Our Mission

Shifting Perspectives. Restoring Power. Planting Hope.

Grow Into You Foundation exists to provide coaching, mentoring, support, and resources to individuals experiencing a hardship, particularly those within and aging out of the foster care system. These services will shift perspectives, restore power and plant hope in those that need it most.

The Coach Approach

Grow Into You Foundation approaches teens in a way that allows them to keep their dignity, value and voice no matter what. There are three key ingredients to accomplishing this.

First, we make sure that teens have a choice to engage in a coaching relationship. They don’t get to choose many things about their circumstances but this is one thing they CAN have the power to choose. Coaching is always voluntary.

Second, we keep coaching about their agenda. Our coaches don’t have an agenda for teens. We don’t need them to perform or accomplish something for us. We are in their lives to guide them as they identify and implement healthy choices for themselves.

Finally, when approaching teens, we, as coaches, suspend our own judgment. This gives young adults space to be where they are and to trust us with their thoughts as they contemplate what it might look like to move from that place into a more life-giving place. When teens see that their dignity is consistently upheld and that their value and voice matters, they start to “show up” to the world differently than before.

Core Initiatives

Our organization does not focus on a “fix them” or “arrival” mentality. Instead, we focus on what we call “little wins”. When we see and celebrate teens altering the small details of their life for the better, it can majorly change their trajectory long term. Therefore, we celebrate and focus on each little win that they have: raising a grade, speaking calmly to an employer, or choosing to walk away instead of escalating.

We Shift Perspectives:

We aim to positively change the trajectory of a young life by helping teens and young adults learn how to view their circumstances from different angles and perspectives. This allows GIYF participants to value different points of view (including their own) and consciously respond rather than unconsciously react to any given situation.

We Restore Power:

Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity. We are passionate about empowering our participants to find their own voice so they can advocate for themselves in a healthy and professional way. We work to teach practical life skills as well as valuable soft skills to successfully receive and contribute to society in healthy and safe ways.

We Plant Hope:

At the end of the day, we want all participants to feel like they are valuable and purposed- that there is always something to live for and to hope towards. We guide participants find hope by practicing rhythms of positive childhood experiences, healthy support systems, personal education and community connections. Each of these areas serves to further the hope, healing and resilience our participants need to be their best selves.