With Giving Tuesday approaching on Dec. 2, Fostering Youth Independence has launched its year-end giving campaign to support local foster youth aging out of the L.A. County foster system without ever having the support of a permanent home and family.

Together, FYI staff, volunteer Allies and a community of support are changing the lives of Santa Clarita’s foster youth by encouraging, guiding and equipping them to reach their educational goals and become successful, independent adults. Funds raised will help better the lives of the currently 85 local foster youth FYI serves.

This year donations to FYI will go even further with a dollar-for-dollar match up to $35,000 through the end of the year, made possible by the generous gifts from its matching donor team made up of its board of directors and other community benefactors.

“At FYI, we don’t host expensive galas or golf tournaments,” said Carolyn Olsen, FYI’s executive director and co-founder. “Instead, we focus on one annual campaign where we ask individuals to be generous, with 100 percent of every dollar raised going directly to serve foster youth in Santa Clarita. The funds raised during our year-end campaign fuel programs, Ally relationships and events that support youth 365 days a year, including tutoring and academic support, college and career guidance, safe housing assistance, financial literacy coaching, driver’s license support, mental health resources and emergency aid when the unexpected happens.”

Olsen further explained that FYI’s impact doesn’t just stop with the youth. Because of FYI’s support plus the encouragement from a paired volunteer Ally, these remarkable and resilient youth are also making life better for everyone around them.

“By helping these young adults break cycles of abuse and poverty and supporting their educational goals, we have seen them become nurses and healthcare workers caring for countless patients and their families. They have become teachers shaping young minds in classrooms year after year, and future attorneys who are inspired to fight for justice for those who are often unheard. They are brave individuals in the armed forces who are serving and protecting our country and they are creating better futures for their own children,” she said.

Here are some of the ways a donation can help make an immediate impact for a local foster youth and, ultimately, extend that impact into homes, communities and future generations:

$25 covers the cost of an item a youth needs to learn a trade (e.g., safety goggles, welding gloves or scrubs)

$50 pays for a tank of gas so a youth can get to work or school

$75 pays for assistance with financial aid applications along with monitoring and follow-up to ensure students receive all financial aid for which they qualify

$100 supplies one week’s worth of groceries for a youth facing financial hardship

$150 pays for a behind-the-wheel driving lesson so a youth can get a driver’s license

$250 provides a two-night emergency stay at a motel or help with rent for a youth facing homelessness

$300 provides “Welcome Home” assistance to purchase household furnishings for youth moving into a new place

“Any amount donors invest in FYI will be leveraged to empower youth to succeed,” Olsen said, and concluded with three ways to give:

1. Donate through FYI’s website at www.fyifosteryouth.org/donations. Make an impact all year long by becoming a monthly recurring donor, or make a one-time investment.
2. Mail a check to FYI, P.O. Box 801604, Santa Clarita, CA 91380.
3. Give from a Donor Advised Fund (DAF).

Further information about Fostering Youth Independence can be found on www.fyifosteryouth.org.

FYI is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. FYI’s federal tax ID number is 82-1034101.

About Fostering Youth Independence

FYI is the largest Santa Clarita-based nonprofit supporting local foster youth who have aged out of the L.A. County foster care system without being adopted or reunified with their birth parents. FYI addresses the serious challenges faced by these youth, which include not finishing high school or pursuing higher education, homelessness and incarceration. FYI offers local foster youth numerous resources to help overcome past traumas, complete an education, gain employment and become successful, independent adults.

FYI currently serves 85 transition age (16-25 years) foster youth in the Santa Clarita Valley and has supported 200 local youth since its inception in 2017. It assigns each youth a caring adult volunteer Ally and a coordinator to help them set and achieve goals in areas such as education, employment, housing, finances, health, transportation, assistance with college applications, enrollment and class registration, and referrals to resources for food, housing, health, mental health and employment. It also provides emergency financial assistance when an unexpected expense such as a car repair threatens to derail a youth’s educational plans. FYI offers The Study Place for learning support and tutoring, a Ready, Set Drive! program to assist youth in obtaining their driver’s license, bimonthly group therapy sessions called “C.H.A.T”, personalized Money Matters financial literacy education, hosts events throughout the year where the youth can connect with other youth and Allies to create a community of support, and partners with College of the Canyons for referrals and counseling. It also provides school supplies, holiday gifts and household items for youth moving into new homes with few possessions.