 Loving with intentionality means choosing to actively nurture a relationship through consistent effort, mindfulness, and commitment. While this phrase is often associated with partnerships and marriages, its meaning reaches far beyond romantic relationships. In foster care and adoption, loving intentionally shows up in profound and practical ways. Children of color are disproportionately represented in foster care, and many foster families will care for one or more children of color during their fostering journey. For children in care, identity and belonging can feel fragile. When a child’s culture is ignored or misunderstood, they may feel unseen, unsafe, or disconnected. As we observe Black History Month, we are invited to reflect on how intentional love intersects with cultural care in foster care.
Honoring a child’s culture is an intentional act of love. It acknowledges an essential truth: a child’s sense of belonging is deeply connected to their culture, identity, and personal story. When caregivers respect cultural traditions, language, and lived experiences, children feel seen and valued. This validation increases emotional safety, reduces anxiety, and strengthens trust, laying the foundation for healthy attachment and open relationships. Foster and adoptive parents open their hearts and homes to children who have experienced loss, transition, and uncertainty. Intentional love means being fully present, setting clear and healthy boundaries, and choosing patience and care, even when it is difficult. It is love that is deliberate, steady, and rooted in commitment. Practicing Intentional Love Through Cultural Care Practice Cultural Humility Acknowledge what you do not know and remain open to learning from the child, their birth family, and their community. Celebrate Daily Life Familiar cultural routines, such as storytelling, music, faith practices, and celebrations, provide comfort and stability during transitions. Incorporate traditional foods, music, books, holidays, and faith expressions into daily life. Provide Representation Seek out cultural events, mentors, and community spaces that reflect a child’s identity. Surround children with toys, books, media, and role models that affirm who they are and what is possible for them. Address Practical Needs Learning culturally specific care skills, such as hair and skin care, is a powerful way to affirm a child’s dignity and self-worth. Build Trust Through Validation A strong connection to culture acts as a protective factor, helping children face adversity with resilience and hope. Loving with intentionality in foster care means choosing to see the whole child, their past, their culture, their story, and their God-given worth. It is love that listens, learns, and honors identity as an act of belonging. By Marilyn Robinson, Director of Family Connections
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 The Neighbor Program connects families who need support with volunteers who want to help. Through simple, consistent acts of kindness, we help kinship and foster families feel seen, cared for, and not alone.
Our volunteer Neighbors are trained, background-checked, and thoughtfully matched with a family. They provide monthly meals or grocery deliveries, along with friendly encouragement and connection. It’s not about fixing problems, it’s about showing up. A meal at the door, a quick text check-in, or just a consistent presence can make a meaningful difference in a family’s month. If your family could use a little extra support, or if you feel called to serve a family in a simple but impactful way, we would love to connect with you. One favorite way to show care is with this White Chicken Chili Recipe, which has received rave reviews from Neighbor Program families! We are currently seeking families in Centennial, Lakewood, Denver/Washington Park, Englewood, Parker, and Highlands Ranch. We can’t fix everything, but we can fix dinner. To learn more about receiving support or becoming a Neighbor, reach out today. By Jackie Hall, Neighbor Program Manager  Last May, at Project 1.27’s Hope for the Journey conference, the impact of trauma-informed training came to life in a powerful and unexpected way. During the event, a newly trained foster father, Dean, volunteered in the children’s program while caregivers attended an eight-hour Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training. It quickly became clear that one 6-year-old boy, Dillion* would need additional care and attention. As an infant and young child, Dillion had been severely neglected, often confined alone for long periods without adequate food or water. These early experiences deeply affected his sense of safety and self-regulation. He had a history of running away and found it extremely difficult to remain in structured classroom settings, making supervision challenging and at times unsafe. Full of energy and speed, Dillion bolted several times from the children’s area. Dean stepped in with calm confidence. Drawing on his training, he responded with patience, attunement, and empathy, rather than control. He spent the day one-on-one with Dillion, engaging him in relational and regulating activities such as walks, bounce houses, and petting goats. By staying present and responsive to Dillion’s cues, Dean helped him feel safe, understood, and supported. This intentional, relationship-based care not only transformed Dillion’s day but also ensured a safe and successful conference experience for families and staff alike. Since that event, Dean and his wife, Darya, have become foster parents to two children under the age of two.  “Volunteering with Project 1.27 at Hope for the Journey gave us a powerful window into the lived experiences of children from so many different backgrounds. We saw that behind every behavior was a deep desire to be loved, seen, and acknowledged. That perspective has shaped how we show up as foster parents, especially with our current toddler, helping us respond with more empathy, patience, and understanding, knowing his behaviors are rooted in a need for connection and safety," Darya shared.
Project 1.27 is dedicated to equipping foster families with the essential tools to foster healing and healthy development in children who have experienced early adversity. Stories like Dillion’s demonstrate that trained and supported caregivers can truly transform lives. By Lisa Marr, Family Connections Manager *Name has been changed  A great deal of attention and time is devoted to recruiting, training, and supporting Foster families, and sometimes our Kinship and Adoptive Families feel left out in the cold. If you have adopted, you might be wrestling with some difficult post-adoption issues. We have some great resources for you.
Raise The Future Raise The Future offers Family Support Services statewide in an effort to provide sustaining support and prevent entry and re-entry into the child welfare system. The Family Support Services program incorporates Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training, personalized in-home coaching, specialized web-based training, and some resource coordination for families. All the services that they provide are FREE and funded by a statewide grant. If you are struggling with trust, connection, and/or correction of your adopted, kinship, or foster children, contact Brittany Medina at [email protected] Preston Ranch Preston Ranch is eager to provide grants to post-adoption families who have financial struggles due to the complex needs of the children in their care. Please go to their website to apply for Medical Grants, Mental Health Grants, and Crisis Intervention Grants. “The mission of Preston Ranch Ministries is to offer Christ-centered support, strengthening families committed to adoption through post-adoptive grants. We seek to champion these families in their dedication to adoption, and their healing and restoration in Christ.” Project 1.27 Monthly Advanced Trainings Project 1.27 has recognized a growing need for specialized awareness and insight among our Foster/Adopt and Kinship families. To address this, we have developed a monthly Advanced Training Schedule that is FREE to all interested individuals. The full schedule will be released soon, and it will feature a wide range of training topics, including:
 At Project 1.27, we believe the Church is uniquely positioned to see every child in a nurturing, well-supported home by recruiting and walking alongside foster and adoptive families as they care for the children in their homes. Through partnerships with churches, we can equip congregations to engage foster care with compassion, preparation, and ongoing support. We want to help believers live out James 1:27 in tangible, transformative ways.
Throughout the year, there are several opportunities for churches to partner with Project 1.27 or highlight foster care and adoption. To help you plan ahead, I’ve included a 2026 overview of ways we can work together: April- Topgolf Challenge: Learn more about Project 1.27 while supporting our mission by sponsoring a bay. A great opportunity to connect with families, staff, and other supporters. May- Hope for the Journey Parenting Conference: A must-attend event for foster and adoptive parents, church staff and volunteers, teachers, and therapists. Churches can support by volunteering in children’s areas or hospitality, or by donating gift cards to bless families with dinner. July- Family Picnic: See Project 1.27 in action as current and former foster families gather for connection and encouragement. Opportunities to volunteer or sponsor are available. November- Comedy Night: Celebrate the impact of Project 1.27 with a fun evening. Churches can sponsor a table and invite staff or members to enjoy dinner, hear stories of impact, and laugh together. November - Pure Religion Sunday: Led by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), the second Sunday of November is set aside globally to raise awareness of foster care and adoption. We can provide resources to help make this a meaningful experience for your congregation. December- Family Christmas Party: Volunteer to help serve families at our Christmas party OR donate gift cards that we can share with our families. These can be gift cards for a dinner out, a fun family experience, or for big stores like Walmart or Target. These don’t have to be big, but they can go a long way in making a family feel seen and loved during the Holidays. We would love the opportunity to buy you a coffee, connect, and explore how your church might engage in this life-changing work-whether by hosting a foster care info night, mobilizing Neighbors, or simply learning more. Contact [email protected]. By Kym Schnittker, Community Engagement and Events Manager  When we started our time as a foster family, we were confident about what the experience would look like. We had four children, ages 7-11, and that was plenty for us. When we got phone calls from placement workers, one of the questions we would ask was, “Does this case seem likely to go to termination?” And if the answer was yes, our answer was no. We were not trying to adopt; we were working with families in crisis to reunify. We all know the pithy phrases about what happens when we make plans. A couple of years into our foster care experience, we received a phone call about a newborn. I should say, my wife received a phone call about a newborn. It seemed like there was about a 50/50 chance that the placement desk would call me versus my wife, but on this one, they called my wife. We had already discussed the age ranges we were open to (elementary to middle school), and those ranges did not include newborns. We were done with diapers, bottles, cribs, and middle-of-the-night feedings. But my wife called me after talking to the placement desk and told me she had a feeling about this one. Baby A came to us at about 10 days old. I am not a mystical person by any stretch, but I remember feeling something powerful, a deep well of love that I didn’t realize I had in me when I first held her. It’s one of my most vivid memories. But we were still committed to reunification, and my wife especially worked tirelessly to cheer on the birth mom, while loving this little baby. After eleven months, we got balloons, took the birth mom out to brunch to celebrate, and handed over baby A. We all cried the whole way home, and for days after. The grief was heavy, but we did our best to hold on to the joy of a family reunited successfully. Our grief and joy were short-lived, as a month later, baby A came back into care and re-joined our family. A few short months after that, termination was finalized, and we were added to the list of families adopting on National Adoption Day in November. We celebrated this incredible addition to our family and mourned the brokenness of a birth mom who lost her child.  Often, the adoption story ends there. But my wife believed that no one was out of the reach of God’s grace and offered love and acceptance to this birth mom who needed it so badly. She went through recovery and found stable housing. We grew closer as friends, and she joined our church. Our daughter would worship Jesus, sitting next to her “first mom,” and attend childrens' classes with her half-sister and brother. Now, this amazing woman–who battled homelessness and addiction and won–works for a local nonprofit that shelters the unhoused in the South Denver area. She offers her lived experience to the organization as they craft policy and procedures. And she and her family are regular fixtures in our home (as I write this, I know they are coming over for dinner tonight).
It’s so easy to be myopic about our expectations of what God might do in us and through us. We set out our plans and limit our imaginations. But every once in a while, we are reminded that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). And we are reminded that no one is out of the reach of God’s grace. By Mark Gomez, Front Range Church and Community Engagement Manager  I am not a flexible person, physically speaking. I struggle to touch my toes without bending my knees, and most yoga poses are just wishful thinking. But while my body lacks flexibility, our time in foster care taught me a different kind of flexibility, and the importance of having a support team that could bend and flex with our family.
My wife got a call from the county, asking if we would be willing to take one or two boys from a sibling set of three. They had given up on keeping them together, and since we already had five children in our home, they were only asking us to take one or two. After discussing it with each other and our children, we offered to take all three (there is another article to be written here about knowing your limits, but we’ll save that for later). But adding three kids to our existing house meant we had to shuffle our existing family into different spaces in the home. We had one open storage room in the basement that we wanted to convert to a bedroom in order to accommodate the extra kids. We put out the call to our support community, and they responded. My dad covered the cost of an egress window for the room to ensure safety and once the window was cut out, we needed to paint and move furniture. Our community group had a regularly scheduled men’s night out every other week. It was always a great time for us to grab a drink together, enjoy some food, catch up on each other’s lives, and pray for each other. But on that particular night, every single one of them skipped the restaurant and showed up to help paint and prep the room. Our oldest twins moved into a new room in the basement, leaving a room upstairs available for three boys who wanted to stay together. Foster care is unpredictable, and our best laid plans can be scrapped as quickly as a phone call. Having good friends and family who are able to flex and pivot with the dexterity of a yogi is essential to the long-term success of foster families. How can we build communities of support that can set aside plans to offer help in critical moments? By Mark Gomez, Church and Community Engagement Manager  On average, 200 children age out of foster care in Colorado every year. In 2026, 200 young people will turn age 18 in foster care and find themselves on their own with limited support. Many will exit care without a safe place to land and a plan for their future. The statistics are not in their favor as they navigate adulthood on their own. They are at an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy, incarceration, and homelessness. The good news is, they don’t have to face their future milestones on their own. We are creating a way to introduce young adults, ages 18-24, to a caring adult committed to their well-being. We are calling it New Ground because both Mentors and young adults will be stepping onto new ground, facing new challenges, learning new things, and most importantly, doing it together.
At Project 1.27, our vision is “every child in a nurturing, well-supported family”. This is true for every child in foster care and every 18-year-old aging out of the system. That is why we are launching New Ground, a mentoring program for young adults transitioning out of foster care. These young adults also need the family-like support a Mentor can provide. Mentors offer guidance, share life experiences, and provide encouragement. Most importantly, they build genuine friendships and help young adults feel connected to their communities. Mentors will be available to guide young people in big life decisions, but more importantly, will offer a consistent, loving presence to a young person who has experienced significant trauma and broken relationships. Advent is the season when the Church remembers that God came near as a baby. We remember his first coming and anticipate his return. It is the season when we hold tight to the truth that proximity matters. It helps us feel less alone - knowing we are not doing life alone. It seems fitting that this time of year is when we are launching New Ground, as we are introducing people to each other so we can all be less alone. For connections to happen, we need Mentors who will give their time, attention, and care to be with a young person. If you are interested in learning more about what is involved in being a Mentor, visit our website or contact Alysa Dudrey at [email protected]. “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” -Matthew 1:23 By Alex Kuykendall, Director of Community Engagement  As nonprofit employees, we love the spirit of generosity that blooms at this time of year. A rush of open-hearted donors, giving end-of-year donations, desiring to bless families with gifts: toys, pajamas, teddy bears. With our Neighbor Program, you can be the gift even after the holiday season is tidied up and swept away! Beyond the material gift of presents, you can offer your presence to a family that needs encouragement and social connection year-round. This holiday season, we have eleven families across Colorado (and one in northern California) waiting for a Neighbor. You can be the gift, like Kerri, who makes a Puerto Rican dinner for Val and Tito, grandparents raising preschoolers. Val says they feel so "seen," eating the food of their heritage, prepared by loving hands and delivered with a friendly smile and chat. You can be the gift, like Lisa, who doubles her dinner recipe once a month for Ashley, a single foster mom with five precious little ones. In the middle of a busy week for Ashley, navigating ongoing medical needs for the kids, Lisa delivered a box of diapers. Even after the six-month commitment, Lisa and Ashley have a friendship built on shared care for Ashley's kids. You can be a gift, creating a relationship where you personally know the children in your kinship or foster family. We encourage Neighbors to personalize their relationship: a birthday care package for a weary mom, the child's favorite meal in their birthday month, or takeout from a favorite burger joint to celebrate Father's Day, specific prayers as your assigned family moves toward adoption or reunification with the biological family.
You can be a gift by donating to the Neighbor Program to help recruit and resource volunteers to serve foster families. We need each other, not just in the holiday season, but all year long. To learn more about volunteering as a Neighbor with one of our waiting families (minimum commitment of 6 months, with one meal of your choice delivered each month) click below!  The above is Project 1.27’s tagline--but what does it really mean?
Foster care can feel like a world of unknowns. It may seem overwhelming, intimidating, or even out of reach. Many people believe that unless they are willing to bring children into their own home, there’s no meaningful way to engage. But the truth is this: caring for children in foster care is far bigger than the family that opens their home. Foster families cannot do this work alone, and the Church is uniquely positioned and called to support them. When foster families feel seen, loved, and surrounded by community, they are better equipped to offer stability, compassion, and hope to the children in their care. The first step is simple: identify the foster families already in your congregation or neighborhood and begin looking for ways to serve them. Consider hosting a lunch or a casual social gathering just for them. Providing childcare during these events makes it even more meaningful, giving parents a moment to breathe, connect, and be encouraged. Foster parenting is hard and often lonely. A supportive community, even in small ways, can be life-giving. Knowing their children are cared for while they build relationships with other foster families, or with church members who genuinely want to walk alongside them, can empower them for the challenging and beautiful work God has called them to. Parenting can feel isolating at times, and fostering can feel even more so, especially when others don’t fully understand the “why” behind it. Your presence, your support, and your willingness to create space for these families can make all the difference. If you would like more ideas or information on how to begin to support foster families, Project 1.27 is here to help! Contact Kym Schnittker at [email protected]. Someone from our Church Engagement team would love to meet with you and share more ideas for supporting foster families! By Kym Schnittker, Church and Community Engagement Manager |
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Project 1.27 • 14000 E. Jewell Ave. • Aurora, CO 80012
EIN 26-3341511
Copyright Project 1.27 • All Rights Reserved
EIN 26-3341511
Copyright Project 1.27 • All Rights Reserved