Youth and young adults in six HandMade classes in NYC and L.A. create and market their own line of crocheted goods which have been sold in Nordstrom, American Eagle as well as online at fosterpride.org. 100% of proceeds from sales go directly to these talented youth who run this small business, gaining creative and entrepreneurial experience.

These awards are given to students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate college programs. They support everything from full tuition to textbooks to a lamp for a student’s dorm room and more. Students in both the Internship and Blavatnik Scholarship programs rely on Foster Pride mentors for guidance and support.

I Made It Myself after school art classes are held at foster care agencies and partner agencies of underserved communities, where elementary and middle school youth develop analytic skills that improve classroom performance in everything from science to vocabulary building.

Foster Pride youth, who are 65% Black and 30% Hispanic, often lack connections to snag a good internship. Foster Pride matches students with internships—at the NYC Law Department, the Guggenheim Museum, AMC-TV and more—which provide them income, a sense of purpose, the opportunity to explore interesting fields and in some cases, can lead to a full-time job.

These classes take place at foster care agencies when children 3-14 have supervised visits with their birth parents, many of whom they see only during these times. Art can be frustrating and messy—this program helps teach parents how to transform that frustration into an opportunity to collaborate and bond with their children and to interact with them in a way that will help their children increase language and verbal skills.

Foster Pride students get a first-hand look at different career opportunities by industry experts. They are taught communication skills development, making a great impression at interviews, and learning how your social media footprint can impact your future.

These workshops help youth develop the money management skills they need to prepare for economic self-sufficiency. Students receive a monthly stipend, providing hands-on experience in goal planning, budgeting, avoiding credit card debt and more.

50% of children in foster care will never graduate high school. Less than 4% of youth in foster care graduate college. Almost 70% will end up on food stamps. 7 out of 10 unhoused people in NYC were once in foster care. 100% of our College Scholars graduate from 4-year and graduate school programs with the help of our programs.

Youth are afforded the opportunity to go to Broadway shows and openings, art exhibitions and more. When we attended the NYC Ballet Gala, it was the first time that some students had even seen Lincoln Center. NYC mayor Eric Adams was one of the speakers and one student, Massama, video-taped his speech. “My poli sci teacher will never believe I was here and got to see this in person,” he said.