BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Although the Family Enrichment Center in Bowling Green is a great resource for families looking to adopt or that already have adopted, the center cannot do everything for them that they may need day to day.

Lee Fowlkes, the director of the center, speaks about building community for and being good neighbors to the families in the community that have adopted.

“A lot of people who do adopt may need some support, that there are ways that you can support and help people who have adopted is is really, really great, and so it’s really helpful knowing that when families adopt, the adoption day is not the end of their journey. Some people may not be able to adopt, but maybe they can provide a weekend respite for family has adopted just to give people a little bit of a break or some help or just babysit and give them a weekly night out,” Fowlkes said.

In short, there are many ways that people can help these families, and in doing so, make their community a better place. There is a great deal to be said about donating time, and one such way to do this is to help with the Network, a Murray State based organization that organizes meal drops to foster families. Lara Mattingly, the regional coordinator in Warren County, says that it can be a very fulfilling experience.

“The meal drop, especially because it’s been going on for a long time, and a lot of the people who are volunteering to drop a meal to a family are the same ones who have been dropping since day one. And this started during COVID. So this has been a while. And so these have become relationships,” Mattingly said.

To learn more about helping with the meal drops, email [email protected].