Connect Our Kids

Connect Our Kids Pioneering tech to find families,
build connections,
& create community
for our most vulnerable. Connections matter. Visit ConnectOurKids.org to learn more.

Our technology tools help child welfare professionals connect vulnerable children to permanent families and support networks. Our innovative tools are free to lawyers, social workers, CASA volunteers, and family recruiters.

06/06/2026

Here’s your weekly recap for the Race for Connections! 👟✨

Our team has been moving all over the globe to get their miles in:
☀️ Macie Klumper has been nailing it with some early morning runs.
🥾 Isa Occhionero took to the trails for some beautiful National Park hiking.
🌍 Chandra Toy is currently exploring Europe and most definitely crushing her daily step goals!

Thanks to everyone’s incredible efforts, we’ve officially raised over $8,400! 🎉 Let’s keep this amazing momentum going. You can support our miles and help us reach our next milestone by clicking the link below: 🔗 https://buff.ly/zlRm5pO

06/05/2026

A Sunday afternoon phone call with a grandparent. A shared family story. Knowing exactly who you look like.

For a youth in foster care, these small, everyday moments are often entirely out of reach. But at Connect Our Kids, we know these exact pieces are the foundation of true healing. Our technology helps social workers dig beneath the surface to find the extended family members who can provide this lifelong fulfillment.

We aren't just mapping family trees; we are restoring the small moments that make a life whole.

Support our mission this National Reunification Month. Visit our Race to Match page to donate. https://app.99pledges.com/fund/raceforconnections

This Throwback Thursday, we're featuring Karen Coates' Tastes Like Home story:“Mom’s clam chowder! We have this deliciou...
06/04/2026

This Throwback Thursday, we're featuring Karen Coates' Tastes Like Home story:

“Mom’s clam chowder! We have this delicious recipe every year, tailgating at our favorite college football team, the University of Washington Huskies! In preparation for next season’s tailgating, or to keep you warm for those remaining cold nights, this delicious clam chowder will hit the spot.”

Connect Our Kids’ Tastes Like Home campaign raised awareness for children in foster care who have experienced deep loss, including the loss of traditions—like beloved recipes—that shape identity and a sense of belonging.

Better outcomes for children in foster care are possible when connections to extended family, community, and personal histories are preserved and restored.

Follow to learn more.

Do you want to share your Tastes Like Home story? Learn how at the link in our bio!

At age five, Jazmine entered foster care. Over the next 11 years, she cycled through 19 different placements. The abando...
06/03/2026

At age five, Jazmine entered foster care. Over the next 11 years, she cycled through 19 different placements. The abandonment she felt led to behavioral outbursts that made finding a permanent home feel impossible.

Everything changed when a recruiter used Connect Our Kids technology to trace Jazmine’s biological family. The search led to Jazmine’s mother, who had successfully turned her life around after substance use. After a decade apart, an emotional Christmas reunion brought the family back together.

The impact was immediate. Jazmine’s behavior improved as she finally felt the belonging she had craved. By the following summer, her mother’s parental rights were reinstated, and Jazmine left foster care to live with her mother permanently.

June is National Reunification Month, and Jazmine’s story is a powerful reminder of why our mission matters: Reunification is the goal: The primary aim of the child welfare system is to safely reunite families. Jazmine’s story highlights that the bond between a parent and child can be a powerful catalyst for healing.

It is never too late: Many assume that after a decade in the system, a child’s story is set. Jazmine shows that it is never too late to find family and pursue a path home.
Healing is possible: By providing the tools to find "lost" family connections, we help ensure that parents and children have the chance to rebuild their lives together.

Join us this June as we celebrate the power of family and the technology that makes these reunions possible.

Wow! Look at that number! 🏃‍♂️💨 We have officially raised $7,955 in the Race for Connections!A massive thank you to ever...
06/03/2026

Wow! Look at that number! 🏃‍♂️💨 We have officially raised $7,955 in the Race for Connections!
A massive thank you to everyone who has donated, shared, and logged miles so far. Your support means the world to us—and more importantly, to the children in foster care who need permanent, loving connections to heal and thrive.

But the race is far from over! We are still moving all month long for National Reunification Month, and we need YOU to join us. Whether you want to walk, run, hike, or simply donate to help us smash through our next milestone, there is still plenty of time to get involved. Let’s keep this momentum going!

👉 Join the race or donate today: https://buff.ly/zlRm5pO 💙

06/02/2026

Isa Occhionero: "Hi friends! This month, I’m hiking, walking, and running as part of the Race for Connections fundraiser for Connect Our Kids. 👟🏃‍♂️

I want to ask anyone reading this to take a quick moment and imagine: What if your younger self didn't have a healthy support system? What would your life look like right now?

The truth is, our connections heal and create resilience. This June, for National Reunification Month, I’m dedicating my steps to support children in foster care. Together, we can help them find the permanent, loving relationships they need to heal and grow into healthy adults.

Will you join the race with me and consider donating today? We've already raised over $7,500 in the first few days, and each dollar helps us fund life-changing family search and mapping technology tools.

Support me in the race! Click the link in bio or here: ➡️ https://app.99pledges.com/fund/raceforconnections/isa"

The Race for Connections starts NOW! 👟✨Today is June 1st, which marks the start of National Reunification Month and our ...
06/01/2026

The Race for Connections starts NOW! 👟✨

Today is June 1st, which marks the start of National Reunification Month and our month-long Walk-a-thon Fundraiser! All across the country, our team members and supporters are hitting the pavement for one reason: to ensure every child in foster care is connected to their people. We aren’t just counting steps; we’re making every mile count toward rebuilding families. We already had an extremely generous $5,000 donation to kick us off!

How you can help today: Our racers are ready, but they need your wind in their sails! 💨
Visit our official race page below.

1️⃣ Find a team member or supporter to "sponsor."
2️⃣ Donate to fuel the technology that finds family for children in care.
3️⃣ Support a racer here: 👉 https://app.99pledges.com/fund/raceforconnections

Let’s turn these miles into reunions. Who are you rooting for? 👇

The Compassion Fatigue Workbook by Françoise Mathieu is a lifeline for any helping professional facing the physical and ...
05/30/2026

The Compassion Fatigue Workbook by Françoise Mathieu is a lifeline for any helping professional facing the physical and emotional exhaustion that can shadow work in the helping professions.

Since 2001, the activities in this Workbook have helped thousands of helpers in the fields of healthcare, community mental health, correctional services, education, and the military. In addition to a comprehensive description of compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization, The Compassion Fatigue Workbook leads the reader through experiential activities designed to target specific areas in their personal and professional lives. It provides concrete strategies to help the reader develop a personalized plan for identifying and transforming compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization. ❤️‍🩹

We believe that every social worker, child welfare professional, and individual who works with children should have the resources and the recommendations to support themselves when their job gets hard. This book was recommended this week as a tool that can be applied to learn to lessen the effects of burnout and get ahead of it.

05/29/2026

You know it, you love it… but have you shared All Connected: A Place for Belonging with the young people in your life?

This series offers amazing life lessons in a bite-sized format so that kids can feel empowered in their own lives as they learn!

Maybe it becomes a reward, like when your kids finish their homework, they get to watch some All Connected. 🧠

Let us know what you think and if your kids or the children you serve like it! Start watching now: https://www.youtube.com/

This Throwback Thursday, we’re remembering our friend Clara Marie’s Cookie Recipe that she shared for our Tastes Like Ho...
05/28/2026

This Throwback Thursday, we’re remembering our friend Clara Marie’s Cookie Recipe that she shared for our Tastes Like Home Campaign.

"Growing up as a foster kid, my monthly visits with my grandma were a lifeline of love and warmth in an otherwise tough childhood. We often baked together, and she instilled in me the joy and importance of baking from scratch.

🍪 Like most kids, licking the bowl and beaters was always the best part!

Now, I share this cherished tradition with my son. As soon as he could stand on his Kitchen Helper Tower, we began baking together, an experience that I value so much. Every time we make her chocolate chip cookie recipe–my favourite one by the way, low-sugar and whole wheat flour, I feel a deep connection to my grandma and those precious memories. 💖 My son loves to lick the beaters and bowl now, and I think it's the best part for every kid!” 🥄

We would love to know the low-sugar cookie recipe! Big thanks to for being a devoted supporter of us online and for sharing open, honest, and vulnerable stories to inspire the next generation.

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1069 WEST BROAD Street SUITE 778
Falls Church, VA
22046

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