Home has a special place in the hearts of Rod and Amy Sharp. Foster parents for more than 20 years — 10 with Family Services, Inc. — their warmth and dedication is palpable. After nursing their first foster child back to health in 1985, the couple says they were hooked.

Since then, the Sharps have fostered 56 children, typically one at a time. They come “straight from the hospital, all sizes.” While the babies are waiting to be placed into permanent homes, the Sharps “give them a foundation and a sense of security. We are there for them continuously.”

“We are feeders, growers, and lovers,” says Amy of their parental duties. And both agree the best and worst parts of this “full-time job” come on placement day: “We become their full-time parents and we treat them as if they are our own, so it is hard to see them go,” she explains. “Yet, we get the satisfaction of seeing them move on from an insecure future to something stable.”

Independent of their foster duties, the Sharps adopted two children, Anna, now 21, and Maggie, a sixth-grader who graciously welcomes these babies into her life.

Their oldest daughter, Erin, also recently adopted two young siblings from Africa. “We have begun a legacy in our family,” Rod says,
“and we are meeting a need in the community the best way we can.”