Restoring Hope
Our MissionTo support the juvenile court system in every way possible.
To show love and give hope to the kids in the court system and to the teams that serve them.
When people help people, change happens.
Books Donated
Dollars Raised
dollars in scholarships awarded
The Restoring Hope Foundation is created in honor of Judge Colin Witt
Honorable Judge Colin Witt.
Sept. 10, 1974 – Feb. 23, 2020
Restoring Hope: The Honorable Colin J. Witt Memorial Foundation is about helping youth in need understand their worth and value to our community and the world. The foundation is created in honor of Colin Witt, who as a juvenile judge made it his life’s work to help kids see their possibilities and how one mistake, or many, doesn’t have to define their future
Our Focus
Giving Libraries: Every Child Has a Story
The Mighty Oaks Giving Libraries allow judges (and their teams) to award juveniles with books. The books are used to reward good behavior, acknowledge progress on goals, and to celebrate special occasions – such as a graduation from Drug Court programs or adoption. Sometimes they are used simply as a way to connect with the youth.
Compassion Fund: Every Child Needs Something
Restoring Hope’s Compassion Fund supports Ellipsis by providing gift cards to places like Walmart, Target, gas stations and grocery stores to help normalize conditions for youth and help families access behavioral health support and counseling services.
Giving Back: Community Support
The BoysToMen program gives fifth grade boys the tools they need to help with this transition, to prepare them for the challenges and experiences they may encounter in junior high, and to give them a solid group of friends of whom they can rely upon to be a positive influence as they grow into manhood.
When you make a mistake, don’t let it define you. Don’t let it, or anyone else, set your course. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t overcome it. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn for your road ahead. And how that one mistake doesn’t define who you are or what you’re capable of becoming. – CJW
How YOu can Make a Difference
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Provides free books to the Drake Legal Clinic and Polk County Juvenile and Family Court Mighty Oaks Giving Libraries. Thoughtfully curated to inspire and encourage youth of all ages, books are gifted and used at adoption celebrations, to reward progress and for reaching a milestone in the Drug Court programs. Books are also shared with shelters and other juvenile home systems throughout Central Iowa
Supports Ellipsis through the Compassion Fund by providing gift cards to help normalize conditions for youth and help families access behavioral health support and counseling services. Restoring Hope provides Caldecott Winning book, After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat, in Next Up Kits, which are given to youth who are in respite, shelter or who graduate from transitional/residential housing.
Supports the Boys2Men Youth Program, which equips minority youth and their families with tools to successfully complete elementary school and transition into middle school, while helping address delinquent behaviors that might lead the youth into the juvenile justice system. Restoring Hope provides books for use in their curriculum and funds to provide meals for after-school meetings and activities.
Supports The Pathways Program at ArtForce Iowa, which supports youth within the juvenile justice system with case management, mental health support, follow up and treatment care, life skills and helping them to heal and find their unique voice through art.
Funds the The Honorable Colin J. Witt “Phoenix Award” started by Mentor Iowa to honor graduating high school seniors transitioning to college and/or trade school.
Since 2020, ten youth have been awarded with $200 scholarships each and we want to increase the scholarship amount and number awarded.