Last December, students at Corner Canyon High School raised over $270,000 for Utah Foster Care, thanks in part to a generous matching gift from auto enthusiast and YouTuber Supercar Ron. The funds are already making a difference in the lives of foster families across the state. At the same time, raising the money held important lessons for the students.

Nikki MacKay, CEO of Utah Foster Care, said that the financial impact of the donation was tremendous. Moreover, she saw a consequence of the fundraiser that went beyond the money itself. "It was just amazing watching how the student body officers and the students embraced what Utah Foster Care is all about," she said. "They came to understand how important it is for kids to have a safe place to land and to keep siblings together. Everyone in the community can be part of the solution."

She attended the assembly at Corner Canyon when the total amount of money raised was announced. "One of the students came up and said that she was in foster care," MacKay said. "It was profound to see the whole school community come together embracing foster care. She expressed how much that meant to her."

Senior student body officer Ryan Richards said that the fundraiser had important lessons to impart. "I loved our charity event," he said. "It was about understanding that everyone is going through things. There are kids at our school who are foster kids. It's important to be kind to everyone because you don't know what they might be going through."

MacKay’s son graduated from Corner Canyon in 2022 and her daughter currently attends. “I have seen the amazing things these students have done for charities,” she said. MacKay approached Supercar Ron, who is deeply involved in the Draper community, to do a matching contribution. “He, of course, jumped on that,” she said. “All of the hard work by the students would be matched.”

The Corner Canyon students raised the funds in a variety of ways. Some examples included holding donation challenges, performing odd jobs in the community and putting together a pop-up thrift store in the school commons with donated items. The student body officers and faculty advisors offered incentives to the students such as forgiving tardies and extending lunch periods for a few designated school days to reach certain fundraising thresholds. 

Utah Foster Care is using the money to support a wide variety of programs and activities to aid and uplift children and families. Rob and Kim Gerlach have firsthand knowledge of the types of support available to foster families. The Gerlachs have been foster parents for 17 years and Rob served on the board of Utah Foster Care for six years. 

“We’ve had 20 to 25 kids in our home and we adopted eight of them,” Kim Gerlach said. “Utah Foster Care does recruiting, training and support of foster families.” She noted that while the Utah Division of Child and Family Services places children with families, Utah Foster Care helps out in many other essential ways.

Prospective foster parents undertake an initial 35 hours of training through Utah Foster Care and do 16 hours of ongoing training annually. Rob Gerlach emphasized that this training is not about parenting basics. “This is trauma-informed training,” he said. “The focus is on the behavior of kids living with trauma and neglect. You learn how to build trust and interact with them in healthy ways. It’s not a matter of just bringing them into your house and loving them. These trainings are absolutely invaluable.”

Rob Gerlach explained that the nonprofit is constantly recruiting foster families and expanding its services. “Part of what they’ve added is post-placement counseling,” he said. “One of the hardest parts of fostering children is having them in your home, loving them like your own child and then they leave. But it’s also one of the rewards.” 

Every year, Utah Foster Care sponsors a free educational symposium for foster parents with talks and workshops given by authors and researchers. A recent program topic was brain development in teens.

In addition, “There are many events throughout the year for families to gather, share experiences and understand that they’re not alone,” Rob Gerlach said. Some examples of these events include summer camps, trips to Cowabunga Bay Water Park and mini-vacation getaways. 

MacKay spoke of the importance of creating opportunities for families to “come together, focus on connection and healing.” One popular summer activity for foster children is to learn storytelling through video production. “It’s really impactful for the kids. It teaches them skills and gives them a place to belong,” she said. “It’s a group of kids they can connect with.”

Rob Gerlach also mentioned Utah Foster Care’s Wishing Well Fund which can help foster families afford extras like sports activities, prom expenses and even holiday gifts. 

Utah Foster Care was started in 1999 by a directive from the state legislature lead by the governor. It has a state contract that is renewed every five years. “It helps families to just focus on the kids,” Rob Gerlach said. 

“It’s such a well-run organization filled with such good people,” he added. “With most social service programs there is high turnover and burnout. Utah Foster Care has none of those.”

“In most other states, there isn’t that support for foster families, keeping them healthy,” Kim Gerlach said.

“We’re unique in the nation,” Rob Gerlach said. “In most of the states around us, all of this is handled by the government. And it’s overwhelming. We are really lucky, really blessed to have this.” λ