Cobbled Streets Offers Transformative Experiences to Kids in Foster Care

Shari Shink, founder and executive director of Cobbled Streets, is like a fairy godmother to kids in foster and kinship care. Cobbled Streets provided individualized and group activities to 3,192 kids in 2024. The enriching activities they provide include equine therapy, trauma-informed yoga, educational trips, cultural excursions, tickets to shows, swimming lessons, summer camps, music lessons, gymnastics, cooking classes, recreational team sports and more. Cobbled Streets can provide equipment and sometimes helps with transportation when needed. They also send families on trips to the Polar Express and Great Wolf Lodge. 

“For all the years I was a lawyer, I had to fight to get things for kids. It was hard to get kids what they needed. We were focused on the basics like safety, mental health and education. I rarely saw them doing really fun things like going on a vacation, playing sports, owning a bicycle and taking music lessons,” said Shari. She had a long career as a Guardian ad Litem, a legal representative for children and youth in foster care, before starting Cobbled Streets in 2020. “I’m committed to doing my best to avoid saying no. Want to go on a school trip abroad, yes. Want to play soccer, you can. Want to learn to swim, yes.”

Cobbled Streets takes an upstream approach starting when kids are young to provide positive childhood experiences. Participating in team sports promotes teamwork, trust, and communication and builds confidence, self-esteem, and resilience while allowing children to learn new skills and build friendships. The arts offer kids an opportunity for creative expression and stress management. Most importantly, these experiences build a sense of community for kids in foster care while connecting them with caring adults.

“Good relationships provide a critical foundation for their future. They learn how to navigate the world through relationships,” said Shari. 

In conjunction with foster source the Ambassadors Project provides kids with fun learning experiences while their foster/kin parents receive training or respite. Ambassadors are volunteers who are current or former foster parents who plan monthly events for families in their communities. Ambassadors are now in 10 of the 24 Colorado Judicial Districts and Shari is growing this program across the state.

 “I like to underpromise and over-deliver but it’s always about funding,” said Shari.”In 2025 I would like to raise enough money to serve all kids in foster care and provide even more extraordinary opportunities. I want all foster and kin families to know about Cobbled Streets and I want the Ambassadors’ Project to be in all judicial districts. It would be even better to see this program replicated across the country.”

Last year Cobbled Streets partnered with Better Together Productions to create the documentary, Rebecoming Me. The Colorado-based film depicts the lives of five individuals who experienced foster care as children and teens and overcame adversity to become successful adults. 

“I would like all teens in foster care to see this film to inspire in them the hope that they too can overcome whatever they are faced with and succeed. Sometimes you just need to reach out for help,” said Shari

Foster and kinship families who would like the kids in their care to receive individual or group experiences can submit a family request form or contact info@cobbledstreets.org. Community members who want to get involved beyond donating to the nonprofit can volunteer at ambassador events or donate their time by teaching or coaching.

“Seeing the impact on these kids is so rewarding. It can be transformative,” said Shari. “I can think of one shy little girl who was clinging to the leg of her foster parent when I met her. Several weeks later, she got super excited when she was learning to swim. After three swimming lessons, she came out of her shell. She was talking and engaging with people.”Odio morbi quis commodo odio aenean sed adipiscing diam donec.