Our Mission, Defined
We exist to awaken the church to its calling—to defend the fatherless, support the families who step in, and make foster care what it was always meant to be: temporary.
400,000 children
The Problem: The Crisis We Cannot Ignore
More than 400,000 children are in foster care in the U.S. alone. Thousands age out of the system every year, left to fend for themselves with no home, no guidance, and no support.
🔹 20% will become instantly homeless the moment they age out.
🔹 Less than 3% will earn a college degree.
🔹 60% of child sex trafficking victims in the U.S. have a history in foster care.
This is not just a governmental failure. This is a crisis of the heart. The Church was always meant to lead the way.
James 1:27 tells us: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
But visiting does not always mean fostering or adopting. It means stepping in—wherever God has placed you, with whatever He has given you.
The Founder’s Story: A Call Born in Experience
I know what it is to be taken from my home, to stand in the doorway of uncertainty as everything familiar fades into the unknown. I know what it is to wait, to be passed from house to house, to wonder if I will ever belong.
And I know what it is to be cared for—yet never fully seen. To be provided for—yet never fully loved.
The world looks at statistics. They measure foster care in numbers. But I do not see numbers. I see names. I see children waiting for a love they cannot yet comprehend. And I see the Church, the body of Christ, standing on the outside, unsure of how to step in.
This is why Awaken Guardians exists.
Pete Drake
This Isn’t Charity. This Is War.
The fatherless do not need pity. They need people who will fight for them. They need hands that move. Hearts that open. Feet that go. The battle rages. Will you stand idle?
Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection.
Rita F. Pierson
Author
Children born to another woman call me 'mom.' The magnitude of that tragedy and the depth of that privilege are not lost on me.
Jody Landers
The Adventure Project
Make a commitment to serve the needs of the 'least of these' and give voice to the overwhelming voiceless children.
Artika Tyner
Lawyer
The Solution
Awaken The Guardians
We are not here to guilt you. We are not here to burden you.
We are here to show you that you are already equipped to make a difference. That stepping in does not always mean taking a child into your home—but it does mean refusing to turn away.
Some are called to foster. Some are called to adopt.
But many are called to mentor, support, advocate, and give.