Danielle and Ryan Goold started their foster care journey in an unexpected way. It is their passion for mountain biking that led them to open their home to unaccompanied minors.
The couple first started working with vulnerable populations through a nonprofit called the 88Bikes Foundation. They traveled with this organization to various countries and distributed bikes to young girls who had been victims of trafficking.
Unaccompanied Minors Need Loving Homes
As they developed a deeper understanding of the needs of vulnerable youth, they became interested in helping more. They realized that fostering through Catholic Charities’ Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program might be a good fit, as they were unable to have biological children.
The URM program licenses and trains foster homes to care for unaccompanied minors, or foreign-born teen youth in the U.S. without a legal guardian. It also supports unaccompanied minors with resources like English language classes, healthcare and legal aid.
Bonding Over Shared Interests
After completing the process and training needed to get their foster care license, Danielle and Ryan waited a few more months to welcome Ruth, a teen girl from Honduras. They were nervous at first but were soon excited to learn that Ruth fit in perfectly.
“She wanted to learn piano—we had one. She liked cross country, and we are into endurance training. We saw that we could share common interests together,” said Danielle.
Like Danielle and Ryan, Ruth values being active and enjoys hiking and fishing. They even had the privilege of taking her surfing and skiing for the first time. They have camped all around Arizona, and of course, done plenty of mountain biking.
Learning and Growing as Foster Parents
Danielle and Ryan have learned so much in their time as foster parents. They have realized the importance of being patient and understanding as they help Ruth achieve her goals and dreams.
They have also seen Ruth think about her future for the first time, after being in survival mode her whole life. She says that her foster parents were the first people to ask her what she wanted to do with her life.
Foster Care Has Positive Effects on Family
“For us, it has been influential on extended family. They are growing up seeing Ruth, who is different from them,” said Ryan.
When Danielle’s niece asked why they were caring for a youth from another country, Danielle explained that they wanted to care for someone who was alone in the U.S. with no parents and needed a family.
When Ruth met Danielle’s niece, she gave Ruth a hug and immediately accepted her. Ruth enjoys babysitting for the nieces and nephews and building those family relationships.
If you’d like to contribute to the important work of the URM program, consider donating online or donating needed items to support our foster families. You can also visit the program page to learn more about becoming a foster parent yourself. We are always in need of loving, supportive foster homes where our youth can prepare for a successful future.
