Dream It Forward Foundation

Dream It Forward Foundation began with a simple but powerful promise: to be the support that so many young people go without.

Founded in 2012 by Yaminah Childress, our founder, who personally understood the challenges of growing up with little adult guidance or mentorship, Dream It Forward started by helping just five single mothers who were struggling to provide for their families. Two years later, the organization became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and has since evolved into a trusted community anchor for youth and families across Georgia.

Over the past 11 years, Dream It Forward has served over 358,600 pounds of food, equating to 163,000 free meals, mentored and tutored more than 1,000 youth, and brought over 9,000 holiday gifts to children of single parents. The organization’s indirect impact has touched thousands more through families, schools, and neighborhood networks strengthened by their programs.

From the beginning, Dream It Forward has believed that true change happens when youth are supported holistically, mind, body, and spirit, with programs that nurture both personal growth and family stability.

Our Mission

Dream It Forward’s mission is to empower youth ages 25 and younger to thrive by fostering holistic growth in knowledge, skills, and cultural awareness, cultivating a community of resilient leaders and well-rounded individuals for a brighter future.

Our Approach

The organization takes a holistic approach to youth development, addressing the full ecosystem of needs that shape a child’s future:

• Mentoring and Tutoring: Personalized guidance that builds academic confidence, leadership, and life skills.

• Feeding Programs: Year-round nutrition support for youth and families experiencing food insecurity.

• Gifting Programs: Providing joy and relief to families in need through annual holiday giving initiatives.

• Mental Health: Provide trauma-informed therapy and wellness programs that help youth build emotional resilience, self-worth, and coping skills for lifelong well-being.

• Youth Housing (The Bloom Residence): Offer safe, luxury-standard housing and comprehensive support for unhoused youth, fostering stability, healing, and a pathway to independence.

• Family Support and Wraparound Services: Connecting parents and caregivers to the resources that strengthen entire households.

Dream It Forward’s programs work together to create stability, build confidence, and empower the next generation to break cycles of hardship through education and opportunity.

Our Impact

What began as a grassroots effort has grown into a statewide force for good. With a small but dedicated team, Dream It Forward has created an outsized impact, not just through direct service numbers, but through the ripple effect across families and communities.

Each meal served, each student mentored, and each gift delivered represents a spark of hope, a reminder that when young people are supported, entire communities begin to thrive.

Where We’re Headed: The Bloom Residence

Dream It Forward’s next major step is to create The Bloom Residence, a luxury-standard, trauma-informed home for foster and unhoused youth ages 5 –18.

The Bloom Residence will provide more than housing; it will offer a foundation for healing, education, and empowerment. Youth will live in a safe, beautifully designed environment that fosters dignity and stability, with access to individualized tutoring, mental health services, arts programs, and mentorship.

The residence will reflect everything Dream It Forward stands for: love, leadership, and lasting change. It will also serve as a hub for the organization’s wraparound services, allowing Dream It Forward to continue its mentoring, tutoring, and feeding programs for both residents and youth throughout the surrounding communities.

How Donations Will Help

This Georgia Gives Day and giving season, Dream It Forward Foundation is raising $500,000 to purchase and prepare the property that will become The Bloom Residence and fund its first year of operations.

Every contribution, large or small, moves us closer to opening the doors of The Bloom Residence and giving children not just a place to stay, but a place to belong.

Dream It Forward Foundation has spent more than a decade building trust, changing lives, and proving what’s possible when community comes together. With your support, the next chapter will provide lasting change for hundreds of youth and families, and inspire hope for thousands more.

Together, we can build more than a home.

We can build a future where every child has the chance to bloom. 🌸