Community
Fostered
Ridgefield moms are a lifeline for Connecticut foster kids
Community Fostered is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) charity that partners with Social Workers from local offices of the Foster Care Division of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families to distribute essentials to children in foster and kinship care…and to distribute a little needed joy for the holidays.
Powered by a small army of big-hearted locals, most of them Ridgefield moms, Community Fostered is the go-to resource for the DCF’s Social Workers when a foster child in Connecticut needs something fast and it is not being provided by any governmental agency. When a crib, a bed, a brand-new car seat, or clothing in the right size is needed for a child entering foster care, the call goes out…and, often on a moment’s notice, Community Fostered rallies to deliver! And every holiday season, the group collects and distributes gifts to hundreds of kids in foster care - each gift chosen especially for each recipient. The children never learn the donor’s name - they simply know that someone, somewhere, was thinking of them.
Heather Mindich and Jenn Sunderman, both Ridgefield self-employed working-moms with young children, spearhead the effort. “We were active members of a Facebook group called Scottlet Storehouse, which was made up of about one-hundred fifty local neighbors supporting children in foster care, but when the group’s original leader relocated in 2021,” Heather explains, “Jenn and I took the reins. As the group grew we reorganized as Community Fostered and, in 2025, with the stated mission ‘To contribute positively to the lives of children in foster care while nurturing a benevolent community’, we secured 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Along with officers Lauren Pac (Secretary) and Jessica Brown (Treasurer), Community Fostered now has over eight hundred volunteer members serving children and families in Western Connecticut.
“Immediately available resources at the government level do not adequately meet the needs,” Jenn explains. “Community Fostered fills the gap between available resources and immediate needs by tapping into gently used items and generously donated new products. Every request comes directly from one of the State’s social workers - Community Fostered never communicates directly with foster families, in large part to protect their anonymity.”
“And the Holiday Wish Drive,” Jenn adds, “is Community Fostered’s signature event! Social workers provide us specific wishes for the children on their caseloads. Members of Community Fostered claim children’s wish lists one by one, gifts pile up at a drop-off station at the Ridgefield Parks and Recreation Center, and a convoy of volunteers delivers hundreds of presents to children in care across the region. …For a child spending the holidays in an unfamiliar home, it’s a reminder that they are seen and not forgotten. And these children are closer than many of us realize. Foster care is all around us!”
Community Fostered
The social workers we work with are effusive about the role Community Fostered plays. One such Social Worker, Robyn Wood, states, “Community Fostered’s generosity and support transforms the holidays for families who are often going through some of the most difficult times of their lives. And beyond the holidays, Community Fostered has supported families facing food insecurity, provided furniture so children have a safe place to sleep, and even outfitted visitation rooms with toys and activities. Clothing for children entering care often appears magically at our office doorstep just when it is needed most. It seems that there is no request too big or too small. No matter the ‘ask’, they are immediately ready to lend a helping hand!”
The needs are often more complicated than outsiders realize. Some items, like car seats and mattresses, must be brand new. Changes to federal funding have created gaps in how money reaches families in need, and in who qualifies. Government shutdowns have created backlogs in WIC and SNAP applications, making essentials like baby formula harder to get - and even in normal times, processing an application for services can take weeks. The organization has also seen ICE enforcement separate families that would not otherwise require state oversight. “The time it takes for people in need to receive the supplies and resources they need is too long,” Heather says plainly.
Sue and Jan of Redding know firsthand what that support means. They welcomed two young children into their family who had spent more than two years in foster care, followed by two more years with the couple before the adoption became official. “When our two kids first arrived, they carried everything they owned in a black trash bag - some clothes, a couple of toys and keepsakes, and a handful of photos from previous families. But the emotional burden they carried was far greater - the uncertainty of whether they would ever feel loved, safe, and part of a forever family,” Sue recalls. “When we learned about Community Fostered, there was no hesitation that we would get involved. Community Fostered is impactful and creates connection, dignity, and hope. Jenn and Heather, working moms with young children, bring extraordinary passion, organization, and heart to everything they do. They are truly our heroes.”
Community Fostered is entirely donation based. “None of our officers or members are paid a cent - we are all 100% volunteer!” Jenn points out. “We still mostly disseminate information through our Facebook group, and members donate goods and money, and handle the pick-ups and deliveries that get donations where they need to go.”
Eileen Kearney, a Ridgefield mom who’s involved with Community Fostered, says, “holiday gifts and clothing donations are a really tangible way to demonstrate loving your neighbor. We also need donations via credit card or check to fund the purchase of critical items such as car seats and cribs, and to provide for necessities, including items which may not be donated, such as socks, underwear, and mattresses.
Community Fostered
Even beyond the large contingent of Ridgefield moms who are members, the Ridgefield community has stepped-up to support Community Fostered in a myriad of wonderful ways. The Ridgefield Parks and Recreation Center hosts the Holiday Wish Drive drop-off station each December, and Ridgefield Public Schools students prepare shelf-stable meal kits for the emergency supply closet and collect excess Halloween candy for holiday treat bags. Fairfield County Bank named Community Fostered its Charity of the Month for December 2025 and its Charity of the Year for 2025 - both with generous cash awards - and has coordinated supply drives to keep the closet stocked. Fletcher Storage donates storage units to safely hold the hundreds of gifts collected during the Holiday Wish Drive. Ridgebury Farm organized a shelf-stable food drive for social workers to provide to families facing food insecurity, Pop Art! has set up holiday wish trees in its art studio. JWBrown Photography has photographed the community in action to help spread the word about Community Fostered. And local Scout troops and several local sports organizations have pitched-in as well, fulfilling holiday wishes and organizing supply drives.
“We have been amazed by the extraordinary and seemingly limitless generosity of our community! ...But our work is far from over!!” Jenn exclaims. “Our goal is to reach more children in foster care across Connecticut and provide meaningful, lasting support wherever and whenever it’s needed most. We’d like to expand our support for those aging out of the foster system, including with academic scholarship. And, ultimately, we want to play a role in getting more parents to foster children. As things stand - and it’s a human tragedy that’s been this way forever - there are, quite simply, many more foster kids than there are foster homes to take them in.”
Facebook: Community Fostered | Partnering with CT DCF
Instagram: @communityfostered
Website: communityfostered.org
communityfostered@gmail.com