The Rae Ripple Foundation
Building More Than A Way Out.
We help people and families build the skills, stability, and belief they need to create a future that lasts.
Our Mission
Hardship Does Not Get the Final Word.
The Rae Ripple Foundation is built on the belief that creativity and skilled trades can break cycles of hardship.
At the heart of our mission is the unwavering belief that anyone who has survived domestic violence, aged out of foster care, faced an unstable home, or found themselves in the juvenile system can forge a new path.
We stand with people shaped by hardship, offering practical tools to transform their lives through creativity and skilled trades. By reconnecting families and equipping both individuals and parents with hands on hope, we turn adversity into opportunity.
Our work begins with learning. Free, practical education opens the door to trades, art, and new possibilities. From there, people build hands on skills, confidence, work habits, and tools that can grow into a career and a living. Because lasting change reaches beyond one person, families are invited to rebuild stability together.
Programs in Motion
The Work Has Already Begun.
Classes and programs are actively being built for alternative schools, juvenile detention center settings, and the families connected to them.
Our art and welding programs will give participants the opportunity to create sculptures for their communities while developing real career and technical education skills. Families will be invited into the process because support should never stop with one person.
Every class is being built to remain free, creating a place where people can learn, create, reconnect, and begin again without cost becoming another closed door.
One Build. A Future for Many.
The Bare Metal Bel Air
In January 2027, the sale of our flagship 1964 Chevrolet Bel Air at Mecum will fund our first scholarships. Rebuilt from bare metal, the car has become a symbol of transformation. Its journey from forgotten to reborn will help carry second chances forward through education, relocation support, counseling, tools, transportation, and pathways into the trades.
The Story Behind the Mission
This Foundation Was Built From a Life That Had to Be Rebuilt.
Rae Ripple knows what it means to begin without stability and build a future with your own two hands. Her story is the reason this work exists.
Meet the Founder