Photo Credit: The Champion ProjectPeople
Nonprofit of the Month: The Champion Project
The Hello Woodlands Nonprofit of the Month is brought to you by Randy Lovelace of Paragon Independent Insurance Agencies and highlights a local nonprofit organization that serves the Montgomery County community.
The nonprofit of the month is The Champion Project, a local non-profit organization that is dedicated to connecting caring adults with foster youth living in staffed facilities, which is today’s closest alternative to traditional orphanages, through mentoring, tutoring, and literacy programs. The Champion Project’s mission is to help the youth they serve experience hope, belonging, and the kind of consistent support that can truly change the trajectory of their lives. Read our interview below with Elizabeth Chappell, Co-Founder of The Champion Project.
THE INTERVIEW
Tell us about your organization, The Champion Project. What is the organization’s story?
The number one predictor of positive outcomes for youth in foster care is the presence of stable, consistent adult relationships. Yet for so many youth in foster care, those relationships are missing. That’s where The Champion Project steps in.
The Champion Project connects caring adults with foster youth living in staffed facilities, which is today’s closest alternative to traditional orphanages, through mentoring, tutoring, and literacy programs. Our mission is to help the youth we serve experience hope, belonging, and the kind of consistent support that can truly change the trajectory of their lives.
How did the organization start?
In 2016, Elizabeth Chappell and Audra Simpson founded We Will Speak with a vision to equip aged-out foster youth with the tools and support to share their stories in a way that would bring awareness to, and inspire change within, the broken foster care system. Through a variety of speaking engagements, these young adults courageously shared their experiences, and a common theme emerged time and time again: “If I had just had one person who was consistently there for me while I was in foster care, someone who wasn’t paid to be there, it would have made a profound difference in my life.”
That simple but powerful truth became the catalyst for something new. In response, Elizabeth Chappell and Audra Simpson founded The Champion Project (TCP) in 2019.
The Champion Project began as a trauma-informed group mentoring program designed specifically for youth in foster care living outside of traditional foster homes, in Residential Treatment Centers, group homes, congregate care facilities, and emergency shelters. Recognizing the deep need for stability, belonging, and consistent relationships, TCP was intentionally created as a replicable model with a bold vision: that every youth living in a staffed foster care facility across Texas would have a church home and a committed group of mentors walking alongside them.
Now, seven years later, The Champion Project has expanded beyond mentoring to also provide tutoring and literacy programs for the youth we serve. Our goal is not only to provide meaningful relationships, but also to help combat the staggering and heartbreaking statistics that disproportionately impact youth who grow up in the foster care system. By surrounding these young people with consistent support, encouragement, and opportunities to grow academically and emotionally, we believe we can help change the trajectory of their lives.
What is your mission and why?
The Champion Project exists to connect caring adults with foster youth living in staffed facilities, today’s closest alternative to traditional orphanages, through mentoring, tutoring, and literacy programs that provide stability, consistency, hope, and belonging.
Why? Because the statistics surrounding youth in foster care are heartbreaking, and unacceptable. Foster youth experience PTSD at a rate five times greater than their peers and even twice the rate of U.S. war veterans. These are children carrying unimaginable trauma, often without the consistent support systems needed to help them heal. And when that trauma goes unaddressed, the outcomes can be devastating. Within just one year of aging out of foster care, 67% of youth are homeless, incarcerated, or dead.
We believe those statistics can change.
The number one predictor of positive outcomes for youth in foster care is the presence of stable, consistent adult relationships. Yet the youth living in staffed facilities often have very few of those relationships. Many have experienced repeated moves, broken trust, disrupted education, and profound instability.
The academic challenges alone are staggering. On average, the youth we serve are four or more years behind in school. Nearly all of the students entering our tutoring program cannot read at grade level, and a surprising amount cannot read at all or perform basic math. How can we expect a child to succeed in our world without the foundational ability to read, write, or manage basic math? Education is not just about academics; it is about dignity, opportunity, confidence, and breaking cycles.
That is why The Champion Project takes a holistic approach:
Through our Mentoring Program, we equip faith-based communities to provide trauma-informed, consistent relationships through a replicable group mentoring model that creates belonging, connection, and hope.
Through our Fostering Success Tutoring Program, we provide one-on-one academic support that helps youth grow in reading and math, rebuild confidence, and begin to believe in their own potential.
Through our Book Bus Program, we connect local volunteers with youth through books, literacy resources, and joyful relationship-building experiences that help foster a love of reading and open doors to possibilities.
At The Champion Project, we believe every child deserves more than survival, they deserve connection, opportunity, and people who show up consistently to remind them they are seen, valued, and deeply loved. Our mission is simple: Love Big. Change Lives.
Who and where do you serve?
The Champion Project serves foster youth living in staffed facilities, today’s closest alternative to modern-day orphanages, across the greater Houston area, with the long-term vision of serving foster youth throughout the state of Texas.
The need is immense. Texas has more than 17,000 youth in foster care, and over 3,000 of those youth live in congregate care settings such as group homes, residential treatment centers, and emergency shelters rather than with foster families. In fact, the highest concentration of group homes in the state is located in Harris County and the surrounding counties, making the greater Houston area a critical place to focus this work. Approximately 40% of the youth we currently serve reside in Montgomery County.
Unlike children placed in traditional foster homes, youth living in staffed facilities often lack the stable, consistent adult relationships that are so essential to healing and healthy development. Many have experienced repeated moves, deep trauma, broken trust, and significant educational disruption. Far too often, they have learned not to depend on adults because the adults in their lives have come and gone.
That’s why consistency matters so deeply. Our mentors and tutors show up week after week, month after month, not because they are paid to, but because they choose to. Through faithful presence, encouragement, and meaningful relationships, we help these youth begin to believe what every child deserves to know: You matter. You are loved. And your story is just beginning.
What programs and services do you offer?
The Champion Project offers three core programs designed to bring hope, healing, academic support, and meaningful relationships to foster youth living in staffed facilities: mentoring, tutoring, and literacy outreach.
Mentoring: The Champion Project’s mentoring program connects caring adults with foster youth through a trauma-informed, group mentoring model designed to provide the stability, consistency, and belonging every child deserves. Mentors commit to serving for one year and are often amazed by the difference consistent presence can make in such a short time. Mentor teams gather with youth twice each month to share a meal, enjoy fun activities, celebrate birthdays, and attend church services together, helping youth not only build trusted relationships with caring adults, but also experience the support and connection of a church family.
Tutoring – Fostering Success Program: Our Fostering Success Tutoring Program provides one-on-one academic support for foster youth who are often significantly behind in school due to trauma, instability, and repeated school disruptions. Most of the youth we serve are 2–4 grade levels behind academically, and some enter our program unable to read or perform basic math at all. Volunteers meet with students once a week at their school, using curriculum and resources we provide to help them succeed. Our goal is not just to improve grades, it’s to close educational gaps, build confidence, and help each student believe they are capable of success.
Book Bus: Our Book Bus brings literacy, joy, and meaningful connection directly to foster youth living in group homes and emergency shelters. This growing program serves homes across the greater Houston area, many of which are eagerly waiting for a visit. The Book Bus is a large, mobile library stocked with books, journals, stuffed animals, and simple activities that create connection between volunteers and youth. During each visit, youth choose books and special items to keep while volunteers play games, read, and engage with them. We also leave behind sports equipment at each home so the fun and connection can continue long after we leave.
The Book Bus is a wonderful opportunity for churches, companies, service organizations, and volunteer groups of 6–10 people to serve together in a meaningful and tangible way.
TCP-Wide Events & Special Experiences: At The Champion Project, we believe every child deserves not only support and stability, but also the opportunity to experience the joy, wonder, and special memories that make up a childhood. Throughout the year, we bring youth from across our programs together for TCP-wide events designed to celebrate holidays, inspire big dreams, and create unforgettable experiences.
Each year, we host our Dream Big Event, where youth hear from inspiring speakers and participate in breakout sessions designed to help them imagine a future filled with possibility and purpose. We also celebrate with seasonal events like our Easter Party, Thanksgiving Celebration, and Christmas Party, creating moments of joy, connection, and belonging.
To help broaden horizons and introduce new possibilities, we host events like Career Day, where youth can learn about different professions and begin to envision exciting futures for themselves. Through partnerships like our Football Camp sponsored by The John Cooper School, kids get the chance to simply be kids, playing football, building friendships, and making fun memories alongside the John Cooper football team.
We also love creating special opportunities for youth to attend community events and sporting experiences like Astros games, Houston Gamblers games, zoo days, concerts and other memorable outings that many of these children might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.
We are always looking for new ways to help the youth we serve experience the magic of childhood, create positive lifelong memories, and see the possibilities available to them. If you or your company have experiences, event opportunities, tickets, partnerships, or ideas that might be a great fit, we would love to connect.
What makes this organization unique?
The Champion Project is unique in both its approach and its vision. We serve a population of foster youth that is often overlooked, those living in congregate care facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers, and emergency shelters (today’s closest alternative to traditional orphanages). While many organizations focus on children in traditional foster homes, the youth we serve often have the fewest consistent adult relationships and some of the greatest unmet needs.
What makes The Champion Project truly different is our belief that lasting transformation happens through consistent relationships, community, and hope. Our mentoring model equips churches to open not just their doors, but their hearts and lives to youth in foster care, creating meaningful, trauma-informed relationships that demonstrate the unconditional love of God through faithful presence and belonging.
But we also recognize that relationship alone is not enough. Many of the youth we serve are significantly behind academically due to trauma, instability, and repeated educational disruption. That’s why, in addition to mentoring, The Champion Project provides one-on-one tutoring and literacy programs designed to help youth build confidence, close learning gaps, and begin to believe in their potential.
How can the community get involved, volunteer, and support this organization?
Visit us online to get involved: Get Involved — The Champion Project
We are a 501(c)3 Nonprofit organization. Donate — The Champion Project
Join our monthly newsletter: We Will Speak
Where can the community learn more?
Please visit our website: The Champion Project
Anything else you would like to share about your organization?
Today, we have 11 active mentoring programs through 5 church partners, with 9 additional staffed facilities currently on our waitlist waiting for churches to open their doors and say yes to these kids. Our model uniquely equips faith communities to step into the lives of foster youth not simply as volunteers, but as consistent, caring adults who provide belonging, encouragement, and hope.
We also recognize that trauma often shows up in the classroom. Many of the youth we serve are years behind academically, making it incredibly difficult to imagine a successful future. That’s why our Fostering Success Tutoring Program now serves nearly 75 foster youth across 8 schools, providing one-on-one academic support that helps students grow in reading and math while rebuilding confidence in their ability to succeed. What has been especially encouraging is that student attendance increases by approximately 10% on tutoring days because they genuinely love coming. These children are hungry to learn, they simply need consistent one-on-one attention, encouragement, and support to help unlock their potential.
Beyond mentoring and tutoring, we believe these children deserve joy, exposure, and the chance to simply be kids. Through our Book Bus and TCP-wide events, including Dream Big, Career Day, holiday celebrations, sports camps, and special outings, we create meaningful experiences that help broaden horizons, build confidence, and create positive childhood memories.
What makes The Champion Project truly different is that we are not just meeting immediate needs, we are building a replicable model that restores hope, creates belonging, and helps change the long-term trajectory of a child’s life.
We offer a variety of meaningful ways for individuals, churches, companies, and community groups to get involved, with volunteer opportunities that fit a wide range of time commitments. If you’d like to learn more about how you can make a difference in the life of a foster youth, please reach out to us at info@thechampionproject.org.
ABOUT RANDY LOVELACE
To learn more about Randy Lovelace, his “Referral for a Cause” program to help local nonprofit organizations, and Paragon Independent Insurance Agencies, please call (281) 298-0440, email rlovelace@paragoninsagencies.com, or visit www.paragoninsagencies.com/woodlands.
