Bianca Rae Foundation

The Bianca Rae Foundation was started eight years ago to be a voice for the voiceless: children and animals. News anchor Bianca Rae realized her career as a journalist gave her a tremendous platform, and she wanted to use it to advocate for those who didn't have a voice. The foundation has two verticals, its work with children and its work with animals, though its signature program is now the Rae of Hope Retreat (and its ancillary programs) for disadvantaged youth.

The Bianca Rae Foundation was started to be a voice for the voiceless: children and animals. While we also hold annual adoption events with Southern California rescue organizations, our signature program is now our Rae of Hope Retreat (and its ancillary programs) for underprivileged youth.

We created the Rae Of Hope Retreat for middle school children, the only of its kind in Southern California, eight years ago. Middle school children from all over the Inland Empire attend breakout groups to learn crucial social and emotional skills. They rotate through breakout groups to learn leadership skills, bullying prevention and intervention, self-esteem building, and conflict resolution strategies to overcome obstacles using SEL strategies. What makes our retreat unique is that each breakout group is led by influential figures (news anchors, athletes, public figures, celebrities), with the belief that the messenger is just as important as the message. Power is influence, and we use our network to bring in people that we know can impact children. By these group leaders sharing their own insecurities and experiences, they create a safe space that inspires the children to share theirs as well. What we then see, year after year, is a realization of shared experiences makes children feel seen and understood, a key self-esteem builder and bullying deterrent. This event has served 3000 children to date.

During the pandemic, a virtual extension of the retreat was born, Rae of Hope Connection. Due to interest and demand, this is now a permanent program we offer. Monthly topics range from how to apply for college financial aid, job interview skills, dealing with back-to-school anxiety, and more. We are so proud to now be able to offer resources to young people year-round.

Both our in-person retreat and our monthly classes see attendance from young people all over Southern California. We have children attend from every desert city in the Coachella Valley, and some even from Los Angeles. Children who utilize our resources typically come from lower income communities, and most often single-parent homes.

Many children born in lower income areas of the desert tend to not only go to schooling in the desert, but also stay here and work here as professionals. That means that these kids that the Bianca Rae Foundation impacts at the retreat are the same ones that will end up working and running our local communities. The reason that this is so important is retreats like this helps foster a sense of independence and self-esteem in these kids which better helps them be productive members of society and serve these communities. When we hear stories about attendees of our programs creating renewed relationships with family members, starting their own little businesses, sharing their own stories of self-growth, and returning to our organization as a high-schooler to volunteer at future events - we know that means our messaging has impacted them and is helping them reach their fullest potential as fulfilled and contributing humans in this world. To us, that is success for the Bianca Rae Foundation.

Testimonials

"You made me feel important, heard. For the first time in a long time, thank you for that...I mean I go home and just cried because I don't have that in my life but today, I did. So thank you, so much." -Rae of Hope attendee

"I just picked up my daughter from the conference today. I haven't see her smile so big in such a long time. Thank you for putting on such a great event!" -Parent of a Rae of Hope attendee