Skip to content
You can help propel 40 forward when the 2022 campaign begins on March 7th!
  • Apply Today
  • Sign In
  • About the Program
    • About
    • Become a 40
    • Partners
    • FAQs
  • Our Nonprofits
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us
  • About the Program
    ▼
    • About
    • Become a 40
    • Partners
    • FAQs
  • Our Nonprofits
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us

Project 1.27

$9,065.06

Project 1.27 began in 2004 when Robert Gelinas, Aurora pastor, adoptive dad and community advocate, learned about the 875 Colorado foster children legally free for adoption waiting for an adoptive family. Pastor Gelinas spoke to then Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, pledging to rally Denver churches to work with county child welfare and find families for these children.

To address this problem, we leveraged our church relationships to raise awareness of children waiting for families, increasing the pool of adoptive families.  At the same time, we worked with the State of Colorado to simplify the adoption process by standardizing requirements among Colorado counties and private placement agencies and hiring case managers to guide families.

We continue to provide state-required training and to date we have recruited foster and adoptive families who have cared for well over 1000 children; 437 of these children have been adopted into Project 1.27 families. Currently we have 87 certified foster families, and 95 families in training or in the certification process.

In 2008, Project 1.27 moved from being a local church ministry to become a stand-alone 501c3 organization and in 2010, we began recruiting parents for foster care as well.  This change included training foster parents to fully support successful family reunification. While Project 1.27 recruits families within the church community, this being our unique area of expertise and relationships, our families serve all children and youth without discrimination

  • Address:

    14000 E Jewell Ave, Aurora, CO 80012

  • Phone:

    (303) 256-2874

  • Website:

    http://project127.com

  • Year Founded:

    2004

  • EIN (Federal Tax ID Number):

    263341511

  • Mission Statement:

    Inspire, recruit and resource churches and families to foster and adopt ​the kids in their own backyard.

Since 2013, Karen & Paul Dunlap have fostered close to 50 children. Their three grown children have also fostered and adopted, and over 100 kids from foster care have been part of the extended family!

One day, two little boys, 9 months and 5 years old arrived. Due to neglect and malnourishment the 5 year-old was the size of a 3 year-old and the 9 month-old was an extreme failure to thrive baby. The Dunlaps worked for months to get the boys healthy.

Mom’s alcoholism was very severe, but after having already lost custody of her two older sons she was determined not to lose any more kids to the system. Mom checked herself into a rehab center. Over time, Paul and Karen formed a strong relationship with the boys’ parents, one that’s lasted over six years.

Karen shares, “From this placement, I realized how much getting to know the parents meant to me. It’s one of my favorite parts now. The parents succeeded in getting their lives back together and the family was reunified. Today, the mom is very  healthy and works as a CNA in a nursing home. “We see the family periodically.  Birthday parties for sure.  Or they may go to church with us, then come hang out in our backyard and grill while the boys play.  We believe fostering can be about changing the trajectory of a family for generations to come!”

On the day their case was closed, the parents told the court, “The day you took our kids, was both the worst day and best day of our lives. Without you, we would have never been able to make the changes you helped facilitate.”

They thanked Karen for her support of them and her care for the kids, promising the court that they would forever parent differently. They were truly grateful for the space and help the foster care system had given them to make foundational changes that would allow them to be the parents they knew their kids should have had all along.

- Fostering the Children, Supporting the Parents

© 2021 40 Hands in Forty Days. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
|  Website by Creation Chamber and Maintained by E2M
Subscribe
READY, SET, WAIT.

The 2022, 40 Hands in Forty Days campaign begins on March 7th! Don’t miss your chance to make a difference for your favorite Colorado cause. Enter your email below and we’ll remind you when the time comes to donate!