Justin Hack

As cliché as it may sound, nothing brings me as much joy as doing nice things for others. I know, I know, who would have guessed that a charity founder would lead with that one, right? But it’s the truth. I have a special soft spot for taking care of others, and as most things are, that is a result of my childhood.

To spare you all the details, just take my word that growing up wasn’t so great. I wasn’t in foster care or group homes myself, but my household wasn’t exactly functional. Fortunately for me, my weekends were my reprieve from reality. It’s nice to have someone looking out for you when an ideal home situation is nowhere to be found; for me that “someone” was my grandparents.   It was when grandma and grandpa would pick me up that I got a couple days of normalcy before I returned to the chaos that was everyday life for me. My grandparents, born in the time of all the dignities and formalities that were the nineteen teens, were my biggest influences in life.

I was closest with my grandfather, and it was my precious time with him that truly instilled in me the love that I have for giving. He was a very active member of the Knights of Columbus, pretty high up there too, and was always involved in community projects. He would volunteer in Mexico with the Knights building homes and collecting food. He’d even take it upon himself to help individuals establish a life and citizenship here in the U.S.- clothing them and housing them throughout the whole process. At any point in time he and his buddies would be cooking up or working on some sort of fundraiser or project, whether it was a drive for the homeless shelter or collecting items for children. He and his friends dreamt up, organized, and produced all these events on their own dime; there I was 10 years old hanging out and watching a bunch of 70 year old men giving it all they had, changing the world for these people, and for me. It was truly inspiring and humbling to watch and be a part of, and it is why I am here with Foster Hope today.

After several successful ventures ranging from newspaper sales and pool cleaning to fundraising, I finally landed on non-profit work and decided I wanted to make a unique and personalized impact. I did some research and found that Arizona’s foster care system needs the most help.   I could relate in some ways to the struggles some of these kids are having, and felt compelled and inspired to start an organization for them. 13 months later Foster Hope was a go, and within the first three weeks of opening we were able to host a holiday party complete with presents and food for 90 children at a local group home.   We plan on making a huge impact-this is just the start.