Technology is making it easier for people to help foster children and families across South Florida. Heather Walker shows us how it works in our 7 Spotlight. Helping needy residents in South Florida is now as simple as a click of a button, or a tap on a screen. Brenda Ulloa, Global Church: “Yeah, it’s very – they make it very simple.” Brenda Ulloa is a member of Global Church in Miami Gardens. Her church has always been active in serving the community, but she says the number of people who need assistance is growing. Brenda Ulloa: “There’s a variety of needs that we’ve seen in the community. There’s people who just need basic things, like a place to live, food, maybe furniture for a house or school supplies.” And last year, the church found a new way to ease their burdens. Global Church staff member: “In this case, it’s a single mom.” The church joined an online service, called CarePortal. It connects the needs of foster children and low-income families with groups that can provide aid. Global Church staff member: “In addition to that, the three children have disabilities.” Churches and other community groups log on to the system and see a list of requests from families in their area. They range from paying a utility bill to providing basic necessities like shoes or diapers. Brenda Ulloa: “It breaks your heart to see some of the kids’ requests be so basic. And we’ve bought mattresses, we’ve found bedding or couches.” Stories about the families and what they need are submitted by social workers, counselors or child welfare agencies like Citrus Family Care Network. Leslie Veiga, Citrus Family Care Network: “Most of the requests get filled between about three and seven days after submission. So that’s a pretty quick turnaround time.” Children in the foster system often depend on the generosity of others. CarePortal has been able to provide for a large number of kids in a short amount of time. Emily Hevener, CarePortal: “And in 2024, just in one year alone, we served over 1,000 kids.” CarePortal was also able to give many of them an extra surprise in time for the first day of school. It collected backpacks to give to all the foster children in Miami-Dade. Leslie Veiga: “We received more than 600 backpacks as part of that drive.” The online service also held a toy drive for Christmas. It was an opportunity to bring a little happiness to children who are sometimes overlooked during the holidays. Brenda Ulloa: “So we were able to provide a desire and really provide some joy to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have that. So that was great.” More than 40 churches and organizations are registered with CarePortal … and the list is growing. Emily Hevener: “And ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do, is create these connections in the community where the community is caring for the community, so then, when we’re with churches, we’re telling them, ‘Hey, there is a person on the other side of every request.'” A great connection between those who want to give, and those who need a little help. Anyone can join CarePortal. If you are interested, click here.