70 years of service: Fly Brave Foundation supporting adults with developmental disabilities

The Fly Brave Foundation is celebrating 10 years of supporting adults with developmental disabilities after they age out of school.”We created a nonprofit in our living room with hope, and a prayer and $600 in our pocket,” said Vanessa Bieker, the founder of Fly Brave Foundation.Mother and son duo Vanessa Bieker and John Almeda started the foundation in January 2016 in response to the need of continued support.Vanessa explained the impact aging out of school had on her son, John. “He woke up one day and the social support, the field trips, interacting with friends — his whole routine had changed. Building a bridge between aging out of school and entering adulthood is so vital for growth,” Vanessa said. “We all want a comfortable home, and a friend, and something purposeful to do every day. Here at Fly Brave, this is what we were built to do.”In July 2021, Fly Brave Foundation expanded its outreach, opening a thrift and coffee shop on Broadway in Sacramento.”We are a job training program for neurodiverse adults. They learn retail training, customer service, all aspects of working in a thrift store, and the coffee shop serves as barista training,” Vanessa said.”These young adults have so much to give. They’re loyal. They’re on time. They work hard. They just want the same opportunities that everybody else has,” Vanessa said.Many of the art and t-shirts sold in the thrift shop are created by adults supported in the foundation. “We create t-shirts that you will find on the wall here when you walk in, and it starts as a sketch,” Vanessa said. “It’s a fundraiser. It’s also a way our artists get their art out there, their name out there.”The coffee shop is a barista-training program. “We have 6 baristas that come up with the menu. The theme is flamingoes. Flamingoes are just happy and upbeat, so we created the theme like as a take on Palm Springs, Joshua Tree,” Vanessa said. “They just love to create. They love the coffee shop vibe. This is training for them. They get their food handling certificate, their food and health certificates.”The Fly Brave Foundation also has a theatre program. “It started as building social skills through improv and acting,” Vanessa said. “Watching these actors, our participants, get together and go to movies and dinner and out of town and have trips. They have friends and meaningful connections.”Fly Brave Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its first 5K run for Autism. The sold-out race is happening on Saturday, May 17, at Crocker Park. People can sponsor runners to cover their race fees.”We are just inviting our entire community to come out, our neurodiverse community, city leaders, business owners, everybody to come together to cross the finish line,” Vanessa said.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

The Fly Brave Foundation is celebrating 10 years of supporting adults with developmental disabilities after they age out of school.

“We created a nonprofit in our living room with hope, and a prayer and $600 in our pocket,” said Vanessa Bieker, the founder of Fly Brave Foundation.

Mother and son duo Vanessa Bieker and John Almeda started the foundation in January 2016 in response to the need of continued support.

Vanessa explained the impact aging out of school had on her son, John.

“He woke up one day and the social support, the field trips, interacting with friends — his whole routine had changed. Building a bridge between aging out of school and entering adulthood is so vital for growth,” Vanessa said. “We all want a comfortable home, and a friend, and something purposeful to do every day. Here at Fly Brave, this is what we were built to do.”

In July 2021, Fly Brave Foundation expanded its outreach, opening a thrift and coffee shop on Broadway in Sacramento.

“We are a job training program for neurodiverse adults. They learn retail training, customer service, all aspects of working in a thrift store, and the coffee shop serves as barista training,” Vanessa said.

“These young adults have so much to give. They’re loyal. They’re on time. They work hard. They just want the same opportunities that everybody else has,” Vanessa said.

Many of the art and t-shirts sold in the thrift shop are created by adults supported in the foundation.

“We create t-shirts that you will find on the wall here when you walk in, and it starts as a sketch,” Vanessa said. “It’s a fundraiser. It’s also a way our artists get their art out there, their name out there.”

The coffee shop is a barista-training program. “We have 6 baristas that come up with the menu. The theme is flamingoes. Flamingoes are just happy and upbeat, so we created the theme like as a take on Palm Springs, Joshua Tree,” Vanessa said. “They just love to create. They love the coffee shop vibe. This is training for them. They get their food handling certificate, their food and health certificates.”

The Fly Brave Foundation also has a theatre program.

“It started as building social skills through improv and acting,” Vanessa said. “Watching these actors, our participants, get together and go to movies and dinner and out of town and have trips. They have friends and meaningful connections.”

Fly Brave Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its first 5K run for Autism. The sold-out race is happening on Saturday, May 17, at Crocker Park. People can sponsor runners to cover their race fees.

“We are just inviting our entire community to come out, our neurodiverse community, city leaders, business owners, everybody to come together to cross the finish line,” Vanessa said.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel