Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: Three Starlings Foundation
Legal Name (if Different):
Also Known As: n/a
Mailing Address: 253 HANOVER DR
City: Costa Mesa
State: California
Postal Code: 92626
Main Phone: 7147213652
Main Fax:
Organization Website: https://www.threestarlings.org
Employer ID Number: 99-3498180
Organization Tax Status: 501 (c) (3) Federal and State of CA exempt

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: 12/30/2025
Requested Amount: 10,000

Project Title: Mind the Gap
Project Description:

“Mind the Gap” is an effort to improve outcomes of children entering foster care by meeting their critical needs (for clothing and, at times, for food) more immediately. Inadequate clothing is correlated with poor health outcomes, encompassing physical, mental, and social well-being, and including a higher likelihood for anxiety, musculoskeletal issues, reduced exercise, infections, skin conditions, and social isolation. Adequate food is obviously a basic survival requirement. Unfortunately, many children enter foster care from extreme deprivation, sometimes arriving with only the clothes on their backs. Their foster carers, often family members who assume this role on short notice, are sometimes themselves in economically vulnerable circumstances, and—unhelpfully—County foster care stipends do not arrive until at least 45 days after a foster placement has begun.

This 45-day “Gap” is what we hope to address: a child should not have to wait 6 weeks for clean, adequate clothing or enough to eat.

Children in foster care have a high incidence of mental health challenges. Their ability to establish a foundation for addressing these concerns should not be compromised by a lack of basic resources during the critical initial period of placement. Basic needs are survival needs. Many high-needs households, however, simply do not have an adequate cushion to absorb the cost of providing these children an adequate wardrobe and nutritious food immediately.

Our intent is to offer a per child allocation of up to $500.00 (gift card, food, or clothing equivalent), toward supporting children in the first 45 days of placement, in foster homes identified as “extremely high needs,” by social workers in Orange County Resource Family Support. These social workers have informed us that they encounter a child with this exceptional need level at a rate of approximately once per week. With this in mind, our annual budget, intended to serve 52 children, is $26,000.

Total Project Budget: $26,000

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): We have received $15,000 in donations from individuals toward this project. We have submitted grant requests to a few organizations for additional funds (Stater Brothers, Starbucks, Costco) but we have not heard back from them. We applied for a $1000 community grant from the City of Anaheim.

Project Duration: 1year
Geographical Area Served: Orange County
Age Group To Be Served: 0-21 year olds in foster care

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Mrs.
Contact First Name: Holly
Contact Last Name: Gruber
Contact Title: President
Contact Phone: 714-721-3652
Contact Email: threestarlingsfoundation@gmail.com