Whether you are new to our work or someone who has been with us over the years, we are so grateful for your love & support. In 2007, we decided to no longer purchase gifts for each other or our friends and family. Instead, we commit a minimum of $3,000 to a yearly mission to help those in need. We reach out to friends & family and ask that rather than exchanging gifts with one another, that they donate to our mission, and the rest as they say, is history. Sixteen Missions later with $216,562 raised not including items purchased individually and donated, our community of love is strong.

 

 

We are excited to announce our 2025 Mission supporting the Rise Above Program & their support of foster children!

 

There are currently 35,000 children in Massachusetts who are under the care of the Department of Children & Family Services (DCF) and of those; 9,000 have been physically removed from their homes and placed in a foster family’s care.

 

Adjusting to a new living environment, school and peers is challenge enough. Yet for youth in foster care these normal life challenges are compounded by trauma brought on from abuse and neglect. Making friends & schoolwork become challenges and many experience physical and mental health issues. Providing youth with healthy activities such as sports and the arts, can better prepare them to overcome their unfathomable hardships at these young ages. The high price of extracurricular activities frequently becomes a barrier for foster parents to offer these activities to the youth. Foster parents receive about $30/day to provide for all a youth’s basic needs.

After witnessing first-hand, the powerful effect these childhood experiences had on their physical, mental and social health, two former Social Workers with DCF founded Rise Above as a way to provide youth in foster care with enriching activities, opportunities and
experiences. Since 2009, Rise Above has provided over 18,000 youth with the resources to participate in extracurricular activities that are not financially accessible to them or their foster family. Rise Above quantitatively and qualitatively measures the impact. The result: kids benefit physically and emotionally. After leaving care, these youth experience fewer medical problems, have reduced rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse. Rise Above is currently receiving 40-50 requests/week from Foster Parents, Social Workers, School Guidance Counselors, attorneys and youth themselves. Each application is carefully vetted. Sports activities, bikes, karate lessons, ski lift tickets, driver’s education, field trips, laptops, gymnastics, STEM, overnight camps, guitar lessons and art classes are some of the many granted activities. The average cost per activity is about $275. And then, each year, hundreds of Massachusetts youth [ages 18-23] age out of the foster system to live independently. They lack the support of family or the financial resources to transition out on their own for the first time. Without a traditional safety net, these young adults rely heavily on their DCF Social Workers to help them navigate. For many, thanks to the Launch Box Program created by Rise Above, they will receive a box full of basic supplies such as kitchen towels, plates, pots & pans, silverware, cooking utensils, tool sets, gifts cards, etc. Launch boxes cost around $400 each.

 

 

Once again, we have set our goals high! We have committed to sponsoring 33 kid’s requests and to provide 25 Launch Boxes to replenish what Rise Above likes to have in inventory. We would love to make this happen! A complete list of the sponsored wishes we will fund can be found on our website FoundationDario.org. We can shop for the Launch Box items, or, if you would like to purchase items yourself, please call or email Dan: 978-944-8444 or daploof@hotmail.com. We are a 501(c)(3); Tax ID# 84-3094813 and 100% of funds raised go directly to the Mission. Checks payable to Foundation Dario, Inc. & mailed to P.O. Box 1192, Groton MA 01450. Venmo Account: Daniel Ploof @ Foundation-Dario. 

 

Please have your donations in by December 20th!  

Happy Holiday’s! With Tremendous Love & Gratitude,