Every child deserves to be loved and deserves an opportunity to shine. That belief led Campbell County Middle School principal, Jason Smith, to change the life of Raven, a troubled 11-year-old student who had recently been suspended at school.
As Raven explains it, she had been sent to the principal’s office for throwing yoghurt on another student. What happened next changed her life forever.
“I found myself in the principal’s office one day after starting a food fight in the cafeteria,” Raven said. “The principal asked me if I would start a food fight if I were out to dinner with my family. When I blurted out that I did not have a family, he said he felt like a complete jerk. I was a foster kid living at Holly Hill. That conversation led him to have a conversation with his wife and the rest is history.”
Jason could see that Raven just looked defeated and hopeless and he could tell she needed something to go in her favor. He went home and discussed the situation with his wife, Marybeth. The couple had tried for years to have children of their own and had not been successful so they decided to ask Raven if she could be their foster parents.
“He and my mom went through training and became certified to be foster parents through DCCH Center with the intention of fostering me. They could not have kids of their own and something I said that day led them to know in their hearts that I was what their family needed,” Raven explained. “My mom says she always questioned why she could not have kids until the day she met me.”
So Raven moved in with the Smiths, admitting “it was really weird at first.” Jason and Marybeth fostered Raven for 2.5 years before they were able to adopt her, which they did as soon as they could. Now Raven is a junior in college and is studying to be a social worker.
For the Smiths, they could not imagine life without their daughter. And for Raven, she says her foster parents changed her life. “Being fostered by a great set of parents did not erase my trauma, but they provided me with an atmosphere where I learned how to work through it, believe in myself, and give hope to a hopeless kid,” Raven revealed to GMA.
For Jason it comes down to a simple philosophy. All kids regardless of age need to feel loved. “I really believe there are no bad children,” he told GMA. “Children are a product of their environment and the people who raise them, or who don’t raise them unfortunately, so given the right opportunity, given the proper support, love and affection, all children can be successful.”
See more of this heartwarming story in the video below:
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