Angela Coston

age: 34 | Executive Director | For the Sake of One

Angela Coston has been a positive influence in the lives of many hundreds of children in the Texarkana area, whether they are aware of it or not. As a former elementary teacher, she was a role model, parental figure, and life raft for her students. As former foster parents, she and her husband, Samuel, provided love and a safe haven for 11 children of varying ages. As a mom, she has three sons, Trent, Moses and Ambrose, who benefit from her care and leadership every day. And, still more, countless kids in the foster system live easier because of Angela’s hard work and devotion.

Her nonprofit, For the Sake of One (FSO), exists “to raise awareness and care for the foster care community in our area,” she said. “While teaching (in 2016), I felt that God was calling me to turn our church foster care ministry into a nonprofit that reached all across Texarkana, so I researched how to do that and did it. We help foster families, biological families, and case workers. My heart frequently breaks for the families I am helping, but I love when we are able to help keep a family together, or bring a little joy to a child who has been through more trauma in their little life than I have seen in my 34 years.” 

Best advice you’ve ever received:

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTAND- ING. IN ALL YOUR WAYS, AC- KNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.” —PROVERBS 3:5-6, GIVEN AS ADVICE BY ANGELA’S MOTHER, JAN GROSSMAN

In the past year, FSO has acquired a building, provided school supplies for over 250 children, provided Christmas presents for around 300 children, clothed innumerable children, encouraged case workers, put on a golf tournament and fund-raising banquet, and, most recently, been awarded the Congressional Coalition

on Adoption’s Angels in Adoption Honor. Though her full-time job is an act of service, Angela also manages to give back in other ways: she is a member of the Spring Lake Park VIPS and a volunteer in the nursery at Beech Street First Baptist Church.

The foster care system is a huge cause that would overwhelm many, but Angela often thinks back to the naming of her ministry. The name “For the Sake of One” comes from a story about an old man and a child who are walking along the beach. The man is picking up starfish and throwing them into the ocean. The child asks him why he’s doing that, and the man explains that he’s saving them. When the child retorts that there’s no way he’ll be able to save them all, the man replies, “I made a difference for that one.”

Name something about you that very few people know:

“My dog’s name is Kasha which is short for Koshkanog. This is a city in Missouri that I used to drive through as a child, and I thought it was the funniest name for a city. I used to tell my mom that I was going to move to Koshkanog and be a Koshkanogian. I never did that, but do have a dog named after the city.”