Fostering R&R

Shortly after their wedding sixteen years ago, MELISSA MATTHEWS and her husband, MARK, followed their hearts on a journey of caring for others. That path eventually took them from their home in the Chapel Hill area to Wilmington, and to the founding of Restored Souls Foundation, their nonprofit organization. 

The thread that connects their endeavors is foster care. The Matthews have been licensed foster parents for fourteen years through Greensboro-based Seven Homes. They adopted one of their foster children, adding her to their family that includes two biological daughters. As longtime caregivers, they’ve seen how demanding this calling is, and how lacking in support it can be. The need is great, Melissa Matthews says, explaining that Restored Souls also extends its services to foster children who have disabilities. 

“There are thousands of kids waiting to be adopted in North Carolina,” she says. “There are kids aging out of foster care who can’t live independently. Kids are sleeping in hospitals and in emergency shelters because they have no foster family; there are some kids getting shipped hours away (from their hometowns) because they can’t find families.”

The demands of being a foster parent lead to frequent burnout. According to Melissa Matthews, many new foster parents give up after about a year. For foster parents of medically fragile youngsters, the expense is a factor as well. 

“There are over 500,000 children with special needs in North Carolina,” Restored Souls’ website states. “An average family spends $80,000 a year on medical expenses for a medically fragile child outside of what insurance covers.”   

Through their relationship with Seven Homes and serving as a foster family in both Chapel Hill and the Charlotte metro area before moving to Wilmington five years ago, the Matthews saw the need for more foster families. They also recognized a critical need: more support for these families to keep them from giving up. An essential element missing from many families’ lives was the opportunity to relax and have fun.   

Just before the COVID pandemic, the couple took their concerns and ideas to the foster care director at Seven Homes, who advised them that they could build on what was available in the Wilmington area. There was access to beaches, to fishing piers. The concept of Restored Souls Foundation was born. 

“We did not originally intend to start a nonprofit,” Melissa Matthews says. “I am a teacher at Coastal Christian High School. My husband is a barber. When we moved here, we got plugged in (to the foster care network) and saw the lack of support.”  

 Restored Souls was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in January 2020, but its initial growth was slow because of the COVID shutdown.

“COVID gave us time to think about the nonprofit,” Melissa Matthews says. “In Wilmington, there are 400 kids in care but only 200 foster homes – numbers that are reflected in other cities. There needs to be a support system. Respite care is a real necessity.” 

Most foster families need a break, and the Matthews were determined to do just that.

Restored Souls’ first gift of a getaway sent a family to Dollywood in Tennessee. Looking at the cost, the Matthews realized they could buy two beach trips for the same amount of money. As their fundraising and friend-raising have ramped up, they have continued to focus on providing beach breathers for foster parents. This year, Restored Souls funded getaways for seventeen couples.

“We rent beach properties within an hour’s drive of Wilmington, but our goal is to acquire our own,” Melissa Matthews says.

And for the kids?

This past summer, Restored Souls received grants from EmergeOrtho and TELUS to fund its first surf camp, which the nonprofit hopes to continue. They’ve held fishing tournaments for foster children. 

Mark Matthews has turned a minibus into a mobile hair salon, which he drives to places with homebound residents and to military veterans’ events, offering free haircuts. He provides back-to-school trims for foster kids as well. He offered haircuts to participants in the Night to Shine, a special needs prom hosted by Port City Community Church.  

“We’re in a transition period,” Melissa Matthews says. “I’m still working full time as a teacher and full time as the executive director of the foundation. It’s crazy but so worth it. Looking at the pictures of the fishing tournament; seeing those smiles. That makes it totally worth it.” 

The couple hopes Mark Matthews can go part time as a barber to allow him to take over as the foundation’s development director. In addition to holding its fundraiser, Night on the Water, Restored Souls applies for every possible grant. It landed one from Walmart that helps fund their support groups. A grant from another source is in the pipeline, according to Melissa Matthews.

“We’re creating a foster care network for this area of the state,” she adds. “It’s in the works; we’ll probably launch it in 2025. The idea is to get the agencies, nonprofits, and churches working together to recruit additional families. 

“We see this as a mission,” she says of Restored Souls’ work. “There is no child we won’t serve, no family we won’t work with.”

To view more of photographer Aris Harding’s work, go to arisharding.com.

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