by Sophia Doumani
To read on CBS2 News, Click Here
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — One in three youths who age out of foster care experience homelessness by age 26, according to the Child Welfare System. Bruce Wingate, the founder of nonprofit Foster Care Furniture, wants to change that.auto640x360, 1041kbps854x480, 1241kbps1280x720, 3511kbps0.25×0.5xnormal1.5x2x
Foster Care Furniture is a great way to get kids who have aged out of foster care interested in things like woodworking, a craft that can help youth aging out of foster care learn valuable life lessons.
“Sometimes you cut a board too short and that’s a bummer and you’ve got to figure out how to make it work, just like setbacks that you have every day,” said Monte Eldfrick, owner of Maker Shop Boise. “Everybody’s got something bad that happens every now and then and I think if woodworking can teach that recovery, give you some experience that will tell you that it’s not the end of the world and that you can move on from whatever mistake or bad thing that happened, I think woodworking can teach you that.”
Congratulations to founder of Foster Care Furniture, Bruce Wingate, on winning the B.O.S.S. Retirement Solutions & CBS2 Treasure Valley Silver Awards!
The goal is to foster a skillset that Foster Care Furniture hopes will not only help these young adults launch their careers but also get them on the right path.
“Kids that are aging out of foster care really run into some serious problems. Their support is gone. Their money is gone. Experts say that it takes until 26 before you become really a full adult, and that’s pretty tough at 18. A lot of them get incarcerated. A lot of them go to drugs, particularly the kids that have been in four or five homes. It’s difficult, so we want to help them as much as we can,” said Wingate.
A look inside nonprofit Foster Care Furniture
That help comes through teaching youth how to build furniture that’s later sold, with the proceeds benefitting them. Any former foster kids aged 18 to 26 are welcome to join the 13-week program, which hopefully leads to a job.
“As the kids get skilled at woodworking, that’s transferable over into carpentry, into construction, so there’s that avenue. There’re cabinet shops around the town that we’ve got connections with; we can have them interviewed there,” said Wingate. “We assist them with their resumes, and we assist them in connections with getting them employed. Some of them might decide to stay here and we can work out something that they can help us make furniture.”
Wingate says he’s happy to be able to share his love of woodworking with the youth enrolled in his program and hopes more will join.
“Just to see them delight in actually making something from nothing,” said Wingate. “They feel proud about that.”
A look inside nonprofit Foster Care Furniture
“You always need to have somebody that builds connections with people who may never meet with one another. Foster kids may never get to meet the person that’s going to give them a job someday. They may never meet the benefactor who really cares about foster kids that doesn’t really know how they can help,” said Eldfrick. “So what Bruce does with Foster Care Furniture is he brings people together so that things can happen. It’s not just the thought, it’s not just the theory, it’s actual boots on the ground, real help and real education and real equipment.”
If you’re interested in learning more about fostering, Foster Care Furniture or even just woodworking in general, Wingate hopes you’ll come to their Foster Care Festival on March 2.
A look inside nonprofit Foster Care Furniture
“Every kid’s going to get a prize. We’ve got tickets to the Boise Philharmonic, we’ve got day passes to Bogus Basin, for the adults, an overnight stay at the beautiful Hotel Renegade downtown. For the kids, the door prize is a boy’s bike and a girl’s bike. There’ll be pizza and soft drinks and fun games and prizes for everybody,” said Wingate. “We hope to see you there!”
The Foster Care Festival is at 6883 W Overland Road in Boise. The event is free and all proceeds go towards helping foster kids. Click here to learn more.
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