About Us
We are a non-profit IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Click here for our Guidestar profile.
The Inspiring Children Foundation transforms lives through a whole human approach to physical, social, emotional, & mental health. We help youth and families from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds to rise above their challenges and struggles in life: To heal, grow and become their best selves. This includes difficult situations like teenage anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and various other mental health challenges. Our best-in-class curriculum encompasses a 10-step program with over 40 tools and 100 activations to help our youth find their best selves.
This award-winning program has been developed by some of the world’s leading lived-experienced experts over the past 25 years. It encompasses a variety of evidence-based practices, and is now being implemented in schools, nonprofits, corporations and social services programs.
We’ve created a community full of healing, growth, high achievement, meaningful connections and happiness, resulting in our youth becoming leaders in life. 95% of students in our Leadership program have become so qualified that colleges have offered scholarships for academics & athletics (tennis).
OUR STORY
For over 20 years, the Inspiring Children Foundation has helped at-risk youth to perform at the highest levels. Ryan Wolfington created the foundation with the help of Marty Hennessy, David Pate, and Grammy nominated Singer-Songwriter Jewel, in partnership with the #1 tennis team in the world - Bob and Mike Bryan. At first they only wanted to create the best environment possible for one child, Frideric Prandecki, so he could make the right choices and earn a college scholarship. Later, Frideric would go on to be captain of the tennis team at NC State University, get his Master’s degree from Harvard University, and start his own business in Las Vegas called Bob’s Repair.
Right away, the founders recognized the power of a whole human approach to arming children with the physical, social, emotional and mental health that they need to heal, grow, and perform at the highest levels. Thankfully, so did many others, and thus, the foundation grew exponentially year after year. Long before emotional and mental health became popular, the Inspiring Children Foundation has been a leader and pioneer in the space. By certifying our staff and youth using their 10 Pillars of Healing and Growth, we have created an ecosystem of peer to peer advisors who can mentor, counsel and support one another in a very meaningful way. Our entrepreneurship, leadership development, nutrition, education and sports programs are all infused with this emphasis on youth mental health.
The organization’s cutting edge project-driven learning program empowers the children to co-create and co-run the organization. This gives them an opportunity to take on tasks and responsibilities beyond their present skill levels. This dynamic learning environment helps them to gain self awareness, confidence and professional and technical skills.
What began as hundreds of children being served in inner city parks and a wellness center has now become millions online and hundreds in-person, including a wellness festival, a free online mental health community, JewelNeverBroken.com, and an in-person program that is being replicated in 22 states.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
YOUTH DESCRIBE ICF’S IMPACT
FOUNDATION VIDEO - APPLE CO-FOUNDER STEVE WOZ
PROGRAMS
JEWEL NEVER BROKEN - EMOTIONAL & MENTAL HEALTH
Thanks to Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Jewel. Through her Never Broken program she helps us revolutionize education with a cutting-edge model that completely transforms the lives of at-risk youth. This model includes online and in-person physical, emotional and mental health programing with an emphasis on evidence-based mental health programs, including peer-led DBT, CBT, ACT, EFT, mindfulness, peer-led group therapy, social emotional learning, family therapy, addiction education, suicide prevention & education.
The Jewel Never Broken website has allowed us to scale our best-in-class program. Each was created by Jewel and the children to provide physical, emotional, and mental health tools to over 1.6 million users. The sites have had a tremendous impact on the lives of people all over the world. These websites have allowed us to scale our best-in-class curriculum and share it with the world. Jewel offers these free mental health tools online, including mindfulness exercises and he online mental health community @ JewelNeverBroken.com.
MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ONLINE
INSPIRE HOUSE on Twitch
INSPIRE HOUSE is a mental health community created by Foundation youth, for youth during and now after quarantine. The community offers music, daily yoga, meditation, meaningful conversation, fitness, nutrition, inspirational challenges, mental health and leadership talks to help youth rise above this adversity to find their best selves. To date we have had over 1.6 million viewers on our page. #INSPIREHOUSE
The Children responded to the pandemic and quarantine by creating this extraordinary mental health community that has evolved to now host “Music and Mental Health” online shows, and a variety of concerts and summits.
Our INSPIRE HOUSE mental health community is at Twitch.tv/INSPIREHOUSE.
MARTY HENNESSY COMMUNITY OUTREACH
& TENNIS
This program continues the incredible work of tennis legend Marty Hennessy by making the sport of tennis and all of its extraordinary benefits available to those who otherwise could not afford it, for free and at a discounted price. As a USTA NJTL we offer free tennis classes, lessons, and events, including an annual Nevada Awards Banquet and dance party. The program hosts district, state, sectional and national tournaments including the Mike Agassi NO QUIT Championships. The programs exist in many cities at inner city parks, schools, events, and offer the beginnings of a pathway from beginner, to as far as that child would like to go. This includes annual trips to the stop sporting events like the BNP Paribas Open to inspire the children. The goal is to use sports to teach the children how to become their best by using the universal principles and truths that help us to be happy, productive and successful. Children in this program have become state champions, national champions, NCAA Champions, professionals on the tour, and most importantly “professionals at life.” We are proud to provide a pathway for youth to follow in the extraordinary footsteps of Marty Hennessy’s extremely kind, loving and giving example.
TEAM BRYAN - Tennis, Arts & Academics
Thanks to Bob & Mike Bryan, the #1 tennis team in history, and a partnership with the Bryan Brothers Foundation and NO QUIT Tennis Academy. The Foundation has been able to offer youth a best-in-class high performance sports, academics and arts program in the U.S., now rated top 5 by Tennis Channel. This includes all aspects of high performance development as scholar athletes, artists and individuals. The program includes a regional and national travel team and three national level tournaments including the TEAM BRYAN national L3. The program is designed to give a scholar-athlete everything they need to be qualified to earn a scholarship at some of the best universities in the world.
The program has helped develop eight players to become #1 in the USA, over 25 to become top 10 and over 50 to become top 25 in USA. Hundreds of others have national rankings. The youth have amassed over 500 national, sectional and state titles. This includes five NCAA championships and a handful of professional titles. The TEAM BRYAN youth have an average graduating GPA of 3.7 and have been exposed to and become competent in the arts, especially music, spoken word, poetry, music videos and productions, painting and dance. These are showcased at our two annual talent shows.
The community service piece of the program allows the children to give back to others while earning their way with skill sets and leadership roles. The program is best-in-class, providing the character development, focus and discipline sports inspires. This program was so successful that the United States Tennis Association and its USTA Foundation have scaled and duplicated the model in 16 cities.
WOLFINGTON FAMILY LEADERSHIP
& ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Wolfington Family Leadership Development Program gives youth the same personal and professional development tools, retreats, entrepreneurial skills and know-how that corporate executives get. Through our 10 Pillars of growth, which offers 40 tools to master the art of living, and our copyrighted system, children figure out who they are and who they want to become. They create business plans on how they can "earn their way," ultimately discovering the confidence that comes from self-sufficiency and right choices.
This program includes: Leadership development retreats, entrepreneurship classes and project-driven learning volunteer opportunities, character development, leadership talks, ambassadorships, internships, post-graduate fellowships and apprenticeships. This program provides a student with all of the tools and core values needed for them to become a successful intrapreneur & entrepreneur, including: self awareness, kindness, empathy, hard work, honesty, patience, and a real understanding of servant leadership.
FAMILY ASSISTANCE
For children and families that have been displaced, homeless or facing extreme poverty, the Foundation provides grants, assistance and help with housing and life’s essentials. This includes the mentoring, counseling and physical, emotional and mental health care they would need. We help them to get all of the support they need to not only survive but to thrive at the highest levels. This includes living and transportation expenses and a program that has an emphasis on recovery, healing and earning their way.
Thanks to the Wolfington Family and Kelly Price, we have access to four homes. Each home has a “house parent/guardian” that oversees the students and helps them in their transition to create stability and joy.
EAT RIGHT = FEEL RIGHT
When you eat right, you feel right. Our Nutrition Counseling program is about educating our youth so they can make the right food choices, and maximize their physical and mental powers. We discuss the negatives of soda and junk food from a scientific perspective and help our youth migrate towards better food choices.
Thank you to these food partners for providing free/discounted product for our students: Kroger, Beyond Meat, Lifeway, Wild Tonic, GT Kombucha, Kerry Clasby with Malibu Farms, Laurie Steed with Granello Bakery and the Pasta Shop Ristorante.
MINDFULNESS AND LEADERSHIP RETREATS
Thanks to the ideas and curriculum co-created with Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and New York Times best selling author Jewel, we have curated a collection of retreats to take the children out of their circumstances so they can expand their horizons to see all the possibilities for their lives. Thanks to special locations and opportunities made available by the Taylor family, Rita Rudner & Martin Bergman, Derek Huntsinger, Sanford family, Wolfington family, USTA Foundation, The National Tennis Foundation and the Durst family, Kerry Clasby and Malibu Farms, the children are able to take a step back from their circumstances through retreats to figure out who they are and who they want to become, and how they want to get there.
These retreats include Leadership talks, plus physical, emotional and mental health opportunities, including: Yoga, meditation, meaningful conversation and healing that tends to happen as a by-product of being in nature and around a supportive team. These retreats include Zion and Lake Mead national parks, the BVI environmental studies retreat, West Coast and East Coast leadership retreats, Alumni Mentoring Retreats, US OPEN Alumni Retreat, Mindfulness retreats, recovery retreats, RV travel retreats, and desert meditation retreats.
MULTI-GENERATIONAL MENTORING
The way in which our foundation youth, alumni, staff and supporters take a deep and personal interest into each other’s lives is transformational. With daily in person, and online updates and conversations (one-on-one and in small groups) we have seen children go from the most challenging of times to the most inspiring of times.
Children organically fall into our eco-system that has a tradition of helping one another to become their best selves. Alumni, donors, coaches and staff spend the time for one-on-one and group mentor meals and discussions. The young inspire and mentor the old and vice versa. When one child is down the others bring them up by setting great examples, sharing struggles, insights and victories.
When asked at what age the program ends, in regards to mentoring and mental health counseling it seems to never end. We have found the alumni into their 30’s are still gaining wisdom, and mentorship from our donors, supporters, and youth, and at the same time or giving it back to the younger generations. Everyone from all ages and backgrounds are still inspiring one another and participating in big and small ways that make it a very diverse, inclusive, positive and supportive ecosystem.
PROJECT-DRIVEN LEARNING
Our “Project-Driven Learning” volunteer program is the future of education where children learn by doing simple to very complex real life projects. 80% of the Foundation’s programs, functions and operations are created by and run by the foundation youth. 90% of the Foundations operations include youth. The Foundation is run by the children for the children, where everyone earns their scholarship by finding their interests and filling that role within the organization. Learning through significant real life projects helps the youth to discover and be immersed in their passions, strengths and interests.
Thanks for our partnerships with our Advisory Board Co-Chairs Jewel, and Bob and Mike Bryan, as well as our significant partnerships with the National Tennis Foundation, USTA Foundation, Richard Branson’s Necker Cup, Cirque du Soleil One Drop, and the WTT Vegas Rollers professional sports franchise, our children are given real volunteer opportunities, from doing tasks, being an ambassador to high level leadership and operational roles.
Through our own events including high-level fundraisers, national tournaments and our very large flagship festivals like The Wellness Experience and the World Mental Health Day Summit and Concert, our children create business plans from scratch and then execute on nearly every role. This is also true with most of our programs and functions within the foundation.
We empower youth to be self-led, critical thinkers who know how to solve problems, work hard as a team, to do extraordinary things, all while building very meaningful connections within themselves, with their family, and friends. They are often given projects gradually overtime that to push them beyond their present capabilities, teaching them in a variety of ways how to grow and to take their laws and abilities to the next level.
LEADERSHIP TALKS
Our leadership talk series has speakers from all walks of life to share their insights on what it takes to overcome adversity to be contented, inspired and successful. The children get the chance to ask questions, share their stories and build relationships. Past speakers have included a U.S. President, Senators and CEO’s, Hall of Fame athletes, philanthropists, humanists, fellow students and alumni and various thought leaders.
EVENTS
Woz’s 70th Bday
Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) donated his 70th Birthday to our organization! Foundation youth organized a virtual surprise party for him, advised by his lovely wife, Janet. Instead of presents for his birthday, Janet gifted him with the thing he loves most: Helping others. The event was a huge success with over 50,000 viewers, several national news articles, and raised over $300,000 for our foundation.
THE WELLNESS EXPERIENCE - Digital Platform
The Wellness Experience Festivals bring together some of the greatest experts in physical, emotional, and mental health. This festival is in-person and online, with multiple online summits and events. All of the content is captured and edited into small and inspirational pieces of wisdom to help inspire physical, emotional, and mental health on our digital platform. These pieces of wisdom exist 24 hours a day, 365 days a year online. In an effort to democratize wellness we make this content available to everybody for free.
THE WELLNESS EXPERIENCE - Festival
In Denver and Cincinnati we take our groundbreaking curriculum and put it into a 3 day festival to bring physical, emotional, and mental health and music to the masses in an inspirational and fun way. 125,000 people have attended our festivals to experience 500 different healthy food and product samples, brands and activations. We’ve had over 100 musicians, thought leaders and experts, all with a passionate emphasis on physical and mental health. Foundation Youth accounted for 50% of the staff, and ten of our children participated on panels about mental health. Every stage was managed by our foundation youth: 100% of the community outreach and promotion, mental health programming and 50% of all festival operations were done by foundation youth as part of our highly educational project-driven learning volunteer program.