This year our education team held virtual Friendsgiving holiday parties for all grade school and college youth. It was a fun, virtual social gathering, hosted in partnership with the Junior League of Los Angeles. In addition to playing games to foster cheer and a sense of community, prizes were also raffled off.
Our housing program staff …
Recently UFC alumni Carolina Wolf and our education staff teamed up to facilitate a workshop to equip our education foster students for the transition back to full-time, in-person learning. The time allowed for deep reflection on the past 17 months of remote and hybrid learning. Staff provided advice and tools to improve time management …
We are so excited to announce and celebrate our 2021 high school graduates! Foster youth face unique challenges in their educational journeys and as a result, many struggle to graduate high school. This has never been more true than during the 2020-2021 school year that fell in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why …
Recently, as part of the Pathways life skills program, we were excited to welcome a local gardener who encouraged youth to get involved with their local community garden as a way to improve overall wellness and healthy habits by growing and cooking their own food. They also learned about the power that community gardening has …
We want to give a special shout-out to the Junior League of Los Angeles for continuing to support our education program over the last year. JLLA provided scholarship support for two graduated seniors, Khalila and McKenna, and will assist with college applications in the fall. The JLLA team also supported our education team during Career …
The job market is continuing to improve but is still difficult for some of our new college graduates. Scholars is partnering with Career Journeys to host a series of workshops and individual coaching sessions called “Navigating the Pandemic Job Market” for our college students. Scholars partnered with Career Journeys last summer and the graduates who …
Despite the immense challenges our foster youth faced during COVID-19, 96% of our high school seniors graduated and 21 have been accepted to bachelor’s degree granting institutions. In addition, 19 scholars graduated college this year, with 7 community college students are transferring to bachelor’s degree granting institutions.
Recently, our team paraded in a colorful caravan all …
This Spring, we partnered with Children Now to survey a sample of LA County foster youth to better understand our youth’s experiences during distance learning and their thoughts about returning to in-person instruction. The results confirmed our concerns. Here are some of the survey results:
1 in 3 youth (35%) reported having no internet or bad internet
44% reported struggling …
Here’s how UFC has been adapting to youth’s needs through the pandemic.
In our Pathways housing program:
We’ve provided quarantine kits including safety equipment and food supplies to support youth in staying safe and keeping the community safe.
We are continuing to provide mental health services through licensed, experienced therapists as many youth are struggling with anxiety, isolation, …
This month, the Junior League of Los Angeles (JLLA) hosted a virtual workshop dedicated to informing the Los Angeles community about the child welfare system. More than 100 attendees had the opportunity to hear from a number of agencies and advocates throughout LA County, including three of our UFC Scholars. Our three Scholars, Jaloni West, …