Become a foster parent in Staunton, VA
What a child needs most is someone to say, 'I see you.'
Start your fostering journey in Staunton - stories of lives changed begin with a single hello.
About Staunton
Staunton, Virginia, a charming city in the Shenandoah Valley, and home to about 25,000 residents. With a lovely art scene and historic architecture, Staunton offers a vibes of small town warmth and cultural sophistication. The city is famous for the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse, the only recreation of Shakespeare’s indoor theater, and its beautifully preserved downtown, which boasts locally owned shops, cafes, and galleries. Nestled among rolling hills and close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Staunton provides an idyllic setting for families who love nature and the arts.
For foster families, Staunton is a supportive and welcoming community. With over 25 foster children in the region in need of nurturing homes, the city’s social services department works diligently to connect children with caring families. The Staunton Department of Social Services partners with organizations like FosterVA and CASA for Children of the Blue Ridge to offer foster parents comprehensive training, financial assistance, and access to therapeutic resources. These efforts aim to provide stability and love for foster children while equipping caregivers with the tools they need. Consider helping a child in need in Staunton, and become a foster parent!
Staunton’s family friendly offerings make it an excellent place for fostering children. Gypsy Hill Park, with its playgrounds, duck pond, and seasonal events like the free summer concert series, provides plenty of outdoor fun. Cultural and educational opportunities abound at the Frontier Culture Museum, where families can explore early American and international history together. Seasonal festivals, such as Staunton’s Christmas Parade and Art in the Park, foster a strong sense of community and belonging for children and families alike.
Staunton’s blend of natural beauty, cultural richness, and strong community support creates a nurturing environment for foster families. With ample resources for caregivers, engaging activities for children, and a tightknit community dedicated to helping its most vulnerable residents, Staunton is a wonderful place to build lasting connections and create brighter futures for foster children. Start your journey to becoming a foster parent today!
Why Choose FosterVA
FosterVA is a campaign started by Extra Special Parents (a licensed child placing agency) to raise awareness of Virginia’s need for great foster families, especially in Staunton . Great foster parents make a difference in a youth’s ability to develop resiliency, which allows them to survive and thrive with the right support.
We have a support group that meets monthly for all foster families and respite care for yourself. Our support includes Individual clinical case managers and a crisis line manned 24/7/365. These tried and tested systems are put in place to ensure you and the child are supported during this journey as a foster parent.
Can I foster a child in Staunton ?
Find out if you qualify to become a foster parent! Becoming a foster parent is a challenging and enriching experience for you and all family members. You can make a huge difference and change a child's life for the better, especially for sibling groups and older children in foster care programs. If you care about children and want to help them, fostering a child is an extraordinary calling.
Children in the foster care system have been through traumatic experiences. They need a loving home to help them recover and thrive. Providing a home for a child can be heartwarming and beautiful when you start to see them succeed in your care. If you have the heart and a home for a child in Staunton , VA please contact us to learn more about our process.
Our parents come from all works of life, and your work and life experience will enhance what you bring to being a foster parent. So please never think that your life experience is unsuitable for a child in foster care, with nearly 5000 kids in the Virginia Department of social services care. We will find a child that will be great for you or your family.
Start the process today to become a Foster Parent
Family Friendly Events and Places of Interest
17 E Beverley Antiques
17 Antiques has 4 different independently owned shops in one building. You can view current items for sale by scrolling through the different shops at the top of this page. Check out our new merchandise, coming in every week..toys, art, collectibles, vintage textiles, beautiful jewelry, Victorian, Bakelite and costume, postcards, sheet music lighting and great new pieces of vintage furniture. We also have dealers who love mid-century modern and vintage pinups. Altogether a very interesting mix of items in a friendly atmosphere.
Camera Heritage Museum
Located in Staunton in Western Central Virginia The Camera Heritage Museum houses a unique collection of antique cameras dating from the 19th century to modern times. They often have both a historical significance and a provenance that is interesting to all. We have opened this collection to the public so that everyone has an opportunity to view these historical treasures. You will find samples of many of the different kinds of cameras which the museum exhibits in the galleries listed above. We are in the process of adding the stories of these cameras and their photographers. If you do not find information that you are looking for we may be listing it any day now.
Frontier Culture Museum
The Frontier Culture Museum is the biggest open-air living history museum in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as one of the highest rated family-friendly attractions and one of the top tourist destinations in Virginia. Costumed historical interpreters show the life and customs of the indigenous Native American tribes in Virginia, the arrival of the German, English and Irish settlers along the Great Wagon Road, and the painful journey of the enslaved Africans to the first permanent British colony in North America. Visitors also get to interact with a blacksmith at an Irish Forge, woodworkers, tailors, and yarn spinners, and learn how the early settlers of America cooked and worked the land. The American journey starts here, with these early pioneers that inhabited America's First Frontier, the Blue Ridge Mountains, prior to the Westward Expansion of the 19th Century. The outdoor museum is located on 200 acres of land in Staunton, Virginia, one of the South's Best Mountain Towns.
Gypsy Hill Park
Gypsy Hill Park is a sprawling 214-acre multi-use recreational destination located in the heart of Staunton at the intersection of Churchville Avenue (Route 250) and Thornrose Avenue. The 1.3-mile circular roadway, Constitution Drive, runs through the center of the Park and is a designated play street suitable for walking, jogging, cycling and rollerblading. Covered pavilions with modest outdoor cooking facilities and picnic tables are available on a non-reservation basis.
Queen City Marketplace
This shop offers a great selection of collectables and antiques. The prices are reasonable for items offered. Three full floors of items to browse through. Would have give this place a higher rating, but there are no public restrooms for the customers and I know there a bathrooms there as I have used them when this used to be the old Grand Piano Furniture store. So selfish when customer needs are neglected.
R.R. Smith Center for History & Art
The R.R. Smith Center for History & Art is home to the Augusta County Historical Society, Historic Staunton Foundation, and the Staunton Augusta Art Center. Our building includes galleries, classrooms, archives, conference space, a garden, and offices for non-profit cultural organizations. Located in Staunton’s Beverley Historic District, the building is an 1894 hotel designed in the French Second Empire style by Staunton architect, T.J. Collins.
Staunton Farmers Market
he Staunton Farmers Market brings together local farmers, makers and consumers in a vibrant community marketplace that provides fresh locally grown food for all residents. Our “Producer Only” standards champion small farms and artisans and affirm their place in the social and economic fabric of our community.The success of our Market depends on a good growing season as well as the active participation and cooperation of many and varied producers. The Market Board of Directors, comprised of 6-9 individuals including producers and community members, manages the regular business operations of the Market voluntarily and welcomes your input.
Staunton Visitor Center
Staunton is more than you might expect. It’s a friendly combination of small town USA and a vibrant cultural scene. It’s the place you go to stroll red brick sidewalks, admire stunning architecture and shop locally-owned downtown boutiques. It’s also the place you go to experience world-class music festivals and intimate theatre performances. It’s where you can unwind at trendy breweries, dig into fresh culinary creations and take-in a dose of nature in the nearby Shenandoah National Park.
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum
As the official Presidential Library for Woodrow Wilson, we are an educational institution dedicated to the study of both his life and the times in which he lived - from pre-Civil War to post World War I. Come and learn about Wilson, take a stroll through our historic gardens, immerse yourself in a WWI trench exhibit, and view his Pierce-Arrow Presidential limousine that still runs to this day!
