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Celebrating adoption with local family helping foster children

A West Michigan business is hoping to help foster children with Xander Bunnies.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - November is National Adoption Month, and the 18th is National Adoption Day. In Kent County, there are nearly 900 children in foster care looking for permanent homes.

Vickie Bennett and her husband Vic run a lavender farm in West Michigan and make products out of the plants they grow there. Lavender Life Company & Little Buds Co. is also focused on helping out children in foster care. Proceeds from every purchase go toward supporting local families helping kids in the foster care system.

The Xander Bunny is inspired by young Xander and is full of lavender and Michigan cherry pits. For every bunny sold, the company puts one in the hands of a foster child. Lavender is known to have calming properties, and can help reduce anxiety and induce sleep, all things children with upheaval in their lives could use.

The idea is that each product and bunny provides a "hug" for the child, reminding them they are loved and not alone. You can learn more about Xander's story, and the Xander Bunnies here.

If you are considering becoming a foster parent or adoption, you can learn more about the process by visiting the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange or Catholic Charities or West Michigan, West Michigan Partnership for Children, or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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