Shineforth, an Halloween has become and extra-special tradition for our staff and for the children we serve.