FamFest 2021: Celebrating 150 Years of Family
“Most days are a roller coaster ride in foster care; it was so nice to ride an ACTUAL rollercoaster! Plus, seeing the kids’ faces when they met Bugs Bunny, priceless!”
Founded in 1871, Wellroot Family Services celebrated its 150th anniversary by honoring the children and teens in foster care, young adults, and families that Wellroot serves across North Georgia. FamFest took place on Saturday, August 21, at Six Flags Over Georgia in honor of 150 years of serving Georgia’s families.
“Of course, the pandemic has been hard on all families, but families affected by the child welfare system have had it particularly rough. Our families have been through so much these past two years, that as we started planning our 150th anniversary, we really wanted to find a way to honor and celebrate the children, teens, and families in our programs,” said Allison Ashe, Wellroot President, and CEO, “Hosting a former signature event, bringing back FamFest seemed like the perfect way to give families a fun day of celebration while still being in a socially distant in an outdoor space.”
As we have navigated the past year in uncertainty and through a virtual world, FamFest allowed our families an opportunity to reunite and continue to build that community support that is so desperately needed. FamFest 2021 was more than an exciting day at Six Flags with our Wellroot family; we celebrated birthdays, adoptions, and reunifications. We are honored to share our families’ highlights of the day and some superstar achievements from the past year.
“Getting to the spend a day not dealing with the hard stuff of parenting was a gift. We were so well taken care of,” said one Wellroot foster parent.
“Most of the children in our care have never experienced Six Flags or anything like this before,” said Ashley Blocker, Director of Foster Care, “They will remember this day and their Wellroot family for years to come.”
FamFest was made possible by generous support from PolyTech, Main Site LLC, Cigna, H.B. Fuller, Atlanta Spa & Leisure, Mount Pisgah UMC, the United Methodist Connectional Federal Credit Union, the Roush Family, Cathy Hays, Lamar Law Office, and Realty Associates of Atlanta.
