MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — What started as a birthday tradition has grown into a nonprofit that’s helping children in foster care envision brighter futures.

Seventeen-year-old twins Constanza and Marianne Dominguez founded Mentoring Miracles, a student-led nonprofit that connects foster youth with career exploration opportunities and mentors, inspired by their Christian faith and the childhood experiences of a family member who grew up in foster care.

The South Florida sisters say they first discovered a passion for giving back when their mother suggested they donate their birthday gifts instead of keeping them.

“I think the beautiful part about it is that when we went to donate our gifts, we got to play with the kids that are our age,” Constanza said.

The twins were just in the third grade when they began donating gifts to children at His House Children’s Home. What started as a one-time act of kindness quickly became an annual tradition.

Years later, while in the ninth grade, they learned that their uncle, Bill Edwards, had spent much of his childhood in foster care.

“That year, in the ninth grade, we found out that my uncle grew up in the foster care system,” Constanza said.

Edwards said he entered foster care before his first birthday and experienced both positive and difficult placements growing up.

“I was placed in foster care for the first time before the age of 1,” Edwards said. “Moving from different homes, you do experience the good and the bad.”

His story inspired the sisters to think beyond donations and create an organization focused on helping foster youth prepare for the future.

“We came up with Mentoring Miracles because we are very faith-based,” Marianne said. “They are miracles, these kids.”

Today, Mentoring Miracles is run entirely by high school students and focuses on exposing children in foster care to careers they may not otherwise have the opportunity to explore.

“We acknowledged the resources that we had, and we wanted to give them those same opportunities that we grew up with,” Constanza said. “That’s how we had the idea to create these career days and career and internship exposure.”

The nonprofit has organized career-day field trips for youth at His House Children’s Home, giving them behind-the-scenes access to a variety of professions.

Participants have toured Miami International Airport, learned about aviation careers and visited Local 10 News, where they explored television production, met journalists and saw a live newsroom in action.

“It’s been incredible seeing the passion that they have and the potential that they have as well,” Constanza said.

For Edwards, watching his nieces create opportunities for children facing circumstances similar to his own has been especially meaningful.

“I feel lucky, blessed and really happy,” he said.

The sisters hope their uncle’s journey reminds foster youth that their circumstances do not define their future.

“He’s just an example of what these kids can become, of what these kids can do,” Constanza and Marianne said. “They are not limited by their background, and he is just proof of that.”

Mentoring Miracles plans to continue expanding its career exploration program with upcoming visits to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, PortMiami and Blue Origin’s operations hub on Merritt Island. Organizers are also encouraging local businesses to partner with the nonprofit by hosting future career-day experiences.

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