Woman honored with Hometown Hero award for organization’s efforts

NEWPORT, Ark. (KAIT) - Amber Ellis founded Foster Your Community in 2019 to help children and teenagers in foster care.

Not only do they work with foster homes, but they also work directly with DHS.

They have a clothing center that helps provide children with what they may need, and they also have a visiting center.

"The visiting center, this is a place where it works towards reunification, where DHS can bring the kid here with their birth parents, and it's a private space," Ellis said.

They also help with back-to-school efforts and pack bags and backpacks for children in need.

Modern Woodmen helped collect more than $16,000 in donations. Ashtin Wallace with Modern Woodmen said they saw the need and wanted to help.

"We used that money to reach out to Amber and asked her what her needs were," Wallace said. "She gave us a list of things, we held a drive to collect all those things, that's what you see here."

Wallace and Modern Woodmen helped surprise Ellis with the Hometown Hero award. Ellis said this isn't just her doing.

"I wanted to adopt. I was one of those who fostered to adopt. That didn't happen," Elis said. "With all of this, this is how FYC has come about, and that is God alone. It's based around him, and I couldn't have come up with this on my own."

"Being able to present her with the hometown hero award and recognize her for all of her hard work and dedication absolutely gave me tears in my eyes. There were other people who had tears in their eyes. Just to be humbled by all of the things that she has done," Wallace said.

Ellis said they will continue to serve foster children in the Jackson and Independence County areas and hopes to open a location in Batesville.

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