Luca, 19 years old, OR | 18 DAYS WAITING

Wish submitted by:

Luca is an incredibly talented artist who expresses himself through painting and original digital art, and is teaching himself to sew. He has been in and out of foster care his entire life, beginning with his initial removal from his mother’s care at birth due to fetal drug exposure. He was most recently returned to care in 2022 and benefited from being placed with a relative whose support was instrumental in getting him back on track with his high school credits so he could graduate on time. Over and over, he has tackled life's challenges and succeeded. He has chosen to stay in foster care until he has to age out due to needing continued support, both financially and logistically, in the transition to adulthood.

Luca is starting the next phase of his life, living on his own in the dorms during his first year of college. He wants to install multicolored light strips to make his room feel vibrant and show off his style. His former resource mom still gives him a great deal of emotional support, but she is the only adult working full time in a home of eight people across four generations, so she cannot help financially. Luca is learning to manage on a limited subsidy, and even small dorm items are out of reach. A set of light strips would help him turn a bare room into a space that feels like his.