Foster children are invisible. Torn from their homes through no fault of their own, they face extreme emotional trauma. We respond with a sense of urgency to provide life changing experiences and enriching opportunities that help them heal, feel like they belong and dream about who they can become.
A foster mom wrote: “Our family and community thank you sincerely and deeply from our hearts for your magical gift of Aladdin. I was moved to tears several times during the performance just by seeing the pure joy on the faces of so many children. You did that. It’s magic. The goodness in you all is so moving. We loved the evening, love you, and we love Cobbled Streets. Thank you. You make such a huge difference.”
Marcee was struggling. She was having serious behavioral problems in foster care and her foster parents were worried. Marcee asked for boxing gloves! Within a week of receiving them from Cobbled Streets, her mom reported, “she is so much calmer and it is the first time she willingly did her chores.”
Mya’s foster mother wrote, “Thank you for providing the funding for this trip to San Juan Islands. She had the time of her life, truly. It was an amazing experience for her to get away from the stress of daily life, spend time with her friends, see the ocean and tide pools, go whale watching, and all the other things she did on the trip. She came home glowing and talking nonstop about the experience. I am so thankful she got to go. Thank you for making it happen. The work you are doing has made such a difference in her life.”
I support Cobbled Streets because they fill an essential role in enriching the lives of youth in foster and kinship care in Metro Denver. All young people need joy, fun and individual experiences that encourage self-discovery. Through multiple efforts, Cobbled Streets works to ensure success and hope for youth who are often overlooked. ~ Dr. Nancy Gary, Individual Donor
I've partnered with Cobbled Streets because they treat each kid as an individual and empower foster families and communities to better serve the kids in their care by creatively fulfilling whatever needs arise. Cobbled Streets fills a vital gap in the foster care system by being highly nimble, responsive, innovative, and collaborative which is what is truly needed to address the foster care crisis."
~ Natasha Pepperl, Founder, Just As Special
David Ambroz, formerly homeless and in the foster care system, now a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate, shares the transformative power of positive childhood experiences in his poignant memoir, A Place Called Home: “Why would I want to remember summer camp? I’m about to be hungry again. And yet summer camp stays with me, not in the form of souvenir crafts, and not as a fun, nostalgic memory, but as a guiding light.”
Cobbled Streets provides guiding lights for children in foster care in the form of individualized, positive childhood experiences to mitigate the long-term impacts of trauma and adversity. The experiences we provide take many forms, including equine therapy, trauma-informed yoga, educational trips, tickets to theater shows, swimming lessons, summer camp, music lessons, gymnastics, and recreational team sports. These activities help children in foster care develop new skills, create connections, improve relationships, and thrive. This is childhood the way it ought to be!
Our program is rooted in research, which finds that these experiences and resulting relationships provide many social, emotional, and mental health benefits. They are crucial in changing the trajectory of a child’s life.
Cobbled Streets is changing… changing hearts, changing minds, changing lives… Since 2020, we have served nearly 4,700 children in foster care providing more than 12,000 hours of activities and experiences and support and brief respite opportunities for their foster families. We also provided support services to close to 350 homeless youth from 2020-2021.
Shari F. Shink, Esq. founded the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center of Colorado. She spent thirty-three years as the Executive Director. During that time, she represented thousands of individual children, developed innovative programs, and raised millions of dollars to pursue the goals of the organization.
In addition, she was Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where she taught the first class on children's rights and supervised law student interns who represented children in court. She also engaged the community to pursue a public policy agenda in an effort to transform the child welfare system to be child-centered and family-focused. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2016 for her outstanding child advocacy work.
Shari's work has continued and evolved for more than three decades, and although her work, and the work of many others, has brought about important change, so much more needs to be done. Shari left the Children's Law Center and created Cobbled Streets in September of 2020, to give children in foster care an opportunity to thrive.
In November 2022, Shari received the annual Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Philanthropy Day in Colorado, presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Colorado Chapter.
This prestigious award celebrates the lifetime contributions of an individual who is an inspiration to others. Shari’s passion, unwavering commitment to children, and her courageous leadership, have inspired many to give of their time, talent, and treasure. Her legacy of extraordinary work has changed the lives of thousands of Colorado’s most vulnerable children.
Organization name
Cobbled Streets
2020
Tax id (EIN)
85-0607085
Category
Youth Development
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
Cobbled Streets 7360 W 28th AvenueMailing
Cobbled Streets 7360 W. 28th AvenueJefferson County, CO, US
Weld County, CO, US
El Paso County, CO, US
Adams County, CO, US
Denver, CO, US