The Harvey G. Foster Award - 2023: Jeffrey Faine ’03
Jeffrey Faine ’03
In recognition of his dedication to providing life-changing mentorship, education, and support for young people transitioning out of foster care, Jeffrey Faine ’03 is honored with this award.
Faine, a former University of Notre Dame All-American center and retired NFL veteran, was born to a single teenage mother whose parents forced her to place him for adoption at birth. Seven days after he was born on April 6, 1981, he went home with Lee and Finnis Faine, a loving and supportive couple who adopted him as their own. Though he avoided placement into a foster care system often characterized by neglect, Faine has since used his story as motivation to help young adults aging out of foster care or experiencing uncontrollable circumstances at home or in their community.
Faine opened The Faine House in 2011, a 7,000-square-foot facility in the Pine Hills community of Orlando, Florida, which hosts 10 private bedroom suites for 18- to 23-year-olds who are in desperate need of access to safety, stability, opportunity, and mentorship. Each young adult sets their own financial, occupational, and educational goals and participates in a curriculum designed to heal and empower them to independence. Since its inception, 107 teenagers have completed the program and in 2022, the organization reorganized as The Faine House, Inc., an independent 501(c)(3) organization, extending its impact to the larger community.
In addition to his work at the Faine House, Faine has also become a successful entrepreneur in retirement, serving as the Managing Partner of Enhanced Funding Solutions and EFS Life, and is president of the Faine Group, which has business interests in several different industries.
Faine maintains deep ties to Notre Dame, having helped organize a social entrepreneurship seminar for NFL players to promote his alma mater and serving on the Monogram Club Board of Directors. Faine assumed the role of Monogram Club vice president in the fall of 2022 and will begin a two-year term as president in 2024.
Faine resides in Maitland, Florida, with his wife, Brittnie, and sons Kai and Breck.