Under a pavilion at Druid Hill Park, a little girl deftly twirled a hula hoop.
The spry 10-year-old easily matched dance steps with a crush of practiced teenagers and sat patiently while a volunteer painted her face with feline features.
But the minute she spotted her brother, she raced toward him.
She held him in a fierce hug, saying the 11-year-old's name over and over. The pair had not seen each other since Easter.
No one better understood that reaction than Shantel Randolph, a former foster child who organized the picnic to reunite siblings in foster care.
"For many of these kids, the biggest issue is being separated from their siblings," said Randolph, 26, the third of nine siblings. "Many foster parents cannot take in all the siblings, and unless these kids can reconnect, they don't always know their family. So this picnic is to reunite them and give them a day in the park. They can have fun together as a family."
With a fellowship from the Open Society Institute, Randolph has worked with Foster Youth Inc., a collaboration between the Public Justice Center and a group of Baltimore Freedom Academy students. Members of FYI share their own stories, work to improve the foster care system and help one another grow up.
"These kids have seen the challenging situations in life and are trying to improve their lives and others'," said Rhonda B. Lipkin, a child welfare advocate for the justice center who established FYI two years ago. "Many of them know what it's like to lose parents and siblings and feel like you have no support."
Randolph, with FYI's assistance, invited more than 200 foster children to the four-hour event. Names of some of the children could not be published because of safety fears involving split families.
"FYI helped me see how other foster kids better their lives," said Jermerriah Talbot, 16, who has been in foster care for four years. "This is my first-ever picnic."
Children, accompanied by their foster parents, arrived throughout the afternoon, and often were enveloped in hugs from a sister or brother.
"I am looking to see smiles as kids are reunited all day today," said academy sophomore William Mathews, a 15-year-old member of FYI.
Like William, senior Brion Gill, 17, has never experienced foster care, but she knows how she missed her college-bound older brother.
"I really can feel for these people who have lost their siblings," she said. "That's why this picnic is monumental. That's why I wanted to work on it."
