Doing Good Works originated from a profound vision to reshape the future for young adults exiting foster care.

Our journey began with hiring the first two employees that were impacted by foster care, setting in motion a focused three-year plan that successfully connected over 600 individuals to meaningful employment in Hospitality, laying a strong foundation for a mission that would continue to evolve and broaden its reach.  Employment opportunities and workforce development have consistently been core to our mission.

In our continued journey, Doing Good Works amplified its mission by fostering relationships with organizations making significant impacts in foster care. This year, we reached beyond our initial endeavors, eventually partnering with 46 organizations, including Royal Family Kids, Olivecrest, and New Alternatives, to provide donations and offer leadership and financial literacy programs.

These efforts, aimed at transitional age youth and college students, expanded our influence into Orange County and Los Angeles, providing essential life skills training and further enriching the lives of those we serve.

Our employment efforts developed into weekly services at Orangewood Foundation as well as job fairs and new county agency relationships that gave us the ability to serve over 300 youth. While partnering with new organizations, we also donated essential supplies and training to further our impact.

Through a meaningful partnership with One Simple Wish that began in 2017, we ultimately turned 134 wishes into reality, highlighting our dedication to empowering foster youth with new experiences and resource connections. Our wonderful long-term client Kaiser Permanente had the desire to make a community impact with us and provide the fuel to make this happen!

Launching the College Direct Donation Program this year led to Doing Good Works ultimately impacting 1,520 students on 22 campuses, directly addressing the educational challenges faced by foster youth.

This initiative, alongside directly hiring more office staff from foster care, laid the groundwork for developing flexible and supportive, trauma-informed environments that promote personal and professional development.

The creation of the Mission Ambassador program introduced Doing Good Works to the most passionate and driven college students who wanted to give back.

We employed foster care-impacted students as advocates on 9 campuses, developing the concept of a flexible, supportive workplace with jobs that had purpose. This initiative not only supported student success but also provided valuable, structured work experiences, setting a new standard for empowering young adults in higher education.

In response to the challenges of COVID-19, Doing Good Works launched the Stronger Together initiative, providing crucial financial assistance to 58 individuals facing immediate crises.

Simultaneously, the Community Impact Internship program was envisioned because work experience and income opportunities were so limited. Although we intended to hire just 5, we couldn’t help but embrace every applicant through three cohorts, to offer 37 internships with comprehensive mentorship and career advancement opportunities, thus showcasing resilience and adaptability in uncertain times.

Doing Good Works introduced the Warehouse Packout Program, eventually providing 74 individuals with not just jobs but opportunities for skill development and personal growth through peer coaching.

We are fortunate to have Sephora as an exceptional partner, who has consistently supported and helped develop this program each year. Additionally, the launch of the Foster Your Greatness speaker series enriched our community with insights from industry leaders, reinforcing the power of storytelling in fostering connection and career exploration.

We doubled down with our workplace initiatives and concentrated our efforts on what we have learned would bring transformative change. We made a remarkable investment of nearly $1,000,000 by employing those from foster care and adverse backgrounds while also developing curriculum and peer mentoring that would bring significant, measured impact to our community.

The Foster Greatness Master Class united 44 participants, 9 Community Coaches, and 8 partner organizations in a program focused on redefining personal success, underscoring our commitment to nurturing growth and development through trauma informed, peer mentor led experiences.

Marking a milestone year, Doing Good Works proudly launched Foster Greatness as a non-profit, allowing broad philanthropic participation to support the scaling of our transformative approach and nationwide reach.

Alongside, we introduced the groundbreaking Foster Greatness app. This app establishes a pivotal access point for the foster care community to essential resources, mentorship, and opportunities for growth. It embodies our vision for comprehensive support and empowerment.