'The Young and the Restless' soap star and advocate for foster children Victoria Rowell yesterday encouraged people who are not foster parents to get involved - if not directly in becoming foster parents then in lending a hand to those that are.

"Take them out for a fine dining experience or to a movie," she said, "Everyone cannot be a foster parent, but foster parents need a break sometimes."

Ms Rowell, a the two-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actress, is better known to 'The Young and the Restless' viewers as Drucilla Winters.

Others may remember her as Dr. Amanda Bentley from the CBS television series 'Diagnosis Murder' where she co-starred with Dick Van Dyke.

But Ms Rowell is also a former foster child herself who now gives generously of her support to the system in which she was raised.

She spoke yesterday at the Department of Child and Family Services' Appreciation Luncheon, at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, as part of National Foster Care Awareness Month.

Over 100 people attended the luncheon which gives thanks to those that help some of Bermuda's most needy children.

Ms Rowell praised the work of Bermuda's Family Services department but said there were so many ways that people could help not only foster children, but also children in homes like the Sunshine League or the Brangman Home.

She said there were a lot of horror stories related to foster parents and foster children, but it was important to focus on the positive.

"We aim to give them the tools to help them sustain success," she said, "Often children in foster care are educationally disadvantaged."

Ms Rowell, who was on her second visit to the Island, added that in America at least 75 percent of the male foster children end up in prison.

"We need mentor-ship, gift bags, Christmas trees, Santa Claus and donations for the children," she said.

"In Bermuda there are 82 children in Foster Care, I think it is remarkable when I compare it to the United States where there are 542,000 children in Foster Care.

"They need someone to take them out or provide an internship for them," said Ms Rowell.

"They mainly need jobs. Remember most of these children have no one in their lives and they need all the support that they can get.

"It's about reciprocity and giving back wherever you can."

Ms Rowell pointed out that there was a teenaged boy at the luncheon who was interested in becoming a broadcaster. She called on broadcast companies in the community to offer him an internship.

Ms Rowell, who was a foster child for 18 years, speaks from experience. Her birth mother put her in foster care when she was only 16 days old.

Initially she was with the Taylors, who were a white couple who went to court in an attempt to adopt her, but they were told they could not because although she is of mixed race, she was classified as black.

She was then put with another family and then, when she was a toddler, she was placed with Agatha Armstead with her two sisters. Ms Armstead, a farmer, was also the daughter of slaves.

Ms Rowell grew up on a farm and helped to raise animals, chickens and sold eggs.

"It was a lot of hard labour living on the farm, but it is what was and has been my discipline," she said.

"She (Ms Armstead) showed me how to iron my clothes and how to plant my own garden.

"But with all of this she ensured that I also studied dance."

At the age of eight, Ms Armstead sent her to an audition in Massachusetts with borrowed leotards and tights and she was awarded a scholarship at the now defunct Cambridge School of Ballet, under the auspices of the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts.

Ms Rowell then won scholarships to both the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre, where by 17, she was talented enough to get a professional contract, which gave her a stipend of $200 a month.

Ms Armstead, a grandmother who had reared her own children, also encouraged the young Ms Rowell to meet her birth mother.

"When I met my mother, I understood why I was in foster care," Ms Rowell said yesterday.

Now a mother of two herself, Ms Rowell said her natural mother had six children, all of whom were wards of the state. She has also done a search for her brothers and is in touch with them.

In the 80s before becoming a soap star, Ms Rowell taught ballet to foster children so that they too could have the discipline to succeed.

"I taught them dance, but I knew I wanted to do something more, but I wasn't sure what it would be," said Ms Rowell, who is also a spokesperson for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a child welfare advocacy group.

"It was in the early 90s that I decided to set up The Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan."

The organisation promotes tuition in the classical arts, like dance, music and athletics, in a bid to give the children something to excel in.

In her acting she has lobbied 'The Young and the Restless' producers about dealing with the issue of foster care and said they will be dealing with the issue in June.

Ms Rowell's character on 'The Young and the Restless', Drucilla Winters, is suffering from alopecia caused by having used an untested sample of hair straightening cream.

"'The Young and the Restless' is always dealing with issues and thought that many people don't realise the trouble that black women go through to deal with their hair," she said.

lIf you want more information about becoming a foster parent, taking a child out for the day or offering employment to foster children contact the Department of Child and Family Services on 294-5871.