Fostering Youth Independence has launched its year-end giving campaign to support local foster youth aging out of the Los Angeles County foster system without ever having the support of a permanent home and family.

On the heels of FYI’s annual “Friendsgiving” event the Santa Clarita Valley nonprofit is grateful for the community support it has received. In recognition of Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3, FYI asks again for help with FYI’s mission to assist foster youth in the SCV.

Funds raised will help the currently 85 local foster youth FYI serves as they work to complete a post-secondary education and also provide emergency assistance to these youth when unexpected expenses threaten to derail their path towards becoming successful, independent adults.

This year donations to FYI will go even further with a dollar-for-dollar match up to $30,000, made possible by the generous gifts from its matching donor team made up of its board of directors and other benefactors.

To illustrate the impact FYI can make supporting local foster youth, FYI’s co-founder and executive director Carolyn Olsen points to a text they received from a former FYI participant with whom they had lost touch.

His text message read:

“Hi Gina. I just wanted to know what you guys could help me with now that I’m 21. I’m seriously lost and if I don’t seek help now I doubt I’ll have a future.”

He was encouraged to come to the office and re-enter FYI the same day. FYI helped him enroll in a program to finish his high school diploma so he could pursue a trade program at College of the Canyons. He was paired with an Ally with whom he has grown very close, earned his driver’s license and moved into safe and stable housing, all thanks to FYI.

Grateful for the support and direction he received, he has been spreading the word about FYI. He recently referred friends from a group home where he lived while in foster care.

One referral, was a young man about to age out of the system. Almost 21 years old, he had no hope for the future. He did not have his driver’s license and would soon become homeless. He enrolled at COC, commuting by train to attend his classes. He joined FYI in July and was paired with a caring Ally. He participates in the “Ready, Set, Drive!” program to prepare for his driving test and he just moved into a room that FYI helped him find.

“We are grateful that he found hope in FYI. With their Allies alongside them and the FYI community surrounding them, these young men are on track for a successful future,” said Olsen. “And this is just one story out of many that shows how a caring community is able to help a struggling foster youth.”

Here are some of the ways a donation can help a foster youth succeed in school and become independent:

–$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,

There are three ways to give:

Donate through the website at www.fyifosteryouth.org/donations. Make an impact all year long by becoming a monthly recurring donor, or make a one-time investment.

Mail a check to FYI, P.O. Box 801604, Santa Clarita, CA 91380.

Give from your Donor Advised Fund (DAF).

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 SCV and has supported 191 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.

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

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