In 2014, Connect With a Wish was formed with a simple goal to grant wishes for children in Virginia Beach foster care.
Over time, and as needs have evolved in the community, the nonprofit has expanded its offerings to more than 20 programs. While it remained focused on enhancing the lives of local youth and young adults impacted by foster care, the name “Connect With a Wish” no longer captured the full scope of its work.
We sat down with President and Founder Joy Rios to discuss the inspiration behind its 2026 name change and unpack everything it does to support children in foster care across the region.
How would you describe the core mission of Everheld?
Our core mission is still to connect the wishes and needs of youth in foster care with the generosity of our community. We do that through several different programs and events that we have, and we do it for all the kids in our area: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Northwood, Portsmouth and so on.
So, why change the name to Everheld?
When we started as Connect With a Wish, we were just a wish program. Our wish program still exists, but now we do so much more.
For example, my favorite program is Handle with Care, where we provide duffel bags that are filled with comfort items for children the first day they’re being moved from their home. They’re individualized by age and gender, and they have all the items they need like toiletries – but they also include items that can help provide comfort and break the ice for foster parents.
We applied for and won a PIP Nonprofit Award, which gave us resources and support from several marketing companies. They go ahead and do all the research on your organization, and when they did that, they found that our name doesn’t suit the work we do now.
Why is this work important?
Foster care often goes brushed under the rug. It’s not a pleasant topic when you compare it to other children’s charities that are equally as important. Whether it be children’s cancer, Down syndrome, whatever it might be, who is promoting that and advocating? It’s often their parents.
Kids in foster care don’t have that advocate. It is truly a situation where it takes a village; it takes the social worker, the foster parents, the guidance counselors, the therapists. And the fact of the matter is, it’s happening everywhere across the country. We need to face it and help where we can, because these children did not choose to be in this situation.
How do volunteers and donors help?
They keep our doors open and keep us going. We are a grassroots nonprofit, and we rely heavily on our volunteers to work and spread the word on what our needs are and what we’re trying to do.
We have so many volunteers that come in every day. We offer over 20 programs, events and direct services, and we count on them to be filled by our volunteers. From birthday brigades, which ensures every child is remembered on their birthday, to running a clothes closet, everything takes people.
We’re very blessed to have them, and of course, our donors. Even our location is donated to us.
If $100,000 fell from the sky tomorrow, how would you spend it?
Financially, this has been a very difficult year for Everheld. That $100,000 would go directly into operational costs and non-restricted funds. We have a lot of restricted funds for certain programs, which is wonderful, but extra money would support keeping our office running and supporting those other programs.
Where do you see Everheld in five years?
I see Everheld where we are but growing in the portion of programs that help kids who are aging out. In Virginia, we have one of the highest numbers in the country of kids that age out of foster care who have not been adopted or have a permanent placement. Forty percent of those young adults are homeless in their first year, so more work needs to be done.
In five years, I would see us building out more support for housing. We currently provide that support in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, and we hope to expand to Norfolk.
We also want to expand our direct services, meaning our case management to our “mom squad.” These are the kids who become moms while in foster care. Statistically, 70% of females in foster care will become pregnant by the time they age out. They are a unique population of young women who become parents without being parented or having had positive role models themselves.
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According to the Virginia Department of Social Services, there are 5,274 children in foster care across Virginia. It takes one small act to make a difference in a youth’s life, and Everheld offers several ways to get involved and make an impact.
For more information about its different programs, visit Everheld’s website.
