ENHANCING THE LIVES OF YOUTH AND

YOUNG ADULTS IN HAMPTON ROADS FOSTER CARE

Connect With A Wish works to positively transform the lives of youth and young adults in Hampton Roads foster care by delivering initiatives and forging collaborations with local organizations so that every foster child in the Hampton Roads community, present and former, discovers their full potential. Since our founding in 2014, we have grown to provide over 20 programs and events to help fill gaps in resources for those in foster care to grow into successful, productive community members.

In 2024 alone, CWW served our clients 3,151 times through a varied array of year-round services, including the Holiday Project that fulfilled 378 requests for holiday gifts from foster families and the Birthday Brigade initiative, which provided 413 birthday kits so that children received a celebration (many of whom do not have birthday celebrations while in care).

 

SUPPORTING SUCCESS:  FOSTERING ADULT INDEPENDENCE

Supporting Success is a new alignment of existing services that focuses on developing our young adults’ social and professional skills and building their resiliency. Through this internal collaboration of aligned staff, services, and events, CWW provides direct financial assistance (such as rent assistance, utilities support, and other urgent needs) and helps foster long-term adult independence. 

YOUR GIFT during Give Local 757 helps prevent homelessness, foster adult independence, and decrease the cycle of foster care dependence in Hampton Roads. Donors just like you help us provide case management to youth aging out and facing homelessness, pay for emergency housing for those currently homeless, provide food directly to food-insecure youth and young adults, and provide the items necessary for adults to achieve and maintain permanent independence!

PLEASE CONSIDER CONNECT WITH A WISH DURING

THE 2025 GIVE LOCAL 757 GIVING DAY!

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Supporting Success is a new alignment of existing services that focuses on developing our young adults’ social and professional skills and building their resiliency. Through this internal collaboration of aligned staff, services, and events, CWW provides direct financial assistance (such as rent assistance, utilities support, and other urgent needs) and helps foster long-term adult independence. 

Transition to Independence is CWW's department of case management services. Through our case management, young adults at risk of homelessness (or already homeless) upon aging out of foster care receive services to help them apply for the federal Foster Youth to Independence housing assistance voucher. The collage above are 4 of our 20 youth that have moved in under this voucher since October 2023! Emergency Housing is provided to youth that are homeless under this initiative, and Wish to Dish requests can be made to receive food items from our pantry of dry, non-perishable food items.

Our Connect to Careers skills development program monitors our clients as they move through professional and personal skills development central to adult independence. Successful completion of this program is structured through five central activities: 1) Developing a Transportation Plan, 2) Polishing their Resumes, 3) Refining their Interview Skills, 3) Creating a Financial Plan, 4) Completing Job Training and Additional Education and 5) Securing a Housing Plan. Young adults are directly connected to local employers who share information on their workplaces and their hiring process in Mission:Possible workshops as well as exclusive hiring events directly with area employers. 

According to the National Foster Youth Institute, 70% of young women who age out of foster care become pregnant before 21 (NFYI, 2017). Mom Squad is a gathering of young mothers (aged 17 to 25) currently in foster care and those that have recently aged out to combat this trend. Through meaningful social connection with peers, parenting resources, and instruction in adult education topics, we hope to disrupt and decrease the cycle of foster care dependence long-term.

To support these activities in their daily lives, our clients can submit Nest & Necessities requests to our C2C Program Manager. These requests provide resources and support for older youth and young adults aging out of Foster Care. We frequently provide work uniforms and technology assistance (laptops and cell phones) so that our clients can find and maintain employment, as well as fulfill requests for utility assistance and transportation requests, including rideshare services and bus passes for those without stable transportation but also regular and emergency maintenance as needed.

Who We Are

Connect With a Wish (CWW), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, began in 2014 in the home of Joy Rios, our President and Founder. Her love and passion for her own children and how they came into her life inspired her to create this organization...