What We Do
Passionate About Inspiring Others
Incorporated in early 2017 as MagicWaste Foundation Inc., MagicWaste Youth Foundation (MWYF) is an ALL VOLUNTEER 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on assisting South Florida disadvantaged youths that are in the process of “aging-out” or have already been “aged-out” of the foster care system with their life and work skills, housing, education, nutrition, healthcare, and other needs.
The organization is the brainchild of Rodolfo “Rudy” Bustamante, a Miami entrepreneur who serves as its president and guiding force.
MWYF partners with area charities and organizations to counsel, mentor, educate, and
provide these young men and women with the support and specialized programs that will enable them to:
• Rise above their circumstances;
• Stay off the streets, away from gangs, violence and drugs;
• Develop to their fullest potential; and
• Build a better future for themselves, their families and peers, and their community.
MWYF organizes and hosts events throughout the year to raise funds and awareness to the plight of our area’s foster youths.
Why We Do What We Do
Approximately 150 youngsters will age-out of the system in Miami-Dade this year upon turning 18 —and they are expected to begin caring for themselves without a family and without the skills to make it on their own.
In a recent factsheet, the Children’s Rights organization sheds light on an even more difficult reality:
• Youth who age out of foster care are less likely than youth in the general population to graduate from high school and are less likely to attend or graduate college.
• By age 26, approximately 80 percent of young people who aged out of foster care earned at least a high school degree or GED compared to 94 percent in the general population.
• By age 26, 4 percent of youth who aged out of foster care had earned a 4-year college degree, while 36 percent of youth in the general population had done so.
• In 2015, more than 20,000 young people aged out of foster care without permanent families. Research has shown that those who leave care without being linked to forever families have a higher likelihood than youth in the general population to experience homelessness, unemployment and incarceration as adults.
This is precisely the crux of MagicWaste Youth Foundation’s concern and the focus of its work. We believe that our community cannot afford to lose the great potential that lies within these young men and women. Our mission is to provide foster youth with the support they need to face —and ultimately conquer— the world, and become the leaders of tomorrow.