June 6th
Rachel Ewald is the founder and executive director of the Foster Care Support Foundation (FCSF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing essential support to displaced children in Georgia. Inspired by her own experiences as a foster parent, Ewald established FCSF in 1996 in her garage, driven by the need for more substantial resources for foster and displaced children. The organization has since grown significantly, now operating out of a 20,000-square-foot facility in Roswell, Georgia that offers a store-like environment where foster children and children raised by their grandparents or relatives can receive clothing, toys, books, and infant care equipment and other essential needs at no cost.
Ewald's commitment to displaced children extends beyond her organizational work; she and her husband have fostered over 50 children in addition to raising their four biological children and one adopted child. Her dedication and impact have been widely recognized, including receiving the prestigious Commissioners' Award from the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families in 2003 the Ruth Massinga award from the Annie Casey Foundation in 2009, the Angels in Adoption Award nominated by Congressman Tom Price and a proclamation from the GA House and Senate in 2011 amongst others. Today, FCSF continues to serve thousands of displaced children in all forms of displaced foster, relative, grandparent, kinship and fictive kin care across the State of Georgia, providing them with the necessary resources to thrive in challenging circumstances.