About Touch Foundation for Change
Touch Foundation for Change was created from lived experience, deep compassion, and an unwavering commitment to disrupt cycles of trauma and incarceration that impact at-risk youth. Our founder, Carolyn White, once a transient child involved in gang activity and battling emotional and psychological trauma, vowed to become the voice for children who are often misunderstood, mislabeled, overlooked, and left behind.
From interning at a juvenile detention center to mentoring through church and community-based programs, and advocating for youth in law school, our founder witnessed firsthand the systemic failures that treat symptoms instead of the whole person. Youth are being funneled from schools to prisons, often without ever receiving the support, healing, or opportunities they deserve. While society claims children lack the capacity to make adult decisions, it too often punishes them as if they do.
Touch Foundation for Change exists to change that narrative.
We take a holistic, data-driven approach to transformation. Our innovative 8-Step Holistic Model uses a proprietary software application to assess trauma, risk factors, and barriers to success to create an Individualized Personal Development Plans that guide each youth through a customized program life cycle.
Through this model, we provide wrap-around services that include:
- Emotional and psychological development
- Life skills and conflict resolution
- Trauma recovery and family support
- Legal advocacy and mentoring
- Educational, vocational, and community reintegration
We don’t just want to help youth survive—we are committed to helping them thrive, overcome, uplift, change, and heal. Touch Foundation for Change is here to break generational cycles, restore dignity, and empower the next generation to write a different story—one of healing, strength, and opportunity.
Our Mission
To Thrive, Overcome, Uplift, Change, and Heal.
We are driven by a powerful purpose — to provide our community with the tools necessary to thrive beyond adversity, overcome systemic barriers, uplift each other, drive transformational change, and heal generational wounds.
At Touch Foundation for Change, we empower at-risk youth and socioeconomically disadvantaged young adults by equipping them with essential life skills and access to opportunity. Through education, financial literacy, mentorship, and restorative services, we help individuals rebuild dignity, shatter stigma, and unlock their full potential. Our mission is not just support — it’s sustainable transformation.
Our Vision
We envision communities where youth are healed, whole, and free to reach their full potential. Touch Foundation for Change is building a world where every child is:
- Valued and protected.
- Heard and understood.
- Surrounded by systems that rehabilitate, not punish.
Our vision is a society where people — especially our youth — are empowered to lead cultural and social transformation. We believe that when environments foster equity, care, and opportunity, every individual can rise and contribute to a world driven by dignity and compassion.
Our History
Founded from compassion, built on lived experience.
The vision for Touch Foundation for Change was first inspired in 2008, when our founder, Carolyn White, saw firsthand the struggles of youth cycling in and out of the juvenile justice system.
What she observed underscored a truth that remains at the heart of our work today: children are not inherently “bad” and should not be defined by their mistakes but by their potential. From that early spark grew an organization committed to being a voice for the voiceless and addressing the deeper challenges that drive destructive behaviors.
Over time, what began as one person’s passion has evolved into a collective mission—uniting staff, partners, and communities around an 8-step holistic approach that empowers youth, disrupts the school-to-prison pipeline, and builds pathways to lasting transformation.
