Pursuit of a Dream
Bananaland was born with a ‘field of dreams’ in mind. On June 8, 2024, the game saw that dream come to life. What’s the dream? Fenway Park. The Savannah Bananas and Party Animals played in front of the 37,000 fans who sold out Fenway. Making the dream even sweeter, Bananas Foster celebrated the Tarjick Family hoping to educate that sold-out crowd about foster care and become inspired to get involved. In the fourth inning, Emily Cole took to the field to share the real experience of the Tarjick Family.
Melissa and Dave became licensed foster parents in 1995 and have since then welcomed over 50 children and teens into their home. What the crowd didn’t see was the influences that led the Tarjicks to become a foster family and the extent of the work they continue to do for their community. Dave and Melissa’s story began with baseball… talk about a full circle moment! Melissa explained that Dave’s life was forever changed by a baseball team, rather his baseball family.
“His family or origin did not provide a great path for him to follow and his brothers both have led much different lives… The baseball family took them under their wing and he spent summers with them instead of in another direction,” Melissa said.
Dave started working as a bat boy for the Pittsfield Cubs, AAA team, and went on to be an equipment manager for the Pittsfield Mets. His last summer on the job was also the summer Melissa worked in the concession stands. As you can guess, the rest was history. Fast forward to now, Dave became a police sergeant and is their school resource officer this year!
Just like baseball, foster care has deep roots in the Tarjick Family’s history. Melissa’s mother was in foster care as a teenager. Melissa explained that it saved her mother’s life.
“I would not have had my life if she had not been saved by foster care,” Melissa said.
As a teenager, Melissa’s parents became licensed and adopted three girls. With this experience in hand, Dave and Melissa became licensed foster parents very early on in their marriage. Their oldest biological daughter was only a little over a year old when they began the process. The Tarjicks have a strong core value to not only talk about what needs to be done within their community, but to provide that service. They combined that core value with their belief that every child belongs in a home. The sign hanging in their home reads, “Where there is room in the heart, there is room in the home.” Apart from their 3 beautiful biological children, they have adopted 8 kiddos into their family forever… coming to a total of 11 kids.
But their foster care journey comes on a deeper level. Throughout their journey, they have provided short term, long term, and respite foster care for infants through teens. One of their first long-term placements arrived at only 20 months old. He stayed with them for over a year, then was placed with them 2 more times over the next 6 years. They kept in contact with him over the years and he would occasionally visit over the weekends and holidays. Throughout his teen years, he spent less time at their house, but they were able to reconnect last Thanksgiving.
At 22 years old, he hugged all the Tarjicks and told them he loved them. Melissa reflected on this story, because knowing that they might have made a small difference in his life makes the journey all worth it. She also shared the hard reality of an adoption they did not complete. The Tarjicks had a kiddo come to them at only 5 months old. Soon after that, they received news that one of their already adopted child’s siblings came into care at only 3 months old. They cared for and loved both children immensely, but when both of their goals changed to adoption, they had a tough reality to face. Caring for two young babies while having two toddlers and older children in the home was challenging. They made the difficult decision to move the baby boy to a pre-adoptive home while keeping their child’s sibling in their home. They met an amazing couple wanting to adopt him and slowly transitioned him to their house.
Almost a year later, the Tarjicks adopted their child’s sibling into their family forever in the same courtroom at the same time as the other baby boy was adopted into his family. That baby boy is now 19 years old, just graduated high school, and the families are still friends who keep in contact.
It is important to share these stories because it highlights the Tarjick Family’s dedication to finding every child a home while selflessly working to keep siblings together.
Melissa shared, “What we know is that the sibling relationship is one’s longest lifetime relationship and just because a child is in foster care does not mean they should lose out on that relationship. If they cannot live together there are so many ways they can stay connected.”
In fact, about 65% of children and teens in foster care are separated from their siblings. (Casey Family Programs). The Tarjicks work through FaceTime, Zoom calls, letters, sleepovers, and much more to keep their children’s siblings connected. They also participate in a program in Massachusetts that provides mini retreats for siblings to spend weekends together and a week-long summer camp experience.
During COVID-19, it was a challenge for the children to connect in person, so the Tarjicks set up a monthly delivery kit with snacks from around the world. It was sent to their house and their sibling’s home so they could Zoom each month and try the snacks out together. Melissa expressed how amazing it is to see the kids light up when they spend time with their siblings.
The Tarjicks have experienced so many hard moments throughout their journey. The hardest moments for them are children coming in and out of their home crying.
Melissa explained that she always tells foster parents that, “… co-parenting with a system is not for the faint of heart. So much of this journey is about working with a system that often does not make a lot of sense and can frustrate you to your breaking point. We do not foster for the state; we foster for the kids. As many times as I want to give up because of the ‘system’ I know that the children do not have that choice so neither do we.”
The Tarjicks’ impact does not stop there. They have not only changed the lives of kiddos in the home and had their hearts changed in return, but they have been working to change the system they co-parent with! Melissa became a Licensed Social Work Associate (LSWA). She worked in early childhood for years and also gained experience working with teen moms. Through this, she realized her passion for combining early childhood work with social work and considered working for the Department of Children & Families in Massachusetts, which has a minimum licensing requirement of an LSWA. Melissa has taken all this expertise and worked with the Massachusetts Alliance for Foster Families (MAFF) for the last 9 years. Melissa is serving a second term as Secretary of the organization.
They advocate for the foster care community and meet yearly with legislators about their priorities. Melissa stated they have been successful in gaining yearly increases to the daily rate of support for foster parents over the past several years. Their biggest accomplishment so far has been the passage of the Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights into law. This bill establishes a clear understanding between DCF and Massachusetts foster families, outlining the rights of foster parents, rights regarding the provision of foster care, and rights regarding the communication and information sharing between DCF and foster families (Massachusetts Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights – MSPCC). This was a massive win for the state’s foster families!
“My goal is to continue to be a strong voice for children in families at both the state and federal level,” Melissa said.
The Field of Dreams
Melissa told us she found the Savannah Bananas on YouTube last summer and showed her kiddos. They began watching the broadcasts and are big fans! When we heard about their family, we reached out to be our Bananas Foster Family of the game!
“Although we had watched some videos of what to expect, I don’t think we truly could have imagined how it would feel to go out onto the field in front of that crowd and have both teams run out to greet us. We keep saying that it will forever be a core memory for all of us. The little kids went to school the next day and told everyone that they were famous. I think we were all in awe of standing on Fenway Field in front of 37,000 people.”
The goal of Bananas Foster is to one day have a waiting list of foster families so that each child can go to a home that is the best fit for their needs. The Tarjicks strongly believe in finding each child a home for as long as they need it.
“We know that so many more families out there may be able to take that next step to opening their heart and home.”
They have made huge strides in the foster care community to further that goal and help families open their hearts and homes.
To watch The Tarjick Family celebration at Fenway, click here.
If you or someone you know is a foster family and are interested in sharing your story with us, please visit Tell Your Story.
Created by Rebecca Kluesner, Bananas Foster