Blog

ASP Coach Kat Foley Shares How Successful Coaching Leads to Successful Students

FC2S Staff | March 4th, 2015

As an Academic Success Program coach with Foster Care to Success (FC2S), I am rewarded with seeing my students grow and blossom throughout their college years, while experiencing tremendous personal growth myself through these relationships. I love being a part of their academic and everyday lives as a coach, sounding board, encourager, editor, and support structure. I love seeing the world through their eyes!

This unique volunteer opportunity is in line with my education, experience, and interests through serving others. I love working with foster youth of diverse cultures who have aged out of the system, as I relate easily to this age group. My education and clinical experience are in cognitive behavioral therapy, and FC2S operates on a cognitive construct. This organization is a good fit for me because it utilizes both my natural and acquired talents and skills.

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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

FC2S Staff | March 2nd, 2015

Today is Dr. Seuss’s Birthday!

The renowned children’s book author continues to inspire millions of youth with his timeless writings—including foster students! Dr. Seuss’s first book, And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by 27 publishers, which teaches a great lesson to try, try again!

Did you know books like Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hatches the Egg and What Was I Scared Of? all have encouraging messages about life, embracing diversity, overcoming challenges and trying new things? For decades these books and many more have helped spread positive messages throughout the foster care community— our students also love them!

So, to honor this special day, FC2S would like to share a snippet from one of Dr. Seuss’s most encouraging books, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!”

“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
Kid, you’ll move mountains.”

“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss and thank you for helping inspire so many foster students to “move mountains.”

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New Smart Phone App Geolocates Resources For L.A. County Foster Youth

FC2S Staff | February 25th, 2015

Calling all foster youth in L.A. County! Alliance for Children’s Right has launched a new app called Know Before You Go. B4UGO allows current and former foster youth in L.A. County to stay connected, “with a quick tap on your phone, you can be virtually linked to a lifeline of resources, tools, supports and advocates whether you are in Los Angeles, Lancaster, Long Beach or anywhere in the county.”

Check out its features below:

B4UGo Key Features

• GPS mapping of services near you, including transitional housing, shelters, food banks, schools, jobs and more.

• Links to helpful resources and organizations that offer programs for transition-age foster youth in L.A. County.

• Optional sign-up for alerts and notifications when a new program opens up, special offers for foster youth, -Deadlines for school, dates for job fairs and access to other helpful tips.

• Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• WiFi capable, so you can use it at a WiFi hotspot even if your data/voice plan is not on.

• Available for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry phone

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Mentoring Foster Youth Could Help Postively Impact Their Mindset

FC2S Staff | February 23rd, 2015

Great blog post from CASA’s CEO Michael Piraino on how we can transform foster youths’ trajectory by changing their mindset. Our foster care system can cause traumatic and adverse childhood effects, resulting in a “fixed” mindset where a child assumes failure to be permanent versus a “growth” mindset where a child accepts failures as challenges to overcome.

One of Piraino’s recommendations to encourage more “growth” mindsets includes, “positive role models and consistent, stable and appropriate relationships with adults. In particular, having a relationship with a caring adult outside the family has a meaningful impact on an at-risk child’s well-being.”

Are you interested in contributing to a positive impact on a foster youth? If you believe everyone deserves the opportunity to overcome, check out our opportunities to volunteer as a mentor or coach for a foster youth.

Together we can see a fixed problem grow into immense opportunity.

Photo by: Forte

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More Than…

FC2S Staff | February 12th, 2015

Many things inspire people to volunteer. It may be a newspaper article that pulls your heartstrings, wise words from a mentor, or a gift you are given just when you need it most. It’s More Than an article, More Than a word, or More Than a gift – it’s the catalyst that inspires you to give of your time, energy, or money.

We call this inspiration a More Than moment.

Foster Care to Success has created the More Than a Box campaign to recognize the moments that inspire people to volunteer.

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How Will You Be Seen In 2015?

FC2S Staff | January 2nd, 2015

Happy New Year!

As 2015 begins, many people have new year’s resolutions. Losing weight, saving money and finding a better job are very popular, but what about setting some online goals for this year?

In 2014, 3 billion people used the internet with more than half of them accessing social media. A whopping 4.75 billion items were shared daily on Facebook alone. That’s a ton of content sharing!

And employers are getting in on the action too. Last year, 93 percent used social media to recruit candidates with 73 percent actually hiring someone through a social network.

As the popularity of social media background checks increases, now more than ever is the time to protect your online reputation by filtering the content you share. How does one do that, you ask? Foster Care to Success has an answer!

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Be Safe in the New Year

FC2S Staff | December 30th, 2014

Celebrating the New Year? Ring it in safely! Have fun and be safe!

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DIY Holiday Gifts On a Budget

FC2S Staff | December 22nd, 2014

Happy Holidays! In a mad dash to get your last minute holiday gifts together? Are you wondering how you’ll manage to keep from breaking the bank while spreading a little holiday cheer?

No worries, we’ve all been there! Our FC2S student, Rene, has created this video to help inspire creative, inexpensive, and most importantly thoughtful gift ideas, check it out:

We wish you a merry and cost efficient holiday season!

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Wishing Our Parenting Liason a Happy Retirement!

FC2S Staff | December 18th, 2014

She walks into the office wearing her infectious smile; her cheery laugh greets your ears long before you see her.

She waves good morning as she heads for her desk, and as you wave back, suddenly, you’re happy because you know at some point in the day you’ll have a good laugh.

Laura Adkins is witty and fun; she’s lighthearted and is always sure to leave you hunched over in laughter. She brings a matchless atmosphere to Foster Care to Success (FC2S)—not just because of her personality, but because of her passion.

Laura is always there to answer questions and offer advice and guidance. She’s always ready and willing to give the best of herself to students and staff alike, because of her compassion and commitment to service.

Listening to her intently asking parenting students a question, walking them through creating a budget or taking down their address so she can send them books to read to their children, it is clear that Laura was created for the role of guiding parenting students down a pathway to success. The excitement in her voice when she talks about the successes of her parenting students and those “proud mama” moments when she shares their photos just proves it.

Now, after more than 10 years of playing such a significant role in not only the academic success but overall life success of parenting students, it’s time for Laura to take the advice she’s offered to countless others: elevate. It is with both gratitude and sadness that we say goodbye to our parenting liaison, Laura, as she takes the next step of her life into retirement.

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Survival Guide to Finals Week

FC2S Staff | December 5th, 2014

No matter your major, class load, or level of comfort within your class – come test day, there’s always some degree of stress. Here are some tips on how to manage that stress by better preparing yourself for test day and FINALS WEEK.

Day 1 of 5: Time Management

Finals Week is a challenging time during college; every day you have to know a semester’s worth of material. It’s certainly no easy feat, but here’s a survival guide to endure the last lap before winter break. You can do it! #survivefinals

Day 1 of 5: Time Management

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