Rooted of St. Joseph County, Inc.
About us
Rob and Tiffany Wagler
Executive Directors
Rob and Tiffany have been married since August, 2005. They have seven children. Rob and Tiffany served as foster parents from May, 2016 until October of 2021, when they decided to put all of their efforts into the ministry of Rooted—deciding that they could help more people through the broader reach that Rooted offered.
Rob and Tiffany moved to Centreville, Michigan in March of 2022. Rob is the Business and Accounting teacher at Schoolcraft High School in Schoolcraft, Michigan. Tiffany cares for their family at home, while also overseeing the day-to-day operations of Rooted. Rob and Tiffany have been serving the community in various ways for all of their married life together. They have served in Christian ministry, first at Brighton Chapel where Rob was the Youth Pastor and, later, the Pastor of Family Ministries, and then at West Mendon Community Church, where he served as Senior Pastor. Tiffany has worked with kids in a variety of capacities before taking on the Executive Director position with Rooted. She has been a gymnastics instructor, a program director, and office manager for a daycare, among other things. All of their jobs have entailed working with children and families, as well as organizing activities for the greater good of the community.
Rob has a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies from Grace College and Seminary. Tiffany has an Associate Degree in General Studies.
Rob and Tiffany have a great passion for people, especially people who are struggling with life’s difficulties. They have spent many years helping, counseling, and leading others. They are excited about the potential of what Rooted could do for Southwest Michigan.
The Story of Rooted
We began as foster parents in May of 2016. Since that time, our eyes have been opened to the reality of how broken our world really is. In our community, there is a great need for foster families that is not being met. We found that the foster care system also has other needs. Ones that we had never thought about. When children are removed from harmful and abusive situations, they are often not clean, possibly under nourished, and generally do not have much in the way of personal or hygienic belongings.
The foster care worker must do their best to feed and care for the child, while also doing the appropriate paperwork and seeking out the foster placement. This is a big undertaking, and it is all needing to be done during a great time of trauma for the children. Well, we decided we wanted to do something more to help! So we began Rooted of St. Joseph County, Inc., a non-profit gap ministry, dedicated to helping ease the transitions into foster care, and helping the system succeed.
Since we began, we have seen a great response to our desire to help. It has allowed us to expand a bit. We have opened ourselves up to Cass County, as well as St. Joseph County, better expanding our reach across Southwest Michigan. Additionally, we have branched out to offer assistance to children transitioning into guardianship and relative placements, as well as foster care placements. Our hope and desire is that we can continue to expand, both in physical areas that we cover and in services that we offer.
Our Board
Melissa Hallack
Maegan Millikan
Heidi Musolff
Darcy Borden
Braden Weber
Current Projects
1. Building Our Inventory
With our aim to supply every child entering a traumatic transition with all their basic necessities, it requires a lot of space and a lot of stuff! We have two storage facilities. First is our Rooted transition home, where we keep the majority of the bathroom and hygienic supplies, towels, and bed sheets, as well as one tub each of clothing for all sizes and ages of children (boys AND girls) from infant to adult XL. Our second storage facility is the upstairs level of the Freedom Center in downtown Centreville, across from the courthouse. Here we keep the majority of our clothing, shoes and seasonal gear (boots, coats, hats, etc.). We are so thankful for the donation of space that the Freedom Center offers us. This location houses hundreds of tubs of clothing, as well as racks of coats and shelves and shelves of shoes and boots.
With all of that, we are always looking for more inventory. We welcome donations of gently used clothing, except for underwear and socks, of which we only use new. We also welcome donations of other brand new items such as shoes, coats, jackets, shampoo, body wash, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, diapers, baby wash, etc.
2. intercepting displaced children
We intercept children who have been displaced and bring them to our storage facility. There, we provide them with their basic needs by letting them “shop” in the facility. In a time when there is no choice for that young person, Rooted offers these kids an opportunity to have something to control. Immediately when they come through our doors, we verbally acknowledge their tough day. We use language they are familiar with, and we don’t shy away from the truth of their difficult experience. We then explain that today, with us, will be different. Then, we allow them to choose the basket that will hold all of their toiletries. This small gesture allows the child to see into the heart of Rooted.
When a child is surrounded by love, generosity, stability, support, and understanding, success begins to rise. What was once was a horrible experience becomes a new chapter. Their experience at Rooted centers around what they prefer and like, which is often lacking in their past. This initial visit with us establishes trust and often takes away from the negative associations that are naturally brought about with removals.
3. The Rooted safe house
One central goal to Rooted’s initial ministry vision was to provide a central home location where children could be taken during their transition time. We wanted to offer a warm and safe home where a child could be cared for (fed, clothed, washed up, entertained) and where a case worker could take care of all of the required work necessary. This home would provide a respite prior to the child moving into a foster or placement home. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit at the beginning of this year. While this home presently exists and offers availability, health and safety parameters have made it unavailable as a utilized resource. We expect this to change soon! Much work and many improvements have been made to the home during the pandemic, and we are excited to see it get used!
P.O. Box 173 | Centreville, MI 49032
connect@rootedsjc.com
269-503-3907