Giving Hope.  The Blue Ribbon Project Offers Foster Children Community

Brightly colored backpacks and clear bins of meticulously organized clothing and supplies line the shelves at The Blue Ribbon Project, located on the old Crownsville Hospital campus. However, this space holds more than clothing and necessities, it holds hope and a little bit of normalcy for area foster children.

The Blue Ribbon Project (BRP) founder, Taylor Pyles, could have had a very different life. As a victim of child abuse, he was placed into foster care until he aged out. During his teenager years, Taylor witnessed his foster care peers descending into destructive cycles. In a determined effort to avoid such a lifestyle, he proactively chose to help others instead. As the executive director of BRP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports victims of child abuse and neglect, youth in foster care, and adult survivors of child abuse, Taylor has helped thousands of children and adults over the past 12 years.

Initially, Taylor established BRP as a website to support adult survivors of abuse. However, after reflecting on his own experience of being sent to foster homes with just the clothes on his back, he felt compelled to contribute in a more tangible way. While working as an Annapolis Police Department Detective with the Criminal Investigations Division, Taylor began assembling backpacks containing essential items tailored to the recipients’ age and gender, including toiletries, clothing, and books at his home. He stored them wherever he could, including a spare his bedroom. These backpacks were then distributed to the children, ages 1 month-18 years, who were in the foster care system. Since retired from the police department, Taylor now volunteers fulltime at BPR and during their last fiscal year, more than 600 children received these “Backpacks of Love.”

Since its inception, the organization has grown, encompassing not only Anne Arundel County (AAC) but also 13 other Maryland counties as well as Baltimore city. It is now working to expand to two other counties on the Eastern Shore. “We went from backpacks in a bedroom in my house to a 5,000 square foot building,” said Taylor, reflecting on BPR’s growth. “It’s not what I expected to happen; you kind of just hang on and go for the ride.”

The backpacks represent only a fraction of the organization’s broader community programs. BRP programs also include many training courses including but not limited to  Aging Up…Not Out, a life-skills program designed for older foster kids; Celebrations Club, a program to help celebrate foster children’s birthdays and other special events; and Mirah’s Closet, a place where foster children and parents can “shop free” for essential items such as clothing. Thanks to CFAAC grants, Mirah’s Closet has tripled in size over the past three years. “The most recent CFAAC grant allowed us to double the infrastructure, enabling us to get more storage space and carry more stuff, which allows us to better serve the children to shop for free,” said Taylor.

Amidst the dedicated efforts of and programs at BRP, members of a local quilting club passionately craft dozens of quilts each month. These meticulously crafted quilts serve as more than just blankets; they often provide solace for children navigating the upheaval of being removed from their abusive homes, often in the middle of the night.

“We’ve grown so much and the volunteers, community, and CFAAC have helped in so many ways,” said Taylor, who noted that the BRP is an all-volunteer organization. “We just couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers.”

BRP’s growth stirred thoughts about the future and the foster children who continue to come through the system and that’s the main reason why Taylor established The Blue Ribbon Project Fund, a Designated Fund at CFAAC. With the help of donors, who care about the children served through The Blue Ribbon Project, they intend to grow it into a permanent Endowment Fund to create the kind of lasting impact that is so important to their mission.

“I want to make sure Blue Ribbon stays around even when I’m gone,” Taylor said. “I want to continue to grow it with CFAAC; I look at it as a partnership.”

And to other nonprofits who are thinking about opening an endowment through CFAAC, Taylor says, “Definitely go for it—open a fund; you will see the growth and who knows what a couple years will bring when it comes to donations.”