Revolutionize Foster Care with Us
Tax deductible
"I was scared and too young to understand what was going on," says Ronnie Andrews, a former foster youth placed in 50 homes from age 14 to 18.
The Problem – Kids Entering Foster Care
-74% of incarcerated adults spent time in foster care
-80% of death row inmates spent time in foster care
-50% of girls in foster care are pregnant by age 19
-25% of homeless youth spent time in the foster care system
-Adolescents who had been in foster care are nearly four times more likely to have attempted suicide
Ask someone their thoughts on the United States foster care system and you’re bound to hear a wide range of emotions, criticism, and confusion. Foster care typically involves a child or children taken from their home and placed for a period of time in a licensed foster home. Currently in King County Washington, on average 42 children enter into foster care each month. As the number of children entering care has been increasing over the years, the number of licensed foster care homes in Washington state has declined from 6,000 to 5,000 since 2009.
Unfortunately, the child entering foster care is always caught in the middle. Kids entering the system are forgotten during the rush to figure out logistics and paperwork, often leaving the child confused and traumatized. The effects on the child can be long-lasting and lead to serious issues for the rest of their lives.
Read more about the crisis of foster care and the problems with foster care on our website.
The Solution – Revolutionize the first 30 days in Foster Care
The serious shortage of licensed homes means that for the first week or more, children are often bounced between social worker’s offices, motels, shelters, emergency care facilities, and foster homes. Since on average 38% of the children return to a family member within the first 30 days, the first month is the most critical and frustrating part of foster care in Washington state. The vision behind Bridge Receiving Center is to build therapeutic camp-like facilities where children, ages six and older, will find an immediate safe place to stay while preparing for where they will land next.
-Accept children anytime, day or night, with welcoming and trained staff
-Kids will receive individualized tutoring, counseling and help in learning coping strategies
-Provide recreational activities that creates a sense of adventure and develop self-esteem
Bridge will be designed as a “soft landing” from the chaotic trauma leading to the removal from their home. Because a child will not be rushed into just any foster home that has an available bed, we will have time to provide the state-ordered emotional, psychological, academic, and medical assessments to aid in finding the best possible foster family. Our counselors will also explain to the children their rights and responsibilities, and listen to their concerns and questions, thus giving them a voice so they can better understand what is happening to them, their parents, and their siblings. This 30-day transition period at camp will result in a reduction in the need to identify licensed foster families and lead to a reduced need for foster families in general as the child will enter their first placement with greater understanding and less trauma, and more often being placed with a family member already known to them. Our center will initially focus on receiving the most vulnerable of foster kids entering the system, boys aged 6-17.
Read more from the Herald newspaper, Everett, WA and watch coverage on progress with the first center from KING5 News, Seattle.
Get Involved
After months of searching, Bridge Receiving Center broke ground on their first facility with the goal of opening in early 2019. Bridge leased and began renovations to expand a three-bedroom house on the property of Cedar Springs Camp in Lake Stevens, WA. The house sits on a 150-acre camp facility designed for kid campers in the woods with plenty of outdoor activities.
To launch the pilot of Bridge Receiving Center, we need a total of $183,000; including $36,000 exterior remodeling costs, $32,000 remaining interior remodeling costs, $15,000 furnishings, and $100,000 training, start-up program expenses, and operating reserves for 2019. As you consider giving, you can help cover the costs for the boys entering foster care (aged 6-17) staying at our center this first year:
One Boy at Bridge:
-$51 = 1 boy for 1 night
-$357 = 1 boy for 1 week
-$1,530 = 1 boy for 30 days
All Six Boys at Bridge:
-$306 = All 6 boys for 1 night
-$2,142 = All 6 boys for 1 week
-$9,180 = All 6 boys for 30 days
This year we've received many donations from individuals and organizations that believe in and support the mission of Bridge Receiving Center, plus approximately $60,000+ in donated building materials and labor. We have great momentum to open our doors in 2019, but it WILL NOT happen without more financial support. We are looking for more individuals and organizations to partner with us so we can revolutionize the foster system and provide foster kids the safe landing they deserve. Please donate and help us create a new reality for kids entering the foster system. All gifts are tax deductible.
$100 – Kathie Hubbard
$200 – Paul Beam
$500 – Lee Taylor
$500 – Poole Family Foundation via Vanguard Charitable
$500 - Overlake Park Presbyterian Church Women’s Group
$1,000 – Lisa Poole
$1,000 – Lynette Gamm RE/MAX Elite
$2000 – Lake Stevens Gold Creek Church
$2,500 – Coastal Community Bank Employee Giving Fund (via The Community Foundation of Snohomish County)
$2,000 – Westminster Chapel
$5,000 – Tulalip Charitable Foundation (given via Olive Crest)
$5,000 - Anonymous
$5,000 – Snohomish Kiwanis
$10,000 – Bill and Sharon Kozek
$15,000 – Bacon Family Foundation
Meet the Team
Big problems like foster care rarely have simple answers and it’s easy to either give up or hope someone else will work toward a solution. Fortunately, the individuals and organizations listed below have joined together to help kids caught in the middle with foster care. Bridge Receiving Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 based in Redmond, WA is made up of the following individuals:
-Dan and Kathleen Hamer. Bridge Receiving Center, Co-Founders
-Tracy Rubstello. Bridge Receiving Center, Director of Development
-Aaron Tally. Bridge Receiving Center, Building Project Manager
Coalition Partners:
Overlake Christian Church, Olive Crest, and Cedar Springs Camp.
The Problem – Kids Entering Foster Care
-74% of incarcerated adults spent time in foster care
-80% of death row inmates spent time in foster care
-50% of girls in foster care are pregnant by age 19
-25% of homeless youth spent time in the foster care system
-Adolescents who had been in foster care are nearly four times more likely to have attempted suicide
Ask someone their thoughts on the United States foster care system and you’re bound to hear a wide range of emotions, criticism, and confusion. Foster care typically involves a child or children taken from their home and placed for a period of time in a licensed foster home. Currently in King County Washington, on average 42 children enter into foster care each month. As the number of children entering care has been increasing over the years, the number of licensed foster care homes in Washington state has declined from 6,000 to 5,000 since 2009.
Unfortunately, the child entering foster care is always caught in the middle. Kids entering the system are forgotten during the rush to figure out logistics and paperwork, often leaving the child confused and traumatized. The effects on the child can be long-lasting and lead to serious issues for the rest of their lives.
Read more about the crisis of foster care and the problems with foster care on our website.
The Solution – Revolutionize the first 30 days in Foster Care
The serious shortage of licensed homes means that for the first week or more, children are often bounced between social worker’s offices, motels, shelters, emergency care facilities, and foster homes. Since on average 38% of the children return to a family member within the first 30 days, the first month is the most critical and frustrating part of foster care in Washington state. The vision behind Bridge Receiving Center is to build therapeutic camp-like facilities where children, ages six and older, will find an immediate safe place to stay while preparing for where they will land next.
-Accept children anytime, day or night, with welcoming and trained staff
-Kids will receive individualized tutoring, counseling and help in learning coping strategies
-Provide recreational activities that creates a sense of adventure and develop self-esteem
Bridge will be designed as a “soft landing” from the chaotic trauma leading to the removal from their home. Because a child will not be rushed into just any foster home that has an available bed, we will have time to provide the state-ordered emotional, psychological, academic, and medical assessments to aid in finding the best possible foster family. Our counselors will also explain to the children their rights and responsibilities, and listen to their concerns and questions, thus giving them a voice so they can better understand what is happening to them, their parents, and their siblings. This 30-day transition period at camp will result in a reduction in the need to identify licensed foster families and lead to a reduced need for foster families in general as the child will enter their first placement with greater understanding and less trauma, and more often being placed with a family member already known to them. Our center will initially focus on receiving the most vulnerable of foster kids entering the system, boys aged 6-17.
Read more from the Herald newspaper, Everett, WA and watch coverage on progress with the first center from KING5 News, Seattle.
Get Involved
After months of searching, Bridge Receiving Center broke ground on their first facility with the goal of opening in early 2019. Bridge leased and began renovations to expand a three-bedroom house on the property of Cedar Springs Camp in Lake Stevens, WA. The house sits on a 150-acre camp facility designed for kid campers in the woods with plenty of outdoor activities.
To launch the pilot of Bridge Receiving Center, we need a total of $183,000; including $36,000 exterior remodeling costs, $32,000 remaining interior remodeling costs, $15,000 furnishings, and $100,000 training, start-up program expenses, and operating reserves for 2019. As you consider giving, you can help cover the costs for the boys entering foster care (aged 6-17) staying at our center this first year:
One Boy at Bridge:
-$51 = 1 boy for 1 night
-$357 = 1 boy for 1 week
-$1,530 = 1 boy for 30 days
All Six Boys at Bridge:
-$306 = All 6 boys for 1 night
-$2,142 = All 6 boys for 1 week
-$9,180 = All 6 boys for 30 days
This year we've received many donations from individuals and organizations that believe in and support the mission of Bridge Receiving Center, plus approximately $60,000+ in donated building materials and labor. We have great momentum to open our doors in 2019, but it WILL NOT happen without more financial support. We are looking for more individuals and organizations to partner with us so we can revolutionize the foster system and provide foster kids the safe landing they deserve. Please donate and help us create a new reality for kids entering the foster system. All gifts are tax deductible.
$100 – Kathie Hubbard
$200 – Paul Beam
$500 – Lee Taylor
$500 – Poole Family Foundation via Vanguard Charitable
$500 - Overlake Park Presbyterian Church Women’s Group
$1,000 – Lisa Poole
$1,000 – Lynette Gamm RE/MAX Elite
$2000 – Lake Stevens Gold Creek Church
$2,500 – Coastal Community Bank Employee Giving Fund (via The Community Foundation of Snohomish County)
$2,000 – Westminster Chapel
$5,000 – Tulalip Charitable Foundation (given via Olive Crest)
$5,000 - Anonymous
$5,000 – Snohomish Kiwanis
$10,000 – Bill and Sharon Kozek
$15,000 – Bacon Family Foundation
Meet the Team
Big problems like foster care rarely have simple answers and it’s easy to either give up or hope someone else will work toward a solution. Fortunately, the individuals and organizations listed below have joined together to help kids caught in the middle with foster care. Bridge Receiving Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 based in Redmond, WA is made up of the following individuals:
-Dan and Kathleen Hamer. Bridge Receiving Center, Co-Founders
-Tracy Rubstello. Bridge Receiving Center, Director of Development
-Aaron Tally. Bridge Receiving Center, Building Project Manager
Coalition Partners:
Overlake Christian Church, Olive Crest, and Cedar Springs Camp.
Fundraising team (4)
Andrew Spottswood
Organizer
Redmond, WA
Bridge Receiving Center
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Dan Hamer
Team member
Kathleen Hamer
Team member
Alex Miller
Team member
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