There are 150 children in foster homes in Coos County who have needs foster parents try to meet — both emotionally and financially.

Those parents, as members of the Coos County Foster, Adoptive and Relative Parent Association, have set out to raise money this weekend to better meet those needs, while raising awareness with their “Walk Me Home … to the place I belong” event.

The association hopes to raise $10,000 from Saturday’s walk. Seventy percent of the money will stay in Coos County for the association to help foster families.

A foster parent receives a $200 to $250 clothing voucher for a child per year, said event organizer Marge Scott.

“It isn’t enough to provide clothing for a child for a year,” she said.

Children outgrow clothing or have other needs, she said.

With the help of the local group, foster parents can get help to meet those clothing needs. She said the group also provides assistance in getting food for foster children through food banks. It even sponsors a river trip for the kids each year. The money from Saturday’s event will help those efforts.

When a local foster child graduates high school, Scott said the group gives the child a $350 start kit that includes things like pots and pans.

The idea for the walk came from the National Foster Parent Association. The national organization called on every state to host a walk to raise awareness on the foster child-parent issue. In Oregon, the state group wasn’t able to do it, so Scott and others went to work.

It is a chance for the group to say: “We’re doing good,” Scott said.

The association also will provide information on foster care, such as how a person can become a foster parent. Currently, the state needs more foster parents, said Greg Reichenberger, a foster home certifier.

Being a foster parent provides a host of challenges. Scott said when foster parents take in a child, they have to make the child feel loved and let the child know he’s wanted.

But there are the challenges of dealing with a child’s biological family. She said it is hard to explain, or not explain, to children why they aren’t with their mothers and fathers. Then there are the times when the foster parent has to work with the biological family, including scheduling visitation.

“We do try to help them get back with their families,” Scott said.

While being in a foster family can be trying for children, association members hope Saturday’s event gives foster children something to be excited about. Reichenberger said he knows of children collecting pledges and they just can’t wait until Saturday.

“I think anytime a child can feel ownership, can get excited, especially a foster child who can see and help other kids in the same shoes, I think it is good,” he said.