Change a Life, Change the World
MamaK Foundation exists to provide much-needed support to foster care youth as they age out of the foster care system.
Left to “figure things out themselves,” most former foster youth flounder. After all, the transition from adolescence to adulthood is often a rocky one in the best of circumstances. Without the emotional safety net of a loving family and the basic life skills that many do not learn in foster care, the path from adolescence to adulthood can be treacherous. Foster care youth are at extremely high risk for homelessness, unemployment, social disconnectedness, substance abuse, low educational attainment and early and unintended pregnancies.
MamaK Foundation is here to help them reach their potential by getting on the path to a happy, healthy and fulfilling life.
Our Story
MamaK Foundation was founded by Kelly and Jared Williams, two people who are deeply passionate about making a significant difference in the lives of others.
Kelly and Jared love children, and have five of their own. They adopted their daughter Mara when she was three and their two biological sons, Drew and Jordan, were eight and 10 years old. A few years later, Drew started to pester them to adopt again. He wanted more siblings! After much soul searching, Kelly and Jared decided that, yes, they wanted to further expand their family—and they wanted to do so by adopting older children who would normally be overlooked by would-be adoptive parents. Brothers Davion and Shawn, who had endured seven different foster care placements, joined the Williams family when they were in elementary school.
As part of the process of adopting Davion and Shawn, Kelly and Jared took 40 hours of “Foster to Adopt” classes. It was this training that opened their eyes to the plight of foster children. Their hearts broke when they learned what happens to so many of these kids when they age out of the system. MamaK Foundation was born from their desire to provide loving, practical assistance and support to as many of these precious teens and young adults as possible.
Kelly Williams
Co-Founder
