MacIntosh Starts Up South Bay Online Foster Care Nonprofit

SAN CARLOS, CA — When you've worked for the world's most valuable company and your last name is MacIntosh, great things that may change the planet are all but expected of you.

Such is the case of 56-year-old Jay MacIntosh, who is trying to meet at least a sliver of that expectation by focusing on troubled, at risk youth who may just need a helping hand in the foster care system.

After being with Apple for 10 years in marketing and studying engineering in college, MacIntosh launched a new start-up in San Carlos this week called Foster the Future. The South Bay nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of children placed in the care of a designated guardian.

The start-up's new online community called The Village is a database that will serve as a link between foster children through the supervision of a "sponsor" with a collective of volunteers in the Silicon Valley, who may teach certain skills and meet specific needs of these youngsters.

MacIntosh is working with social workers, foster parents, case managers, teachers and Court Appointed Special Advocates, of which he is one, in the hopes they may refer children who are seeking basic needs like safety and shelter as well as developmental wishes such as love, belonging, self-esteem boosters and skill building. The latter is a hot button in the land of tech as one of the most promising industries on the planet.

All that's required in the heart of this specialized workforce of over achievers and brain power is a heart to help youngsters who have lost themselves in failing to find ideal adult influences who can do them some good.

"We as a society are failing these kids," MacIntosh said, further citing huge issues facing these children.

As a 5-year CASA volunteer, MacIntosh saw first hand the plagues of homelessness, lives of crime and drug abuse.

Every youngster has a spark of originality, desire and drive — whether it's to design a website, garden, improve math skills or play a sport. The youth caught in a wobbly foster care system need time, talent and resources from these role models.

He understands the plights of social workers whose departments are sorely underpaid and overworked, he said. But meanwhile, there's not enough love, care and outreach to go around in the child welfare system.

MacIntosh is hoping to springboard on the "impact investment" business trend that taps people with resources and knowledge to make investments in social causes.

Could you be one of the them?

Foster the Future has opened The Village online community to foster youth through their case worker or CASA volunteer starting in December. It's focusing its initial efforts through about a dozen ground-floor volunteers on recruiting 1,000 adults in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, who are interested in helping and guiding foster youth through small, non-monetary contributions of knowledge, skills or other resources.

Certainly, the need is there.

In 2015, 62,035 children in California were placed in foster care, according to Kidsdata.org.