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Actor Christian Bale helps build foster 'village' to keep siblings in foster care together

"This will be one of the things that I'll be most proud of when I draw my last breath."

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Christian Bale builds foster home to keep siblings together called Together California.

Actor Christian Bale has found a calling beyond Hollywood. TheBatman star, 51, opened up about his mission to keep siblings in foster care together through Together California, a foster home community under construction in Palmdale, California.

In an interview withCBS Sunday Morning, Bale shared how he became passionate about helping children in foster care, and more about the home's construction process. Citing research that nearly 75 percent of siblings in foster care are separated, Bale explained how terrible it made him feel.

"And so you imagine the trauma of that, you know? But added trauma to being taken from your parents, and then you lose your siblings, you know, that's just something that we shouldn't be doing," he told CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Tracy Smith.

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Bale did not grow up in foster care or have any personal ties to it. "I don't think you have to have any connection to foster care in your past. It's just about the basic understanding that as a society, how can we not take care of our children?" he said. "So I don't think it requires a connection. It just requires having a heart."

However, becoming a father 17 years ago to his daughter Emmeline with his wife Sibi Blažić (he also has a son, Joseph), changed his perspective. Bale began to look into foster care, and connected with a man in Chicago named Tim McCormick, who had run foster care homes for decades.

The duo created Together California, a unique model for foster homes. Siblings will stay together in individual houses around a central garden, and will be cared for by trained foster parents whose only job will be to look after them. It is a $22 million project, which "includes 12 homes, transitional housing, and a community center, aiming to provide stability and support for vulnerable children."

The home is being designed by architects AC Martin. They broke ground on the project in February 2024. "I love designing. I love architecture," Bale added. "So I adore the whole design process. And so actually seeing it really–coming to happen is just very, very exciting."

While Together California is still under construction, the goal is to welcome the first foster children early next year. With additional funding being raised (actor Leonardo DiCaprio is an investor), Bale is chomping at the bit to see it officially opened after 17 years in the making. "Ignorance is bliss. If I'd have known it would be 17 years [to open], I still would have done it," he says.

And for Bale, it's much more than a passion project. "This is something that when, you know, I'm closing my eyes for the last time. I wanna look and say...think about, 'Did I do some good? Did I make any changes in the world that were useful?' And this will be one of the things that I'll be most proud of when I, you know, draw my last breath," he said.

In another video shared by CBS Sunday Morning on Instagram, Bale called the project, "Transformative, magical and soulful. And it's going to change children's lives completely."

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The first concert of Taylor Swift's new tour was an epic night for these kids.

Are you a Taylor Swift devotee?

If so, you already know that the artist whose most earnest pop songs you belt out at karaoke is about to embark on a huge tour in Spring 2018. And if not — you probably still know.

Thanks to a load of publicity about the tour's kickoff, all of us probably know at least something about Swift's upcoming worldwide extravaganza — such as that she's using something called a "rocket sled" to torpedo herself from one side of backstage to another. Sounds terrifying. But hey, she's the professional.

Swift's first show of the tour was done for a select group of VIPs — a very special group of superfans.

On May 5, Swift played a private show in Arizona.  The attendees, all of whom had been sworn to secrecy, were 2,000 local foster kids and their families. And if you're thinking, "oh my god," let me assure you that's what was running through the invitees' minds as they opened the email from Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents (AZAFAP).

"We first thought this was a spam [email] or something," Janine Waldera tells me. She took her grandchildren, whom she's adopted, to the show. When she accepted the invite, she says, she also agreed to abide by strict rules of confidentiality. No phones, no cameras, and no telling anyone about the specifics of the show. (So if you came to this post looking for a setlist, friend, stay for the feels instead.)

Photo by Janine Waldera, with permission.

The show itself? Like nothing anyone expected. AZ Central reports that concert-goers were greeted with tables of snacks and drinks at the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Then Swift came out, said hello, and asked if anyone would mind if she did her entire two-hour show. Unsurprisingly, everyone held their peace.

"It was overwhelming to see so many people that came," Waldera told AZ Central. "[Swift] told all of us that we had more energy than if the stadium was filled and a sold-out concert. Kids were so excited, screaming, dancing, and they let everybody walk around."

But no one had seen anything yet: Swift, who's been a lighting rod in popular culture  ("do we love her or do we hate her?" seems to be the concept behind her latest album) had a few more surprises. After giving the kids and their families even more sugar — she served pizza and brownies and, oh my god, this show sounds amazing because do you know how much that stuff costs at the stadium? — she took the time to meet with everyone. In the parking lot, AZ Central reports, Swift's parents handed out souvenirs.

The concert was may more than just entertainment.

Sure, the kids had a great time with Swift, but they also got to meet other kids who have had similar experiences. And the invitation, AZAFAP president Kris Jacober told reporters, was "like a miracle." One that's especially poignant in May — National Foster Care Month.  

"The association's been around for 13 years," she said, "and nobody has ever made us an offer like this. I know this doesn’t happen every day. We just are deeply appreciative of her kindness toward our families."

Swift was sending an important message with her show: Foster families deserve to be seen and recognized.  

Waldera tells me that one of the best parts of the evening was families making connections with each other. "It was a great way of networking with other families," she says. As for the kids? "It's a memory my children will always cherish."

"There was no way we could have afforded to take our children to this amazing concert," she enthuses. "Taylor was so generous with her time, and she made all the kids there feel like they were rock stars!"

Photo courtesy of Janine Waldera.

Call it what you want (isn't that a Taylor Swift song?), but the night was truly magical. And even if you aren't a fan of her music, we can all be fans of the fact that Taylor Swift is an artist who gives back to the community.

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Foster kids deserve better. These dads know it. So Ellen helped them out.

Guests on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" often get neat surprise gifts for their selfless deeds, and it's not all that rare for there to be some tears, too.

But some guests and their stories are really something special.

Rob and Reece Scheer — a Maryland couple DeGeneres calls the "dads of the year" — started a nonprofit called Comfort Cases to help kids in foster care. When they sat down with DeGeneres to share their powerful story, it became clear just how much these two dads' life work truly matters for thousands of kids who don't get the love and care they deserve.

As she often does, DeGeneres ended the interview by giving Rob and Reece two well-deserved gifts that left the couple downright speechless.

Watch the emotional clip from "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" below:

If Rob and Reece's story sounds familiar, that may be because they were profiled in an Upworthy video that went viral back in February.

The couple started Comfort Cases to make sure kids in foster care have things to call their own.

The nonprofit provides new duffel bags and backpacks to kids in foster care filled with items they can bring with them wherever they go — pajamas, a soft blanket, a book, stuffed animals, a hygiene kit, and more — so they aren't forced to rely on trash bags to carry their belongings, like many are forced to do.

Right now, Comfort Cases provides services to kids in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. But seeing how great the need is — over 670,000 kids spent time in foster care in the U.S. in 2015 — they hope to eventually take their cause across all 50 states.

At the end of the interview, DeGeneres gave Rob and Reece the most incredible gift of all: a check for $10,000, as well as $40,000 worth of luggage courtesy of Samsonite.

Needless to say, Rob and Reece were over the moon.

GIF via "The Ellen DeGeneres Show"/YouTube.

To learn more about Comfort Cases, visit the organization's website.

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The incredible story you didn't hear about the gay dads featured in American Girl magazine.

More than 10,000 comfort packs later, Rob Scheer continues fighting for foster kids.

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You may have heard about Amaya, the 11-year-old girl with two dads who was featured in American Girl magazine.

And you may have heard about the backlash that came in response to Amaya's article.

But what you may not have heard about is the most important part of all: the work Amaya, along with the rest of her family, is doing to help the estimated 400,000 U.S. children currently living in the foster care system.


11-year-old Amaya is involved in the Comfort Cases cause. Photo by Joyce Smith.

The whole story stars with Amaya's father, Rob Scheer.

When he was 10 years old, Rob lost both of his parents and entered the foster care system. At 17, he became homeless. Without family and without permanent shelter, he made do by sleeping in cars or restaurant bathrooms before eventually joining the military. All the while, he carried his belongings in a garbage bag, standard practice for foster kids.


Things eventually worked out for Rob, and now he's paying it forward. Photo by Joyce Smith.

More than three decades later, Rob found himself confronted once again by those same garbage bags.

He went on to become a successful businessman; along the way, he fell in love with a man named Reece. Eventually, the two decided to start a family.

More than six years ago, as Rob and Reece began taking steps to adopt a child, the couple received a call from a social worker, asking if they'd be interested in fostering a sister (Amaya) and brother (Makai), ages 4 and 2. They said yes, and the next day, the two children arrived at their home — with garbage bags in tow.

"I believe we need to make a change in how we think about children in foster care. So often, they're thought of as 'problem children,' but they deserve so much more."

Soon after, the couple took in two more foster children — boys Greyson and Tristan. Rob and Reece eventually adopted all four.

Left to right: Greyson, Rob, Makai, Amaya, Reece, and Tristan. Photo by Joyce Smith.

"I want to make sure no child is given a trash bag again," Rob told me by phone.

That was the motivation behind his and Reece's nonprofit, Comfort Cases. The volunteer-fueled group works to compile and distribute care packs for children entering foster care. "Something to call their own," Rob said.

"No other child should ever arrive at a foster home like this," he says. "I believe we need to make a change in how we think about children in foster care. So often, they're thought of as 'problem children,' but they deserve so much more."

Each Comfort Case care pack includes things like a backpack, a set of pajamas, a blanket, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a stuffed animal, and a hairbrush.

A sample Comfort Case. Photo by Joyce Smith.

Since starting in late 2013, Comfort Cases has distributed more than 10,000 packs to foster kids nationwide.

And while that's super helpful to the kids receiving them, the overall goal is to help these children find loving, caring, permanent homes.

"We as a community need to show [these kids] that we care for them and love them," said Rob. "They want what any of us want: to feel that we're loved and being treated like anyone else."

To do that, we need to stop stigmatizing children in the foster care system as somehow broken or less worthy of love.

A huuuuuge pile of Comfort Cases sits in a corner at a recent volunteer event. Photo from Comfort Cases.

November is National Adoption Month, and there's no better time to have a positive influence in a child's life.

Of course, not everyone can adopt or even foster a child. Not everyone has the means to donate to projects like Comfort Cases. What we all can do, however, is share success stories like that of the Scheer family. We can help treat these kids with the love and respect they all deserve.

May every child living without a permanent home find a warm, welcoming, and loving environment like this family. The world would be a better place for it.

Makai, Amaya, Tristan, and Greyson. Photo by Joyce Smith.

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