Do Your Part
June 29, 2020Lauri Currier and Ann Meythaler discuss how they have been working to provide more than enough for children in the Arkansas foster care system. Lauri, Executive Director of The CALL, and Ann, a former preschool teacher who stepped into foster care almost 10 years ago, share their perspectives about how anyone, regardless of their career path, can contribute to the transformation of foster care in their own community.
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Key Quote / Takeaway:
"The key I think to more than enough is mobilizing churches on behalf of kids in foster care, helping them understand what their needs are. That it's not as scary as you've conceived in your mind. That it is, normal, regular, everyday people can step up and stand in the gap for these kids." - Lauri Currier, Executive Director of the Call
Meet Our Guests
Lauri Currier
Since 2007, Lauri Currier has pursued her personal mission to positively impact the lives of children and teens in foster care as the Executive Director of The CALL. She believes that God uniquely designed and equipped her for this important work. Lauri uses her spiritual gifting of administration and shepherding to work by leading organizational development and expansion of The CALL across Arkansas. Today, The CALL has 52 local affiliates statewide and has recruited more than 2,000 foster and adoptive families that have served more than 18,000 children in foster care over 12 years.
Lauri serves on the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services Advocacy Committee, the Restore Hope State Council, Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Restore Hope Summit Steering Committee, Walk for the Waiting Leadership Team, and she is a member of the Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She served on Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Oversight Panel focused on improving foster care in Arkansas; co-chaired the Permanency and Placement Committee, and served on the Partnerships that Work Committee. Nationally, Lauri serves on CAFO’s National Foster Care Initiative’s More than Enough Sub-Committee for Bridge Organizations.
Currier is a graduate of University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a B.A. in English and Communication. Her professional experience includes leadership, nonprofit administration, management, fundraising, communication, program development and coordination, volunteerism, technical writing, entrepreneurship, business development and education. She lives in Little Rock with her husband, Phillip, and is a proud mom to 2 grown daughters, Katie and Caroline, and grandmother to Grey.
Ann Meythaler
Ann Meythaler is the Northwest Arkansas Coordinator for The CALL and has been involved in foster care in her community for over 10 years. She has 2 biological daughters and 8 children adopted out of the foster system and fostered over 20 other children during the time that her home was open. She and her team have recruited, trained, and opened over 600 foster and adoptive homes in Northwest Arkansas since launching The CALL in their area in 2010 and are passionate about making sure the homes they serve are supported well and never feel alone in their fostering journey.