The Vogel Family

Corinne Vogel spent more than half her lifetime making children feel special.  Day after day, for at least 34 years, she took in foster children and made them feel cared for, loved and wanted. She became a mother to them during a time of need, whispering words of comfort during bouts of loneliness and healing scrapes with her tender and soothing words.  Her husband, Roger, has been by her side for all these years but credits Corinne for the work.  “She is what makes this family special,” he says as he glances over at his wife.  She gently looks away, silently refusing to take the credit.  But she should, in part.  The Vogels are now on their 104^th foster child.  For them, all they ever wanted was the work of caring for children, which they saw as a blessing.  Both Corinne and Roger are 64 years old, having started their mission at the age of 30.  Their work is a drive inspired by Isaiah 58, Roger said, that “tells us to be helpful to people in need.”  “We looked at what we had to offer and decided to focus on children,” he said.

April and Britney Vogel, ages 14 and 16 respectively, are sisters who each came to the Vogels shortly after birth but were adopted a few years later.  They are two of the six children the Vogels adopted throughout the years - an addition to the five biological children Corinne and Roger already had.  “It’s not sad to be adopted; this is not a sad thing.  This is 1,000 times better than if I had stayed with my birth mom,” April said.  “I have everything I need here and I couldn’t ask for more,” Britney added.  “I think it would have been harder had we moved around.”

People in the area consider Corinne to be a blessing, but she doesn’t see it that way.  She does it for the love of children, regardless of their situation.  “People often say, ‘You’ll never know what kind of problems they’ll have.’  True, but you don’t know with your own kids,” she said.  “If you’re committed to your own child, it will be the same for the others.”

It’s common to have a large gathering for dinner in their eight-bedroom house, Corinne always cooking extra food for drop-ins.  They’ll laugh, reminisce of earlier years, such as when the Vogels had a filled 15-seat red van that would drop each child off at school.  And their work will continue.  “There are so many kids out there that need someone but we can’t help them all,” Corinne said. “But we can help one or two at a time.”

Written By:  Andrea E. Garcia

Photo By: Patricia Davies