About Resource Collective
We have been working in the Tennessee foster care community in some capacity for over 2 years. In the spring of 2023, we began meeting with other like-minded hearts in the city to discuss gaps within the foster care community and discover how we can truly create change within Bradley and the surrounding counties. That evolved into helping start a support group for the foster care community, creating a Facebook group to connect families to resources, and eventually organizing events, providing practical support to families, and so much more. We have now expanded our team to include Rebecca Millwood and Care Communities (WRAP teams), in partnership with Promise 686. We hope to continue to grow and partner with fellow organizations within the community to better support our families.
In our 2 years, we've served over 200 children, and over 100 families. Our goal is to see no family within the foster care community fighting alone.
One of the driving forces behind our passion at Resource Collective is the fact that the average foster home closes within one year of opening, with one of the most common reasons being due to lack of support.
We exist in hopes that one day, that statistic will no longer apply to our surrounding counties - that every family will feel the love and support of a village and be able to continue saying yes to vulnerable children.
Meet our team
Kayla Gray
Kayla has been serving the foster care community for over 2 years as cofounder of Resource Collective. She and husband, Jacob, were foster parents for 4.5 years, and they adopted one of their three children through foster care. Kayla's passion for serving children in foster care first began as she was moved by compassion by the deep needs she saw in this community through her work as a pediatric nurse. During her foster care journey, Kayla experienced firsthand how lonely and isolating the work of a foster parent can be, when a child's trauma is so immense that it takes everything we have to hold them together. Resource Collective was birthed out of that experience, and her desire to ensure that no family in the foster community has to do this journey alone. What began as a simple act of obedience to the Lord to see and meet the needs for the foster families in her circle has expanded to more than she ever dreamed. Kayla's heart is that each child served by Resource Collective is seen through the lens of Jesus, that they are not defined by their behaviors, but by who they truly are and have the potential to be.
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Jessica Howell
Jessica has been serving the foster care community for over 2 years as cofounder of Resource Collective. She has been an open foster home since 2023, and has a deep passion for children in the foster system. She has been part of the pastoral team at Living Word Church since 2013. She has served in various capacities, originally serving as the youth pastor for 6 years, while she currently oversees the children's ministry. Jess’ love and desire to serve families knows no bounds, as she is constantly serving other families and making sure they have what they need and feel supported, despite being a foster mom herself. Her passion is fueled by seeing how so many people in her "village” have surrounded her with support since she started her foster care journey, and she works to ensure every family knows the same love and support she has received, which has made such an impact on her journey. She has a big heart to make sure each child that comes through her home and that are supported by Resource Collective know that they are loved, heard, understood, and seen without judgement.
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rebecca MilLwood
Rebecca has been faithfully serving foster and adoptive families in our city since 2020. One of her main avenues of serving these families has been through being one of the main co-leaders of our local Promise 686 ministry, which works to surround foster families with a community of families that provide meals, prayer, and support. She and her husband, Derek, have a big heart for children in the foster system. She has been a foster and adoptive mama for 14 years, so her understanding of the foster system comes from a frontline view. Her desire to serve foster families came out of feeling isolated and without support during the first several years of her foster care journey, to now feeling the impact of truly having the support of people that she can count on. They currently have six children in their home, and have had sixteen total over their years of fostering. Rebecca has one of the most selfless, giving, and servant hearts and loves with her whole heart. She and her husband currently work as house parents with WinShape Homes. Rebecca's heart is for each of her children and the children that she serves to feel special, important, and seen.
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