About Cobbled Streets

Bringing positive childhood experiences and enriching opportunities to children in foster and kinship care.

Cobbled Streets takes a holistic approach to fill critical gaps in a system that too often leaves children behind. By supporting not only children in foster care, but also their caregivers and the communities that surround them, Cobbled Streets builds trust, nurtures potential, and fosters belonging—creating lasting impact that empowers children to see what’s possible for their future.

Every child deserves stability, connection, and the chance to thrive. Through individualized experiences, mentorship, and access to enriching opportunities, Cobbled Streets helps mitigate the trauma children in care have faced—replacing isolation with belonging and uncertainty with hope.

The challenge

Across the United States, more than 390,000 children are currently in foster care—often without adequate visibility or accountability within the system meant to protect them. Many face multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, or household instability, which can lead to long-term physical and emotional challenges.

Only 30% of foster teens graduate high school, and 33% of youth who leave the system become homeless by their 21st birthday.

The Cobbled Streets approach

Cobbled Streets focuses on the whole child and the ecosystem surrounding them to create meaningful, lasting change.

Its work centers on two core programs:

Guiding Lights

Cobbled Streets provides “guiding lights” for children in foster care through individualized, positive childhood experiences that allow them to thrive.

These experiences range from equine therapy, tutoring, and outdoor adventures to music lessons, sports programs, and cultural excursions. Cobbled Streets steps in to help families overcome barriers such as cost, access, time, and transportation, ensuring every child experiences the joy and possibility of childhood.

Cobbled Streets has provided experiences and opportunities to 3,199 children in foster care.

The Ambassador Project

Launched in 2022 in partnership with Be The Source (formerly Foster Source), the Ambassador Project builds a community of support beyond the system itself. Ambassadors—former or current foster caregivers—create local networks within their judicial districts by hosting monthly gatherings and maintaining ongoing communication with families.

These ambassadors provide access to supportive and therapeutic resources, trauma-informed education, and free, family-centered activities—ensuring foster children and caregivers have the relationships and resources they need to thrive. There is nothing else like this program in Colorado.

Since 2022, the Ambassador Project has served 2,327 youth.

Why it Matters

Reform within the foster care system is not only necessary—it is urgent. By reimagining the system through the lens of the child, meaningful improvements can lead to stronger families, healthier communities, and a more compassionate, sustainable system.

Proceeds from events like Crossroads: The Journey of Rebecoming are vital to advancing this mission. Funds raised directly support Cobbled Streets’ programs, advocacy efforts, and individualized experiences—ensuring children in foster and kinship care have the relationships, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive.

About Shari Shink

Shari Shink is the Founder and Executive Director of Cobbled Streets, a Colorado nonprofit dedicated to creating positive childhood experiences and enriching opportunities for children in foster care. Through Cobbled Streets, she continues her lifelong mission to transform the child welfare system into one that is truly child-centered, relationship-driven, and grounded in belonging.

Before founding Cobbled Streets, Shari served as the Founder and President Emeritus of the former Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, where she spent nearly three decades representing thousands of abused and neglected children, developing innovative programs, and raising millions to advance children’s rights. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, teaching Colorado’s first course on children’s rights and mentoring law students who represented children in court.

Shari’s leadership and advocacy have been recognized through numerous honors, including induction into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (2016) and two Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2022 and 2023. Her career reflects an unwavering commitment to ensuring that every child feels safe, supported, and seen.