Discover How CarePortal and Beautiful Redemption are Supporting Colorado’s Families

For children and families facing a crisis, a small gesture of support can make a monumental difference. In Colorado, the national technology platform CarePortal, implemented locally by the non-profit Beautiful Redemption, is creating a powerful, community-driven network to meet those critical needs. Founded by former foster parents Mike Worley and his wife Leesa in 2016, Beautiful Redemption serves as the Colorado and New Mexico implementing partner for CarePortal. This tool supports families by connecting the needs identified by child-serving professionals—including those from departments of human services—with individuals, businesses, and churches in the local community. CarePortal has served over 35,00 Colorado children, creating a $11.2 million of economic impact in their community with their donated goods, services, and volunteer time.

‘We’d like to serve 100,000 children in the next 10 years,” Mike Worley, the CEO and founder of Beautiful Redemption, announced. “We want to expand and allow people to use this tool in the community for kids in crisis, so that the community is coming alongside those in need and has an easy connection point. CarePortal is a great way to connect real needs with people who want to help.”

The core mission of CarePortal and Beautiful Redemption is to radically impact children in crisis throughout Colorado, with a major focus on prevention. By meeting immediate, practical needs, the model works to keep families intact and stable. The platform is also a vital resource for professionals assisting children in a variety of family situations, including kinship placements.  The support extends to older teens and young adults who are aging out of foster care, often assisting with essentials like furnishing a first independent living space—a major need for those transitioning to adulthood without family support. However, the primary aim is to help families before a crisis escalates to the point where a child must enter foster care.

“We don’t want to just help foster families. We want to help families so that they don’t go into foster care. We want to get it further down river, so we look at being preventative. We work primarily with agencies that assist children who are at risk or are dealing with children in crisis situations. We want to keep the family together. We want to assist with that as long as that’s best for the child,” Mike clarified.

Active in 39 states, the power of the CarePortal model lies in its ability to connect requests for help with local community members. Requests are not limited by government regulations since funding comes from the community, allowing them to ask for nearly anything, from essential items like car seats, groceries, and bunk beds, to specific needs like a business outfit for a single mother’s job interview, or even an auto repair to ensure a parent can get to work. Colorado maintains a success rate of about 75% of requests answered, with most being met within the first week.

“About 50% of the time, we have our people deliver things,” Mike explained. “Our teams are trained that when they get the opportunity to meet with the family, they’re simply there to serve them and to offer dignity and empowerment. They understand that these families need more than just stuff, they need meaningful connection. That really matters because it brings dignity, value and understanding, a human touch showing that someone cares goes a long way.”

The process is a true partnership between child welfare professionals and the community is:

1. Request Vetting: A trained caseworker or child-serving professional vets a family’s need and submits a request through the CarePortal technology platform. Privacy is strictly maintained, with no names or identifying information shared.
2. Community Response: The request is instantly sent via text or email to a network of individuals, businesses, and churches who have signed up as responders within a 10-15-mile radius of the child/family in need.
3. Fulfillment: Responders use their personal funds, time, or donated goods (new or gently used) to fulfill the request. For example, a response could be a $100 grocery gift card, a used dining room set, or a newly built bunk bed.

The model has spurred remarkable acts of community involvement, including:

• The Bunk Bed Project: One community member, frustrated by assembling a low-quality store-bought bed, was inspired to design and build custom, sturdy bunk beds. This effort expanded into a church turning its basement into a full wood shop, where they have built over 1,500 beds, each inscribed with the message: «You are seen, you are known, and you are loved.»
• A Car for Work: A local auto repair business committed $20,000 in services to repair vehicles for families in crisis, helping parents maintain employment and stability.
• The Baby Shower: A group of women responded to a request for a pregnant teenager who didn’t havefamily support by organizing a surprise baby shower, providing her with all the supplies she needed for her first baby and creating connections for support.

Beautiful Redemption is currently active in eight Colorado counties—including Fremont, Pueblo, El Paso, Teller, Douglas, Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson—with plans to expand to Boulder. There is no cost to sign up and see requests in your community. Just go to Beautifulredemption.com and sign up individually, as a business or a faith community.