Each year, Amara honors people who make a positive impact on the foster care system, with two special awards. The Stella Mae Carmichael Award highlights a dedicated and committed foster family in honor of the incredible service foster parent Stella Mae provided kids in foster care. The Walt Zabriskie Award honors leaders from the community who have made a significant impact on the well-being of children and families experiencing foster care.
We are thrilled to announce that our 2020 Stella Mae Carmichael award winners are Scarlett and August Aldebot-Green!
In their two years as foster parents, Scarlett and August have supported 7 kids and believe their role is to commit, stabilize, love, and care for children, especially those with special needs.
Our goal in fostering is to make a small positive impact on the world and on the children who stay with our family. We don’t know what the outcomes will be for the children who stay with our family, but we’re happy to know that at the very least we’ve been able to provide a stable, loving environment for them for a time.
-August and Scarlett
Amara established the Stella Mae Carmichael award nearly a decade ago upon hearing the story of Adam Cornell, Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney who was in foster care and found stability in the home of Stella Mae Carmichael. We continue to honor Stella’s incredible legacy with this special award.
This year’s honorees, Scarlett and August, animate Stella’s impact through their own commitment to foster children. Like Stella, Scarlett and August have loved fiercely, but also learned to let go. What a gift to the world!
-Adam Cornell
With the Walt Zabriskie Award, we seek to shine a light on those whose dedication—on the front lines as well as behind the scenes—inspires the community to join a movement to transform the child welfare system into one focused on improving family well-being.
In 2019 Amara rededicated this award, formerly known as the Shining A Light Award, to honor the legacy of Walt Zabriskie. Walt served children and families through Amara in so many ways through his countless hours of volunteering as an advocate for families, as Board Treasurer, staff CFO, supporter, networker, community builder, and so much more. He approached every duty, no matter how big or small, with a smile.
Amara hopes to honor Walt’s memory to recognize and lift-up people and organizations who also seek to improve the well-being of children and families experiencing foster care.
We are so happy to present this year’s award to the Washington State Parent Ally Committee. This committed group of parents have successfully navigated the child welfare system and are advocates for keeping families together by reuniting kids and their parents. They bring the parent voice into the development of child welfare policy and practice; promote equity for those in the child welfare system, develop parent leadership and elevate diverse lived experience and public awareness activities that strengthen and support those families. Through this work the WSPAC instills hope in parents, stakeholders and the child welfare system. The Committee has helped pass important legislation in Washington, and they are true champions for family!
Congratulations to Scarlett and August and to the Washington State Parent Ally Committee! We are honored to support kids and families alongside you.