New Castle Mom Debuts July 4th Walk for Foster Care Awareness
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — For Morgan McKillip, a middle school mission trip to an orphanage in Georgia sparked a lifelong calling. Years later, that calling transformed her into a foster mother to 11 children, an adoptive parent, and now, the organizer behind New Castle’s inaugural foster care awareness event.
On the morning of July 4th, Baker Park will host the first-ever Firecracker 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk, an event McKillip designed in partnership with Henry County CASA to bring vital awareness—and a fresh perspective—to the foster care system.
McKillop spent three and a half years navigating the foster care system, a world she admits she knew very little about initially.
“I wanted to still be involved somehow in the system,” McKillip said. “And so I wanted to bring more awareness to the foster care system because before I was involved, I was very uneducated. Like I didn’t know that, you know, every two minutes a child enters foster care and just how many kids were actually in the system.”
During her time as a foster parent, McKillip opened her heart and home to 11 children who were ultimately able to safely reunify with their biological families. Nearly two years ago, she permanently expanded her family, adopting her daughter who first came into her care at just four months old.
While foster care stories in the media often lean toward the negative, McKillip views her experience as a breath of fresh air, emphasizing the profound power of empathy and co-parenting with biological families. To bridge the gap, she used to send a notebook back and forth with the biological parents of the children in her care.
“Sometimes I have one of the parents write back and say that was the only time that they ever had encouragement,” McKillip reflected. “Yes, they made a bad decision, we’ve all made bad decisions, but, like, they may just need that one little bit of encouragement to try to get them back on the right track and maybe that’ll turn their life around for the better.”
Today, McKillip still maintains close, positive relationships with several of the families she helped reunify.
Though she is no longer a foster parent, McKillip’s drive to support vulnerable children hasn’t wavered. She approached Henry County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)—a nonprofit organization where volunteers advocate one-on-one for the best interests of children navigating the court and child welfare systems—to launch a community walk.
The upcoming event is completely free, community-focused, and designed to let participants move at their own comfort level.
“We’re kind of calling it like the firecracker one mile fun run/walk, because I want people to be able to walk or run or jog or do whatever they want to do, like go at their own pace, essentially,” McKillip explained. “One lap around Baker Park here in New Castle, which is where we’re having it at… One lap around is one mile.”
While registration is free, the event will feature a QR code allowing community members to donate to a dedicated fund managed by the Henry County Community Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, every single dollar raised will go directly to fulfilling the needs of local children currently living in foster care.
McKillip hopes the event inspires attendees to realize that involvement in child welfare takes many forms.
“Not everyone is meant to be a foster parent, but everyone can do something in the foster care system,” McKillip said. “Whether it’s being a mentor to a child who’s in the system or if it is becoming a foster parent or a CASA volunteer or, you know, providing some necessities that these kids need.”
