Country of Residence
United States
Age
16
Project title
One Starfish One Dream
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
As a former foster child, Jeremiah wants to create a project to help kids like him have a little fun and help kids in the system now.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Jeremiah spent over 5 years in the foster system, during that time organizations helped get him supplies and items he needed but there weren't many fun activities to help boost his self esteem and mental health during these hard times. While speaking about it with me (mom) we thought of ways we can help kids in these situations and came up with a two fold answer, something fun for us to do together and that would bring joy to the kids as well as help them.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Kids in foster care face a lot of issues with identity, mental health, and also bonding. Jeremiah would be forced to go to visits with bio mom and be in the corner alone without interaction, sometimes because mom didn't know what to do and sometimes because he was scared. We want to be able to create a fun activity kids can do with their parents and help bridge that divide.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
We want to help these kids in two ways, one is running this slime bar as a way to build funds and another is creating a fun activity we can bring to kids and their families. We want to also make little DIY bags the kids can do at visits with their parents as a bonding activity. The bar can be put up at foster events like christmas parties and get togethers done by DCF and also at craft festivals. The bar will run as a non profit so all proceeds go to help foster children directly.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
The project is starting out but everyone we have told about it is very excited, Jeremiah has helped with looking at how the bar will look like (building one) to the colors/slime/add ins used for the activity. He is excited to work at the bar at our upcoming event and we have spread the word to friends and family and some want to help run the bar with us. They are excited to find a way to give back and our agency is happy to be able to help give a little sunshine to the kids.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
A slime bar is a combination of an activity and a gift. There are organizations that collect clothing or christmas gifts for the kids but it is often behind the scenes and not something the kids really participate in directly. This is a direct activity for them to do and we have yet to meet a child who doesn't love slime!
How many people are on your team?
5
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Mom (Nina) and adult Bari (friend of family and also ex foster parent who has adopted) will run the logistics, Jeremiah and his sister and friend who was adopted from foster care will help run the bar, create the slime, help kids pick their mix ins, etc. This allows them to interact with the children.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
We will be doing our first event the second weekend in November to see how it goes, as we move forward and hopefully grow, we start with one table at events and creating the DIY kits for kids to do at visits with their parents with our profits from the event. As the holiday season grows nearer we plan to offer our services to local businesses doing events for kids and spread the word and maybe book some parties that way. Any activity that directly helps foster children or a party run by DCF/agencies will be run for free on our end so the kids can enjoy the slime and activity!
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
We will begin with the one set up but as we hopefully grow we can expand and have several teams leading activities. If there is a birthday during a parent/child visit we can provide the DIY kits as well as a little birthday cupcake/snack. The larger we are the more we can help others and bring joy to these kids
