Hi, I’m Tiffany.
I’m the founder of Fostering Faith Foundation.
Long before there was a nonprofit, a Resource Center, Christmas wish lists, volunteers, community partners, or a name… I just saw a need that I couldn’t unsee.
But the truth is, I never set out thinking, “I’m going to start a nonprofit.”
I didn’t have some big strategic plan. I didn’t have a huge budget. I didn’t have all the answers.
Years ago, my daughter and I hosted a collection drive and gathered thousands of necessity items for children in foster care. We were so proud of what our community had done. But somewhere in that experience, I learned something that changed me.
Some of the extra hygiene items would be saved for children at Christmas. And I just couldn’t shake it.
And listen… I know toothpaste matters. Shampoo matters. Soap matters.
But I kept thinking about the child behind those items.
A child who had already experienced loss.
A child who may have left home with little or nothing.
A child trying to make sense of adults, courtrooms, new bedrooms, unfamiliar schools, and a life they never asked to have turned upside down.
And at Christmas… shouldn’t that child get to dream too?
Shouldn’t they get to ask for the bike? Or what about the little girl who wanted a baby doll? The boy dreaming about a LEGO set. The teenager hoping someone remembered that they were still a kid, too. What about that one thing that makes their eyes light up and reminds them that they are still a child?
I remember thinking, Is this really what Christmas looks like for some children in foster care? And I couldn’t let it go. And then came another question: “What about the rest of the year?” That question changed everything.
Because children don’t enter foster care only at Christmas.
- A grandmother doesn’t get a warning before her grandchildren suddenly come to live with her. She may be living on Social Security, suddenly crunching the numbers late at night, wondering how she’ll afford beds, clothes, food, school supplies, and everything else they need to feel safe and cared for.
- A foster parent receiving a placement call late at night may need pajamas, diapers, a car seat, a bed, or food right then.
- A teenager arriving with everything they own or allowed to take, stuffed in a trash bag.
- A sibling group trying to stay together needs someone willing to say, “We’ll figure it out,” right then, while standing in a new home, scared and confused, while the adults around them are trying to figure out beds, pajamas, shoes, school supplies, food, car seats, diapers… all of it.
And somewhere along the way, what began as a Christmas mission became something so much bigger. It was about showing up in the moments most people never see.
Fostering Faith Foundation began in 2018, and in 2020, with a whole lot of prayer, faith, support, and probably a few moments of wondering what in the world I was doing, we became an official 501(c)(3).
Today, we serve children and families touched by foster care, kinship care, guardianship, permanency, reunification, group homes, and young people aging out of care. We provide new clothing, shoes, pajamas, diapers, hygiene items, bedding, food, school supplies, toys, books, comfort items, therapy and sensory resources, and so much more.
But if I’m being completely transparent, Fostering Faith has never really been about the “stuff.”
- It’s about dignity.
- It’s about the child walking into our Resource Center and getting to choose something that feels like them.
- It’s about the caregiver who is overwhelmed and hearing, “You don’t have to figure this out alone.”
- It’s about siblings finding comfort after their world has changed.
- It’s about a teenager knowing someone remembered them.
- It’s about creating spaces where families can breathe, children can feel safe, and people can be met with compassion instead of judgment.
I’ve seen children come through our doors carrying stories that would break your heart.
I’ve seen caregivers exhausted from fighting systems they never expected to navigate.
I’ve seen social workers doing everything they can with too few hours and too many cases. I’ve seen grandparents step in overnight.
I’ve seen families say yes when yes came with sacrifice.
And I’ve also seen something else:
I’ve seen a community show up.
I’ve seen strangers buy Christmas wishes for children they will never meet.
I’ve seen volunteers sort tiny socks, build shelves, pack bags, organize diapers, make beds, deliver furniture, pray over families, and give hours of their lives simply because they care.
I’ve seen businesses become partners.
Churches become advocates.
Children use their own birthdays to give back.
Families make generosity a tradition.
And I have seen God make a way more times than I could ever count.
I started Fostering Faith because I couldn’t unsee the gaps. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children. I couldn’t accept that a child should feel forgotten simply because the adults and systems around them were overwhelmed. And I believed then and I still believe now that faith isn’t just something we say.
Sometimes faith looks like a pair of clean pajamas.
Sometimes hope looks like a bed waiting for a child who arrived unexpectedly.
Sometimes love looks like a Christmas wish with their own name on it.
Sometimes it looks like a grandmother being handed diapers and groceries.
Sometimes it looks like sitting beside someone and saying, “You are not alone.”
That is why I started Fostering Faith Foundation.
Not because I had all the answers.
Not because I had a big budget.
Not because I knew exactly where this would go.
I started because I believed God was asking me to take the next step.
And then the next one.
And then the next one.
And I wish I could tell you I was/am fearless. I wasn’t and I’m still not. I’ve battled anxiety for most of my life. I’ve questioned myself. I’ve wondered if I was enough for what God was putting in front of me. I’ve had moments where the need felt so much bigger than anything I could possibly fix.
And if I’m being completely transparent, I still have those moments.
But I’ve also learned that God doesn’t always ask us to have the whole plan.
Sometimes He just asks us to say yes to the next step.
So I did.
- One collection.
- One child.
- One family.
- One Christmas wish.
- One placement call.
- One prayer.
- One yes at a time.
And somehow, that little yes grew.
Eight years later, I’m still taking those steps.
Some days with confidence.
Some days exhausted.
Some days with tears in my eyes.
But always with hope.
Because every child deserves to feel seen. Every caregiver deserves support. Every young person deserves dignity. And every family deserves to know that someone is willing to walk beside them.
Not everyone can foster.
But everyone can help.
I’m Tiffany.
- I’m a wife.
- A mom.
- A woman who has wrestled with anxiety and still chooses faith.
- A person who absolutely does not have all the answers.
- And I’m the founder of Fostering Faith Foundation.
I started this because I believed children deserved more.
I still do.
And eight years later, I’m still saying yes and continuing to light the way with love, hope, and resources, one child, one family, one yes at a time.
And this Christmas in July, I have a wish of my own.
My wish and my prayer is that you’ll join me in this mission.
Maybe your yes looks like filling a need from our wish list.
Maybe it looks like becoming a monthly donor and helping us continue showing up, not just at Christmas, but every single day of the year.
Maybe it looks like your business becoming a partner.
Maybe it looks like volunteering, sharing our story, praying for this mission, or simply helping one more person understand that the needs of children and families don’t end when the holidays do.
Whatever your yes looks like, I hope you’ll take that next step with me as our needs continue to increase and our doors keep opening, we need more people willing to step into this story with us.
Because I have seen what can happen when one person says yes.
I have lived it.
And I believe with my whole heart that together, we can continue lighting the way with love, hope, and resources for children and families walking through some of life’s hardest moments.
This Christmas in July, that is my wish.
- That more people will see the need.
- That more people will choose to stay.
- That more people will say yes.
Because not everyone can foster.
But everyone can help light the way with love, hope and resources.
Much love,
Tiffany