THE STORY BEHIND OUR WORK

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Incorporated in early 2017 as MagicWaste Foundation Inc., Out Of Foster Foundation (formerly MagicWaste Youth Foundation MWYF) is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on assisting disadvantaged youths with their housing, life skills, financial literacy, and educational needs as they turn 18 years old and emerge from the foster care system. 

Based in the City of Doral, Florida, OOFF is the brainchild of Rodolfo “Rudy” Bustamante, who serves as its president and guiding force. It organizes and hosts networking and other types of fundraising events to support its programs, including the Excalibur Youth Empowerment Project and a long-standing scholarship fund to help foot the bill for books, computers, supplies, and other college expenses that former foster youth may have.

The foundation also runs its MyThings duffel bag program so that foster children do not have to carry their belongings in supermarket or trash bags as they are transferred to foster homes.  

To fulfill its mission, OOFF creates and manages programs to counsel, mentor, train, and provide these young men and women with the support and specialized programs that will enable them to

• Rise above their circumstances;

• Stay off the streets, away from gangs, violence and drugs;

• Develop to their fullest potential; and

• Build a better future for themselves, their families and peers, and their community.

In late 2019, OOFF, then MWYF, entered into an unprecedented partnership with CITRUS FAMILY CARE NETWORK (Citrus FCN), a community-based care lead agency for child welfare in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, to assist local young adults transitioning out of the foster care system with their independent living pursuits. 

The partnership calls for Out Of Foster Foundation (formerly MWYF), through its Excalibur Youth Empowerment Project (Excalibur Project), to raise funds and in-kind donations to subsidize rental expenses for former foster youths who are between the ages of 18 and 23, and in need of financial and/or housing assistance. 

Access to higher education is the best opportunity —and reward— that the organization can offer any former foster youth that has emerged victorious from his or her special circumstances and attained a high school diploma. This is why OOFF, then MWYF, formed a strategic alliance with Miami-Dade College Foundation five years ago and funds six (6) annual scholarships exclusively for former foster care young adults enrolled at MDC. This program has since evolved and now scholarships are granted regardless of the higher education institution.

In mid-2021, the foundation launched its first annual Financial Literacy program, sponsored and hosted by SYNOVUS Bank, which teaches these young adults about budgeting, money management and planning.