Community • Entrepreneurial Foster Parent

No One Is Left Behind.

The SimpleJoy | SaralAnand programme is free for every family. But some families need more than free content.

They need a person.

Someone who shows up. Every week. With a genuine question.

That person is called an Entrepreneurial Foster Parent.

This is where you find them — or become one.

One Gap.One Bridge.

Why This Community Exists

Every child deserves one adult who listens with genuine curiosity. This community exists to make sure no child grows without that opportunity.

The Gap

The SimpleJoy | SaralAnand programme is built around the kitchen table conversation—a parent asking a child what they noticed that day, genuinely and consistently.

For some families, that conversation is difficult to sustain:

  • The single parent working two jobs arrives home with nothing left
  • The child in foster care has a carer managing many children at once
  • Young people living in group homes or orphanages.
  • The child in a group home or orphanage may never have had one consistent adult ask them a genuine question about what they noticed

The gap is real. The bridge is this community.

The Bridge

An Entrepreneurial Foster Parent is a volunteer adult who agrees to be the kitchen table for one child for one hour per week.

Not a parent. Not a tutor. Not a therapist.

A curious adult who shows up consistently with one genuine question.That is enough to change a child's developmental trajectory.

Download the Community Guide (PDF) →
Community Roles

The Four Roles In a Community

01

Family

Who

Any family — single parent or otherwise — who wants an Entrepreneurial Foster Parent for their child

What

Register your family. Describe your child (age, location, language). Be matched with a volunteer within two weeks.

Commitment

Open to you and your child — weekly sessions arranged around your schedule

02

Entrepreneurial Foster Parent

Who

Any adult who has one hour per week and genuine curiosity about a child who is not their own

What

Complete the 90-minute online training. Be matched with one child. Show up every week. Follow the programme structure.

Commitment

One hour per week · Minimum six-month commitment · Online or in-person

03

Care Institution

Who

Foster care agencies · Orphanages · Group homes · Residential care providers

What

Partner with the programme. Receive staff training, session materials, and documentation templates. Connect your children with volunteer Foster Parents.

Commitment

Zero cost to the institution · Staff training included · Full implementation support

04

Community Sponsor

Who

Corporations · Foundations · Individual donors · PTAs · Community organisations

What

Fund volunteer placements, staff training, and institutional partnerships. Each $1,000 funds one child for one full year.

Commitment

Tax-deductible · Impact report provided · Recognition on simplejoyfamily.com

How It Works

How the Matching Works

01

Register

Families and volunteers register at simplejoyfamily.com/community.

Takes five minutes. Name, location, availability, brief description.

No personal identifying information is shared before a match is confirmed.

02

Match

A human coordinator — not an algorithm — reviews both profiles.

A recommendation is made within two weeks.

Both the family and the volunteer can decline before the first session.

The first session is always an introduction. No commitment beyond it.

03

Begin

The volunteer completes the 90-minute training module if not yet done.

The first session happens. The programme structure begins.

If the match is not working after four sessions, either party can request a new match. No explanation required.

Registration

Begin Your Journey

Family Registration Form

Entrepreneurial Foster Parent

Volunteer Training

The 90-Minute Training Module

Every Entrepreneurial Foster Parent completes this module before their first session.

✓ What you are (and what you are not)
✓ The 60-minute session structure — minute by minute
✓ How to ask the noticing question and genuinely listen to the answer
✓ The Idea Notebook — how it works and why it matters
✓ Box Breathing — why every session starts here
✓ What to do when a session is difficult
✓ Safeguarding basics — your obligations and the programme's
✓ How to communicate with the family and the programme coordinator

Format: Online video • Self-paced • 90 minutes • Certificate on completion

Start the Training Module →
Single Parent Community

FOR SINGLE PARENTS — YOUR OWN COMMUNITY

You do not need an Entrepreneurial Foster Parent to benefit from this community.

The Single Parent Community is a private, supportive space for parents raising entrepreneurial children on their own. Share experiences, ask questions, celebrate small wins, and encourage one another every week.

  • Share what your child noticed this week.
  • Check in on the weekly pledge together.
  • Ask for support when a home challenge isn't working.
  • Find another parent doing the programme alongside you.
  • Celebrate your five-minute kitchen table conversations.
Join the Single Parent Community →
Single Parent Community
The Complete Identity of SimpleJoy | SaralAnand

Don't be awed. Create awe.

Motto

"Don't be awed. Create awe."

Core Truth

Entrepreneurs are not born. They are ingrained, nurtured, and raised.

Mission

No Entrepreneur Left Unsprouted.

Journey

Begun: August 15, 1982
Completed: July 4, 2026

These four lines are the complete identity. Everything else is an elaboration.

Community Schools Institutional PTA

Nivedita Shanker — co-author, thirty-eight years, the reason the work exists.

Vishnu Shanker & Nivedita Shanker • SimpleJoy | SaralAnand Foundation