Florida Foodies Restaurant & Travel Magazine has always considered Chef Jessica to be a shining star. Now Florida’s Governor agrees.
On December 2, Governor Charlie Crist recognized Jessica Bright McMullen of Jacksonville as a Governor’s Point of Light for Adoption Awareness Month. Governor Crist said, “Jessica’s dedication to improving the lives of children in foster care is inspiring and motivating. Her selfless generosity and acts of kindness exemplify the meaning of volunteerism, and I am truly grateful for all she has done to raise adoption awareness.”
A chef and master food and nutrition educator, Jessica is known to many of our readers through her articles about food and travel, while others have watched her on television or listened to her on the radio at WJCR 88.1 The Promise on Tuesday mornings. She’s a busy lady who divides her time between her family, church, teaching about food and volunteering in the community.
I asked Jessica, “When did you first start volunteering and why do you volunteer so much?” She told me, “I've volunteered as long as I can remember...it is just part of the way I was raised and the person I am. Church and community activities are a big part of my identity. They are also what keep me busy since I'm a bit atypical in my pastimes. Television isn't something we do (at all) in my home—we don't even have an HD converter box, we couldn’t even watch [it] if we wanted to…this frees up a lot of time for us to do other things as a family. Just think of how much more we could all accomplish if we all took some of our daily television time and put it toward community improvement!”
Jessica is a nurturer by nature. Her volunteer work has included teaching a healthy breakfast ideas class at Florida Baptist Children's Home and she has also helped with their community outreach. Currently, she is in the process of assisting in the development of a cooking class for foster kids who are about to ‘age out’ of the system “for independent living skills that are food and home related.” She said, “This is why I love food. Volunteering and food…these are ways I like to help others and hopefully bring them more joy.”
She is also involved in Eureka Gardens which is known as a relatively high crime area on the Westside of Jacksonville. Jessica explained that “…through community programming under the Prevention Department of Family Support Services, we are facilitating activities and training that will hopefully strengthen families and reduce the need for foster care intervention. Food has been a wonderful tool for this—activities like spaghetti dinners, pancake suppers, and cookie decorating have helped increase the level of participation.”
Jessica and her husband, Christopher McMullen, are the parents of two wonderful children—one adopted. I asked, “If you had just one thing you could tell prospective parents as they consider adopting or fostering a child, what would that be?” “To be completely honest,” Jessica responded, “…sometimes fostering and adoption can be difficult and painful processes—but so can pregnancy and labor. In the end, both are really worth the personal sacrifice for the wonderful reward of becoming a parent.
“As you go through the process of foster parenting, it is critical to remember that it is not about you—the foster parent. There are so many frustrating and trying things you can experience, but if you keep your focus on the fact that this is for the well-being of a child—that you are CHOOSING to go through this for their welfare, regardless of your own personal gain—then you'll eventually get through [the process].”
She told me, “We had a lot of people question us for choosing to become foster parents when we had no promise of a future with the child. My husband and I chose to foster because regardless of the outcome—adoption or re-unification with the biological parents (the primary goal whenever a child is in foster care)—we knew we could make a difference in the life of a child. Although there were no guarantees that we'd have tomorrow with that child, the truth is we really aren’t guaranteed tomorrow in any of our relationships.”
I asked Jessica about Family Support Services Let’s Talk Adoption open houses. She told me, “These events were designed to help raise awareness about fostering and adoption by bringing together prospective parents, social services agencies, judges, lawyers, and other parties that are involved in the foster/adoption activities of our community. At these events they would be able to connect, communicate, and move toward finding more homes for children in foster care. Fostering and adoption can seem complicated initially but there are tools in place to help guide parents through the process so they can share their homes. This forum was designed to facilitate that and also as a means to communicate the available support during and after the processes of fostering and adoption.”
Open Your Heart to a Child, another Family Support Services outreach, took the Let’s Talk Adoption concept and applied it more specifically, where needed, to teen adoptions. Jessica explained, “Sadly for older children in foster care, finding a home can be far more difficult. Since the foster care system here in our community has gone through a drastic re-design, significantly fewer children are entering foster care. The children that are available now tend to be older. This event was designed to raise awareness among the prospective adoptive parents about the older children that are waiting right now for a home and who desperately need to be considered for adoption. Yes, teenagers can be daunting at times but they still need homes and love. Through Open Your Heart to a Child we shared several success stories for teenagers that were fostered and adopted, and hoped to encourage waiting parents to consider older children.”
In January, Jessica will have dinner with the Governor at the ‘official’ award ceremony in Tallahassee. On December 5th, a member of the Governor's staff came to the Annual Family Support Services Christmas Party to present her with the award in the presence of several hundred foster parents, foster kids, adoptive families, and social services workers at the Jacksonville Zoo. Jessica’s top fans—her husband, Christopher, and their children—were also in attendance.
“Were you surprised to be recognized by Governor Crist?” I asked. Jessica replied, “Yes, but there is so much work to do, I don’t feel like I’m contributing enough at times. I am honored but to be honest the reward itself is nothing compared to the rewards I have already received by becoming involved. Thanks to foster care and adoption, I have a daughter who is such an amazing and beautiful part of my life. Hopefully, I have helped others experience similar joy. No reward could ever top that.”
If you’re interested in fostering or adopting a child through the foster parenting program, Jessica gives this advice:
“The first step in the process is to call your local lead agency for foster care and adoption. For north east Florida this is Family Support Services at (904) 421-5800. Schedule the MAPP training class (Model Approach to Prepared Parenting). As you go through the class, you will learn the basics about foster care and state adoptions. Unlike private adoption, adopting through foster care will not require a huge financial investment (the state will pay all legal fees). There are many other great benefits to adopting through foster care and literally hundreds of kids, right here in Jacksonville (or elsewhere in Florida), need a loving family to provide a home for them.
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