News

Orphan Sunday is coming up in November. Prayers for hearts to move and for more families to consider adopting or becoming a foster family, or to provide respite care for a season.

SAVE THE DATE! We hope to see you at our Cookies with Santa event! Please remember to RSVP by December 5, 2025. Pictures with Santa, craft tables for the kids to create fun items,  games, fellowship, cookies, and giveaways.  If you are one of our volunteers and you’d like to help, reach out to Dawn  RSVP to love1ministry@gmail.com with the number of people attending if your family wants to attend. This event is sponsored by our 30’s Club. Thank you to all of the families who give $30 a month so we can raise awareness and support our families!

Last month, our Love One team passed out Fall Blessing Bags to DFCS workers in Chatham County to bring a smile to their faces and encourage them, a reminder that they are seen, valued, and prayed over. If you don’t pray for caseworkers, please pray with us. So much of a case funnels through the caseworkers down to the foster kids and the family. We want them to feel supported and love their jobs. Thank you to Cindy, one of our volunteers, and her team, who helped put the blessing bags together!  We are going to start pouring into the caseworkers monthly to increase morale and support for DFCS. We ask that you pray for these relationships.

Love One had a great time at the Ethos Event Collective’s Passion Project in Hilton Head Island, in which Love One was featured as part of Ethos Event Collective’s Passion Project.  Ethos hosted Farmers Insurance “Toppers” Conference in which the attendees took the opportunity to give back to foster care and help assemble 150 CARE boxes to restock the Love One Foster CARE closet, welcoming kids into care with a special message and CARE box.  Thank you to Ethos for choosing us as one of your Passion Project nonprofits and to Farmers for choosing us as your event focus to highlight foster care! Also, thank you to our team who came to set up, clean up, and run this event. We couldn’t have pulled this off without YOU!

Last month, dozens of families beat the Georgia heat at Splash in the ‘Boro, and it was nothing short of JOY. Families laughed, slid, splashed, and shared memories that will last a lifetime.

We are also thrilled to share that thanks to our 30’s Club Donors, we were able to donate 20 tickets to Gabriel’s House, a local group home. For seven of the children who attended, this was their first time ever visiting a waterpark.

Let that sink in: their first time ever.

They left soaked, smiling, and begging to go again. Their caregivers told us it was “one of the best days they’ve had all summer.” Thank you, donors, for turning an ordinary summer day into a beautiful, healing experience for children who rarely get to feel like carefree kids!

On July 28, 2025, we officially wrapped up our second NTDC cohort of the year—and what a powerful journey it was. Over several weeks, families walked through the comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum, gaining tools to better understand trauma, attachment, developmental needs, and their own parenting style. The fruit of their work? Four new families certified and equipped to foster with compassion and insight.

One of our favorite parts of every training cycle is watching strangers become friends, watching fear transform into clarity, and exhaustion turn into empowered, supported community.

Our next NTDC cohort begins this September, and we’d love for you (or someone you know!) to join. Whether you’re new to fostering or in need of renewal, this training is for you.

📩 Email us at love1ministry@gmail.com to register or learn more.

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝗪𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝗬𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝗣𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 🌱

Congratulations to our Director Mrs. Dawn Fegel.  She was the 2025 recipient of the “Bloom Where You’re Planted” award. This award recognizes and shines a light on exemplary citizens in Bryan County Richmond Hill, GA who are making a difference in the community.  The name “Bloom Where You’re Planted” came from the First Lady of Bryan county education Mrs. Frances Meeks, who often used the motto and it’s also inscribed on the lobby wall of the school named after her, Frances Meeks Elementary.  Not only did Dawn have a positive impact on the place they live here in Richmond Hill, but they are also planting roots for the next generation.

🏆 𝑫𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝑭𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒍

Dawn Fegel is a proud mom of two children . She has been married to her husband Frank for over 20 years.  After adopting two children from China, Dawn & Frank realized the need for more adoptive and foster homes in this area as well as more resources & support for families on this journey. Her heart for orphans led to the founding of Love One, a local nonprofit supporting foster and adoptive families. Since 2015, Love One has helped train and support over 100 families annually and welcomed more than 250 children through adoption. Dawn is a Trust Based Relational intervention Practitioner and certified to teach the NTDC foster care curriculum, equipping families with trauma-informed tools.

Thank you Dawn, your Love One Team is proud for everything you do for our community and helping others!

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

It’s hot. The kids need to MOVE. And you deserve some JOY.

We’re thrilled to offer discounted $10 tickets to Splash in the Boro waterpark for all our foster & adoptive families again this year! It’s one of our favorite summer traditions. This year, you choose your day: pick a date that works best for your family and maybe pair up with another Love One fam to make it even more special! 💛💧

🎟️ DETAILS:

• $10 per ticket
• Foster & adoptive families only
• To purchase: Email love1ministry@gmail.com with quantity needed
• Payment: Venmo or PayPal (details on graphic or request)
• Pickup Location: Richmond Hill — we’ll coordinate pickup
• Sales open: July 2 – August 2
• We have 100 tickets — first come, first served!

Let’s make some joyful, splashy, sun-soaked memories! Don’t wait too long, these tickets go fast! ☀️👙⛱️

Did I send in that yearbook check? Did I remember to pack her Gatorade for soccer practice after school? Are his uniform shirts getting too tight? Am I dropping off or picking up for the homecoming dance? Then all of a sudden, you’re taking pictures with your high school graduate towering over you in a crowded gymnasium. How did those 18 years go by so quickly and what on earth is your baby going to do without you in the upcoming fall?

These emotions are completely and totally normal for this new phase of parenting as you are now making the role transition from “manager” to “mentor.” So here are some research-based approaches to best prepare your student to officially “leave the nest” and become an independent and successful member of society.

1) Establish expectations that you have for your child, and have an open and low-stress conversation with both parents or caregivers. Along with those expectations, there also needs to be a conversation about consequences if these expectations are not upheld. Here are the talking points that you will want to cover:

• Grades/internships
• Weekly Budgeting/Job/Loans
• Extra-curricular activities/sports/church/clubs/Greek Life

2) Spend the summer having your graduate do a test-run at daily life skills, while you are still physically present as a form of training wheels.

• Cleaning and putting away their own laundry/dishes
• Grocery shopping/creating meal plans/cooking
• Calling and scheduling doctor/DMV/any necessary appointments

3) Help your child learn how to get help if needed while they are away

• Make sure they have medical insurance card and explain how to check to see if your health insurance is accepted at places around campus
• Make sure your child has their car insurance card in the glove box, and understands how to call road-side assistance in an emergency, how to change a tire, and how to jump off a dead battery
• Look into campus mental health counselors available in the event of a crisis if they feel uncomfortable reaching out to you about it

These tips will not only help your child feel more capable to handle these large upcoming responsibilities, but it will also create a peace of mind for Mom and Dad. Remember, you’ve worked so hard for this moment, and although it’s unlikely your teen is going to appreciate all of that while they are still under your roof, after a few months away, they will be seeing things in a whole new light. Make sure to instill your confidence in their abilities, but let them know that they will always be your baby. We are praying for this new chapter for both you and your graduate! ——- Kylee 💛

Our Love One Team would like to express our deepest gratitude for each of you. Your dedication, love, and commitment to your families are truly inspiring. We know that parenting, whether biological, foster, or adoptive, can be both beautiful and challenging, but remember, you are not walking this journey alone. Each day, you are making an incredible difference in the lives of the children God has entrusted to you.

It is our privilege to stand alongside you as a community of faith, support, and encouragement. We pray that God’s peace, strength, and love fill your hearts and guide your steps. May He grant you wisdom in your decisions, comfort in your struggles, and joy in every moment. Together, we are building a legacy of hope, healing, and love that will last for generations.

Check out our Events page to see all the training opportunities that this and next month holds.  We look forward to continuing to serve, support, and grow with you. May you feel God’s loving presence in everything you do.

With love,
The Love One Ministry Team