“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

— Andrew Carnegie

In 2016, “Thrive” started in Phoenix, Arizona and immediately began to impact lives of countless Arizona families for the better. Thrive has played an integral role in foster care prevention and biological family reunification by connecting deserving families with critical resources and support that would otherwise be out of reach.

As a volunteer about 5 years ago, Thrive AZ founder, Teri Vogel, was working with a young woman who was dealing with a crisis pregnancy. She was dealing with domestic violence, substance abuse, a history of trauma - trying to beat all of these things. She was six months pregnant, and Teri was working with her as an advocate to help reunite her with her six other children that were in foster care.

Teri and her husband, Steve, were new empty-nesters and had downsized. One day, this mother she was working with called to tell her that she was at the hospital and had just had her baby. She told Teri that DCS was on their way to remove her infant son, and she asked Teri if there was any way she could take the baby for her.

So Teri called her husband and said, ‘we’re going to get a baby tonight.’ Naturally, his response was ‘… what?’ But by about 8.30 that night, DCS had completed all of their background checks and deemed them suitable as a kinship family. So this four-day-old infant was dropped off to them with nothing but a car seat.

Fast forward a bit, and over time Teri and Steve were able to move the mom into a temporary home, connect her with food pantries, help her find employment, and other resources she would need—and slowly reunite her with her infant son and her six other children.

It was this woman and her family that showed Teri the challenges that many families face. Because of her time working with this mom, Teri came to learn that there were 18,000 kids in foster care. Every 40 seconds, a child is removed from their home and put into the foster care system. Teri knew why they were removed… they didn’t have beds, they didn’t have enough food, they were sleeping in cars. At that point, she couldn’t unknow it.

That’s where the passion came from. Walking with this mother and seeing all of the missing pieces that had to come together for her to get back on track. Our work with Thrive comes from a very deep place in our hearts because we were a part of that journey.

Having worked with Thrive for nearly two years in Arizona and seeing the impact on families, Rose and Ryan McFadden relocated to San Diego to start Thrive San Diego. Working with the California Foster Care System, Rose and Ryan are carrying on the work that Thrive Arizona started, to impact family units throughout San Diego County.