Fostering Dreams For Foster Children

Every year in the United States, more than 20,000 youths age out of foster care without a family to support them.

This group faces an increased risk of homelessness and many end up on the streets as a result. Working to close that gap is the Selfless Love Foundation, a nonprofit that helps find loving forever families for Florida foster kids.  

The Selfless Love Foundation was founded in 2015 by Ashley and Ed Brown, of Jupiter. Ashley was adopted as a newborn and considers it a great gift. 

“My adoption always made me feel like I was given a second chance at life,” she says. “I have made it my life mission to pay back my blessing of being adopted…There are so many children that just want a place to call home and a loving family.”

Selfless Love Foundation is working to streamline the adoption process, provide resources and training to help emancipated foster kids become independent, thriving young adults and to educate and advocate for foster children across Florida.

Ashley says Selfless Love is finding families for some of the hardest-to-place foster youths (older teens, sibling groups and kids with high medical needs) whose parents have had their parental rights terminated. “We are even finding families for 17-year-olds!” she says. 

A big factor in the charity’s placement success is a data-driven tool called Adoption-Share’s Family-Match that pairs foster children with caring, compatible families. Ashley says the free application, which uses a compatibility assessment developed by former researchers at eHarmony, has enabled Selfless Love to match more than 475 foster children with families in just three years. 

Selfless Love also provides a housing community in Pembroke Pines called Brown’s Harbor that helps former foster youths ages 18 to 23 make a successful transition to independence. 

Borrowing an idea from the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” Selfless Love launched a competition this year called “Dream Tank,” in which former Florida foster youths present their dreams and goals to a panel of entrepreneurs and philanthropists. The winner will be announced May 1 at Selfless Love’s annual fundraising gala at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa and will receive $5,000 along with additional help to achieve their dream. 

“With the support of all of our partners,” says Ashley, “we are helping these often-forgotten youth and changing the statistics into success stories.” 

For more information, visit selflesslovefoundation.org, email info@selflesslovefoundation.org or call 954-372-7760.