Linda Cheeks of Prince Wiliam County has been named the Foster Parent of the Year by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which oversees 10 local jurisdictions of foster parents.
Cheeks has been a foster parent since 2010 and can’t even count the amount of children she’s had under her care since then; typically, she takes in one to two children at a time and prefers to care for teenagers. She said, in a news release from Prince William County, that she sees her foster children as family.
“I just want to leave little nuggets in each person, just try to make a difference, not in the whole world, but just the few people you come into contact with,” Cheeks said. “It makes you feel good when you can be a part of somebody’s life and know that you had an influence on them to do better.”
A cosmetologist who sometimes works with seniors in assisted living facilities, Cheeks said she tries preparing the children as much as she can for the world once they age out of foster care at 18-years-old.
“I hope they’ll be productive adults when they get out there on their own, that they will empower themselves so they can be self-sufficient and be giving and loving and kind in the world,” she said.
Congratulations, Linda!