Why you should help
Foster care removes vulnerable children from abusive, neglectful, or generally unfit living situations. Some children spend most or all of their childhood in foster care, often without a traditional family to rely on and thrive with.
Connect With a Wish is here to provide them some of the support, resources, and community that might be missing.
We need people like you to help us channel the community's warmth into brighter days and stronger futures for these youth. And there's lots of ways to get involved.
About Us
We were founded in 2014 with one goal: to grant a wish to every child in Virginia Beach foster care. Since then, we have expanded and taken on important new projects and events to address more needs in the system. And it's all focused on community support.
It's all to serve our mission: "to connect the wishes and needs of children in Virginia Beach foster care with the generosity of our community. We provide the resources and support needed to give these children the opportunity to grow into positive and productive members of our community".
5121
children in Virginia foster care
19.7
average months in care
53%
in care because of neglect
46.8%
children in care, ages 13+
34.3%
goal to return home
48.6%
female
59.1%
white
27.7%
black
By the Numbers
There's so many children in the foster care system, each with their own unique circumstances, goals, and needs. Here's some insight into the scale of the foster system, and how long thousands of children spend waiting for a safe, stable home.
The numbers you see here are from directly from Virginia DSS, in November 2022.
on the air
Our Programs
We support children in care in dozens of different ways. To keep everything clear, we organize our services into programs. From birthday gifts, to career support, Connect With a Wish has over a dozen programs targeting specific avenues of support for everyone under the foster care umbrella.
Virtual Tour
What's going on behind the scenes at the office? Watch our virtual tour to learn more about us, our programs, and how we help all sorts of different people in foster care.
Special thanks to VCU Brandcenter Grad Student, Alexis Caravas, for the cinematography!
Testimonies
Hear it right from those we help! We're proud to be a helping force in local Hampton Roads foster care.