Selfless Love: Why Ashley Brown Chose to Help Thousands of Children Instead of Having Her Own

“We chose not to have children because we thought we could help more children by not having our own.”

For Ashley Brown, founder of the Selfless Love Foundation, that choice became her life’s mission. Ashley and her husband Ed committed themselves to helping foster children find stability, support and forever families instead of creating a traditional family of their own. What started as a simple idea discussed during their engagement eventually developed into an organization that has improved the lives of foster children in Florida. 

Brown clarified that the amount of sacrifice and dedication she and her husband had made astounds a lot of people. However, she sees her job as a privilege rather than a burden.

“People say, ‘We can't believe you've dedicated your life.’ And my response to that always is, ‘Are you kidding me? Like, I feel so lucky that I'm able to do this work.’ And I really do believe that this is God's plan. You know, my plan for Selfless Love was so much smaller than what his plan for Selfless Love is.”

Brown has a strong personal connection to foster care advocacy. Having been adopted herself, she has been driven to support kids in finding long-term families. After working with older youth in foster care, a demographic that the adoption system sometimes ignores, her husband developed a similar passion. Rather than requesting wedding presents, they founded the Selfless Love Foundation together more than 11 years ago. 

Browns Harbor, a supportive housing community in Pembroke Pines for young adults aged 18 to 23 who have aged out of foster care, is one of the organization's most successful initiatives. Brown saw firsthand the emotional toll that instability had taken on many of the residents when she initially joined the program. 

“And I'll never forget asking a young boy who his roommate was, and he said, ‘I don't know his name.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean? You don't know your roommate's name?’ And it was literally because it was a revolving door of people in and out of their lives that they didn't want to invest. ”

Moments like that showed Brown the true yearning for consistency that foster youth hold. At the time some occupants had only a mattress on the Browns Harbor floor. Currently, the program offers furnished residences, opportunities to gain academic experience and a sense of community. 

The Selfless Love Foundation stands out for its dedication to letting foster children influence the system on their own. According to Brown, individuals who have experienced foster care are the most familiar with the issue and deserve to be included in its resolution. Florida became the first state in the nation to enact legislation protecting the online photos of children seeking adoption due to the organization's successful advocacy. 

Brown claims that despite the organization's ongoing national expansion, family has always been at the core of its objective. Selfless Love exists to ensure that no child feels forgotten, whether that means assisting kids in finding adoptive parents or acting as a family extension for young adults who have grown out of care. 

Through her selfless actions, Ashley Brown is changing lives, and creating second chances for children.