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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2015)
FosterClub PROGRAM OVERVIEW We are dedicated to providing a peer support network for children and youth in foster care and providing the tools, training and a forum to help young people secure a brighter future for themselves and the foster care system. We believe that young people in and from foster care deserve to be: • CONNECTED to their peers and supportive community: 40,000 members on fosterclub.org, access to local and national resources • EDUCATED 28 workshops and training with specialized curriculum and 7 publications for young people in care nationwide • REPRESENTED in front of system influencers at the federal and state levels that profoundly impact their lives: Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Experience, child welfare conferences, teen camps and more • INSPIRED through the stories of people who have succeeded after foster care. Did you know Steve Jobs was a foster kid? Experience = Expertise. The experiences young people have in foster care place them in a unique position to effect change within the system, inform and motivate their peers, build public awareness and create movement for improved care for abused and neglected children in foster care. Every two minutes, a child will enter foster care - a world filled with uncertainty, instability and loneliness. A world they didn't choose. For foster youth, finding supportive adults can make all the difference. Many supportive adults help foster youth connect with us, FosterClub. A few blocks from beach in Seaside, we connect with foster youth across the nation reaching over 30,000 youth from care by offering a peer support community that no one else in the country does. Why? Imagine you were removed from your home at the age of 10 because it was unsafe. You are brought to a stranger’s house to live. When can you go home? Where is your brother? The next eight years, you are moved from house to house. With those moves, you change schools. You start to lose count of how many schools you attended. This story, along with stories of isolation, not being wanted and disconnection, are common for children in foster care. FosterClub has the ability to give these youth a second chance and inspire their peers. Each summer, we bring 25 young adults from foster care to Seaside for our All-Star Internship Program. They will receive intensive educational, leadership, personal development and team-building trainings. They will come to Seaside individuals and leave advocates a part of a community working towards bettering the lives of those in foster care. Will you help us to welcome them to our community? We are looking for supportive adults in Clatsop County to help our young leaders while they are here for their summer internship. Ways to get involved: • Offer to teach a skill or trade like pottery or painting • Make a dinner • Donate a gas card, so we can pick them up from the airport • Get active with our young leaders! Take them for a hike. • Sponsor us, like Clatsop Towing did for this ad! (Thank you Clatsop Towing!) • Donate on fosterclub.org • Mail a check to 753 First Avenue, Seaside, OR 97138 FosterClub 753 First Avenue Seaside, OR 97138 Mission Statement: The FosterClub mission is to lead the efforts of young people in and from foster care to become CONNECTED, EDUCATED, INSPIRED and REPRESENTED so they can realize their personal potential and contribute to a better life for their peers. We vision a world where young people who experience foster care have what they need to thrive. CONTACT INFORMATION Erika Hamer erika@fosterclub.com 503-717-1552 FosterClub.org SPONSORED BY: Classic Bodywerks GIVING BACK 2015-16 • 17