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Here When You Need Us

United Hearts Foundation provides food, diapers, wipes, formula, clothing, hygiene essentials, and other critical support to families and individuals throughout Montgomery and Prince George’s County.

Help a Family Today

Your support helps us provide essential items and immediate assistance to families facing difficult circumstances. Every donation and every volunteer makes a difference.

Our Programs & Support

Food & Basic Needs

How We Help

Our Mission

United Hearts Foundation is dedicated to empowering orphaned children, youth in foster care, and young adults transitioning into independent living. Through compassionate support, essential resources, mentorship, and life-skills development, we help vulnerable youth build stable, independent, and fulfilling futures.

Our belief is simple: Every child deserves to feel loved, supported, and empowered to succeed.

Baby & Child Essentials
Life Skills & Independent Living Development

This program would prepare teenagers in foster care, orphaned youth, and young adults aging out of the foster care system to become confident, self-sufficient adults.

The foundation  offers practical workshops, mentorship, community partnerships, and hands-on learning experiences. with our partners

We provide groceries, fresh food, hygiene products, clothing, and other everyday essentials to families experiencing hardship.

We provide diapers, wipes, formula, baby supplies, clothing, and other necessities to help parents care for their children.

Provided the Needs 

Providing Essentials. Restoring Dignity. Building Stability.

United Hearts Foundation seeks to ensure that vulnerable children and young adults have access to the everyday necessities they need to thrive.

Through generous donations and community partnerships, we aim to provide nutritious food, groceries, clothing, shoes, hygiene products, school supplies, and other essential resources to orphaned children, youth in foster care, and young adults transitioning into independent living.

Your donation can help provide:

  • Grocery bags and nutritious meals

  • Clothing, shoes, and seasonal essentials

  • Personal hygiene and self-care kits

  • School supplies and backpacks

  • Bedding, towels, and household necessities

  • Emergency essential-care packages

Every contribution helps provide comfort, dignity, and stability to a young person in need.

Food & Basic Needs

Baby & Child Essentials

Children entering foster care or experiencing family separation often face uncertainty and may arrive at a new home with very few personal belongings.

United Hearts Foundation aims to provide essential items that bring comfort, security, and a sense of belonging during these difficult transitions.

With the support of donors and community partners, we can help children and foster families access necessities that support their health, well-being, and daily lives.

Your donation can help provide:

  • Diapers, wipes, formula, and baby care supplies

  • Age-appropriate clothing, shoes, and pajamas

  • Backpacks, duffel bags, and personal belongings

  • Blankets, bedding, and comfort items

  • Books, educational toys, and school supplies

  • Welcome kits for children entering foster care

  • Birthday and holiday care packages

Your generosity can help turn an uncertain moment into one filled with comfort, compassion, and hope.

Life Skills & Independent Living Development

Services offer to our youth

Service 1

Financial Literacy & Money Management
 

Teach youth how to open bank accounts, create budgets, understand credit, manage debt, save money, and avoid financial scams.

Example: A monthly workshop where participants practice managing a $2,000 monthly income, including rent, groceries, transportation, and savings.

Service 2

Everyday Living & Household Management

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Teach cooking, grocery shopping, meal planning, cleaning, laundry, basic home maintenance, and time management.

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Example: A hands-on cooking class where youth prepare three affordable, nutritious meals and create a weekly grocery list.

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Service 3

 Employment & Career Readiness

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Offer résumé writing, mock interviews, job-search assistance, professional communication, and workplace etiquette.

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Example: Partner with local employers to host career-readiness workshops and mock interview sessions.

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Service 4

 Housing & Independent Living Readiness

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Teach how to search for apartments, understand rental agreements, establish utilities, communicate with landlords, and maintain a safe home.

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Example: A simulated apartment-rental experience where youth calculate move-in costs and review a sample lease.

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Community Events

These gatherings help families feel connected and supported, fostering a stronger community for everyone.

UPCOMING EVENT

Fentanyl Overdose Prevention & Awareness

Join United Hearts Foundation for a community event focused on fentanyl overdose prevention and awareness. Learn about the dangers of fentanyl, how to recognize an overdose, and lifesaving steps you can take. Together, we can raise awareness, reduce stigma, and help protect our community.

1. Lifesaving Narcan & Emergency Response Training
Engage with medical experts to master identifying opioid overdoses and executing emergency protocols, including the use of naloxone. We provide complimentary training and vital safety resources.
2. Empowerment & Substance Awareness for Youth
Attend specialized workshops designed for foster youth and young adults. We navigate topics like fentanyl risks, peer influence, and building a foundation for healthy, informed choices.

A Place for Supporters

Calling donors, volunteers, and community partners: join the mission to stabilize families in Maryland.

Collective Outcomes

These results are made possible by the bridge between our generous donors and dedicated community partners helping families in crisis.

400+

Families Assisted Together

Hundreds+

Items Distributed in Response

15+

Dedicated Community Partners

SSL Hub

Student Support for Communities

A Safe Home for Maria & Her Children

After a long struggle to find a place to belong, Maria finally found a steady hand to hold. While we don’t have buildings of our own, we made sure she wasn't alone. We stayed by her side, connecting her with partners and walking with her every day until she and her children were safe in a home to call their own.

These stories of resilience demonstrate the life-changing power of support—for the families who receive it and the donors who make it possible.

Real stories from the families and communities the foundation has helped, showcasing the resilience and strength found through collective support.

Stories of Hope

A New Start for David

When David arrived, he felt lost in a new world without the right words to find his way. We stood by him side-by-side, searching for work, filling out forms, and opening doors to new opportunities. With a little guidance and a lot of heart, he found his footing and is now a proud business owner.

Community Resilience in Action

When hard times hit our neighbors, we step in to share food, warm meals, and daily basics with families in shelters. We also pack special bags of hope for kids in foster care and our elderly friends.

Contact for Families & Supporters

Get in Touch

We're here to support families, connect people with resources, and welcome volunteers and donors who want to make a difference.

Community Resource Center
201 North Frederick Avenue, Suite E, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Administrative Office
15757 Crabbs Branch Way, Derwood, MD 20855
📞 (240) 956-5522 | 📧 info@unitedheartsfoundation.net

Request Assistance

This form is for families and individuals in crisis requesting food, formula, or essential resource assistance.

Type of Assistance
Urgency

Consent

Assistance Request Disclaimer United Hearts Foundation is committed to supporting individuals and families in need through available community resources and charitable donations. Submission of this request form does not guarantee assistance. All requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to the availability of funds, donated items, volunteer resources, program guidelines, and organizational priorities. United Hearts Foundation reserves the right to approve, deny, defer, or limit assistance requests at its sole discretion. Assistance may not be available for all requests, and eligibility for assistance may vary based on current resources and community needs. By submitting this form, you certify that the information provided is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and understand that submission of a request does not create any contractual obligation or guarantee of services from United Heart Foundation. as the consent feater before submitting the form

Meet Svetlana Portolano Borges
Founder & Executive Director

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Svetlana’s story is one of resilience, faith, and turning hardship into purpose.

Born in Ukraine, Svetlana spent part of her childhood in an orphanage, where she witnessed firsthand the effects of poverty, uncertainty, and growing up without the stability every child deserves. Her life changed when she and her four sisters were adopted by an American family and given an opportunity to begin a new chapter.
 

Building a life in America came with challenges of its own, but through perseverance, hard work, and faith, Svetlana continued moving forward. Today, she is a wife, mother, business owner, and the Founder & Executive Director of United Hearts Foundation.

She never forgot where she came from—or the people who helped her when she needed it most.

That experience became the heart behind United Hearts Foundation. Svetlana founded the organization to provide families and individuals facing difficult circumstances with essential resources, compassionate support, and connections to services that can help them move toward greater stability.

For Svetlana, this work is deeply personal. It is about turning her own experiences into a way to serve others and extending the same compassion that once helped change the course of her life.

Her journey is a reminder that hardship can become purpose—and one act of compassion can create a ripple effect far beyond what we may ever see.

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