Sometimes we get such a potent reminder of why our work is so important, and why our students are so wonderful. Our scholarship question for returning students asks them to reflect upon the last year and plan for the next. After the first year, we always send them back their previous year’s essay so that they have something to go on. Ebony C, of Evansville, IN, has five children, the youngest with serious medical conditions, but she tries so hard and never gives up.

And what a wonderful New Year’s Resolution!

……

Last year, I set several personal and education goals for myself. I was shocked and proud to see how many I actually achieved. I had a goal to complete the Qualified Medications Aid (QMA) program. I completed that program in April, and I took the state test for my QMA license and passed. I have not used my QMA license since I got it, but it is still an accomplishment that I am proud of.

Another goal I had was to retake the Teas test. I had already taken it once, but I needed I higher score to apply for the Ivy Tech nursing program. I did retake the test. I was still not as pleased with my results, but they were high enough for me to proceed with my plans to apply for the program. Along with the applying to the program, my other goal was to be accepted. That was my biggest educational accomplishment last year. To be accepted into the program, and to start the Fall 2009 nursing class was the greatest. I also had goals about passing classes and studying hard. I managed to accomplish those goals. I knew I had to, because if I didn’t then the other goals wouldn’t have mattered.

As far as personal goals, I mentioned having more fun with my family, focusing on my family more, allowing my husband to assist me while I make our dreams come true, and preventing my habit of procrastination. I have been having more fun with my family, however it is still not as much as I would like. I have come to the understanding that this is temporary. Working and going to school takes up a lot of my time, but I will have plenty of time later to make this up to them. I have focused on my family more. They are my number one priority, and I think that they have always been. I was expecting to be able to reach a goal that I could give them all of my attention. That is just not going to happen right now. I think as long as I give them everything I can at this time; they will be okay.

As far as my procrastination, that is a goal that I accomplished in certain areas. For instance, I still find myself procrastinating when it comes to things I have to do on the computer. It does not matter if it is homework, or paperwork, or things like this essay. The computer is just not my favorite place to be. I have started a new habit that I think is helpful. For example, when I get on the computer because something is about to be due; I will do everything that I need to do on the computer that one night. That usually gets me through about two weeks. Other than that, I am staying on top of things. I thought that will keep my “to do list” small, but things are adding on as I am checking items off.

I think what worked for me last year was my planning ahead. I did a lot of planning and scheduling. I tried to keep everything in order. I plan to carry that over to this year, and hopefully it will continue to prove success. There are many things I want to change this year. Some of them, I wanted to change for a long time but have not been able to. One of my new personal goals is to get up at 6am every morning. I struggle with this a lot. I think if I get up early, then I will have more hours in my day to get things done. My mornings are very difficult. I have already tried working on this and so far no success. I am hoping I can get some help with this goal, because it is very important to me.

I failed one of my nursing classes last year. My goal this year is to pass that class and continue in the program. I know that studying and focus will be the basics to achieving this goal. I am ready, because I know that I can do it. Since I failed that class, my graduation has been pushed back until December of 2010. My next goal is to graduate in December. I think that is the biggest educational goal I have this year. I also plan to take my NCLEX exam after graduation and pass. Once I pass that test, I plan to get a job as a LPN. Other educational goals I have are: to take my ACT exam so I can apply for the two semesters LPN to RN program, apply to both of the local programs, and be accepted in one.

Some personal goals I have set for myself is to start my savings. I want to take a portion out of each check and put it in my safe. I want to have enough money to move into a bigger house saved at the end of the year. I have already started my savings. I bought my safe and put it in a place that I don’t go very often. I am trying that “out of sight, out of mind” theory. I will be very happy when I can be independent without needing help from agencies. My last personal goal is to smile more. That was my new year’s resolution, and it is a goal I am taking seriously. I have been happier since I started on that goal. I don’t think less bad things have been happening, but I think I am handling them better. I used to sit and think of all the messed up things that were going on around me. I still do that, but not as often. I think about more of the good things that are going on. I realized real quick that more positive things were happening than I knew. I think this goal will help me with the other goals. If I do them with a good attitude; my chances of accomplishment are higher.

I actually am looking forward to the rest of this year. Graduation is closer than it has ever been. I am excited to see what all happens, and how things will unfold. I am not expecting a perfect year or something out of a fairy tale. I am just ready to make one of dreams, that I feel like I have been working on FOREVER, come true. If that can happen this year; I will be the happiest person in the world. I will own 2010 as my year.

Every once in a while, OFA gets to hear back from our students, who have graduated from school and started a new life. We think it’s fun to know what our students are doing in life – we invest so much in them, it’s fantastic to know that there really are success stories in life.

Below is a letter recently received from Graduate Scholar Jennie T from Chapman University in Orange, CA. Jennie graduated with a Masters in Organizational Leadership in 2008.

Hello, Tina & Mary,

I wanted to give you both an update on what I’ve been doing the past year…not sure if your office likes to hear that info, but the things that are pertinent to helping other foster youth, etc. I’d like to share with you if that’s OK!

Part of 2008-2009 I moved back east to Lexington KY to help out my biological sisters for a time. I moved back to California in spring 2009 (it has been my home for 13 years now), and in the fall of 2009 I started a Development Associate VISTA Americorps position with a small homeless shelter called Colette’s Children’s Home, which serves homeless women and children in the Orange County, CA area. I’m loving my work here, and I’ve gotten a volunteer program up and running for them, assisted with a large fundraising event in November, and a host of other fundraising activities.

I have remained involved at Royal Family Kids’ Camps, Inc, and this will be my 11th year of participating in their national annual fundraising banquet on February 28th. I was actually invited to be a part of a video montage that has already been shot and will play during the evening, because this it is their 20th Anniversary Banquet and they are featuring various stories of volunteers and campers throughout their years of service. I’m also working on a volunteer project for them that includes developing a timeline of important dates in the history of child abuse prevention.

Lastly, in the Fall of 2009, I started my provisional (first) membership year in the Junior League of Orange County. I wanted to join the JL for a while but needed to finish graduate school first. The Junior League requires an 8 year commitment (one provisional year and 7 active years) so it is a huge commitment to take on. One of the primary reasons I joined was because the JL in Orange County’s primary focus has always been assisting foster youth–they have over 500 active women out in the community serving in various ways to support local nonprofits who are involved with area foster youth. I have LOVED my first JL year, and just got selected to serve in a vacant spot for this year on the Grants and Scholarships committee, and was informed this past weekend that I was selected to lead a committee for next year. The committee I was chosen for is the “Orangewood Academy” project–the Orangewood Academy is a new high school that is being developed and built in Orange County similar to San Pasqual in San Diego, and I will be the Junior League leader of our involvement in this project to determine how the Junior League will assist with this high school in coming years. I am MOST excited about this, as I just really feel like God has me in the right place at the right time and I’m going to be able to use my past experiences to help many others in significant ways who went through the same experiences I did. This new high school for foster youth really touches my heart because it was during high school that I was removed from my home and they were the most difficult years for me.

Sorry if this is long and rambling, but I have been meaning to send your office an “update” for a while. Please send this to whomever it would be appropriate to share this with. All of us former foster youth who you have invested in with your scholarships are just that much more equipped to go out and help others in big ways…obviously, I’ve had a heart for that for a while and am continuing to do that in big ways now that I’ve completed graduate school.

Thanks for all the letters, updates, holiday greetings, etc. They are truly appreciated and I smile every time I get them.

Blessings,

Jennie

…………..

Click here to learn how to sponsor a scholarship.

OFA’s scholarship recipients are a wide and varied group. While they all have one thing in common, a history that brings them to OFA, their passions bring accolades far beyond where they started. Isaiah Wilcox, OFA Scholarship recipient and a Junior at Morehouse College in Georgia, was recently featured in his local newspaper, The Champion Free Press.

Isaiah, we are so proud of you for the work you’re doing and can’t wait to find out where you’re headed.

…..

Ask Anil Lewis about Isaiah Wilcox and prepare for a long list of accolades. The young man is on fire. He’s accepted his blindness, and he’s moving forward, said Lewis, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia (NFBGA). He has a lot of energy, a lot of passion.

He’s a transformative leader. That energy and passion are part of the reasons Wilcox received NFBGA’s Keith Tonge Leadership Award at the Downtown Decatur Holiday Inn in October. Wilcox, who is president of the board of the Georgia Association of Blind Students (GABS), an organization that he brought from a membership of three students two years ago to about 50 today, according to Lewis.

Wilcox, 21, is currently a junior studying business administration at Morehouse College. His goals are to get a degree in public relations and eventually open his own business. Wilcox was born five weeks premature with optical atrophy, a disease that impairs the nerve. He’s been blind since birth. My ultimate goal is to continue to get more involved in the community and really change what it means to be blind, said Wilcox. He said it’s crucial that statistics be improved such as the 70 percent unemployment rate among the blind and the 45 percent high school graduation rate among blind students.

And this isn’t Wilcox’s first recognition from NFBGA. In 2008, he was the recipient of a $3,000 college scholarship from the organization. I am dedicated to motivating, improving, and inspiring the lives of others to reach their highest potential educationally, professionally, and personally, is a quote attributed to Wilcox from the GABS Web site.

Longtime OFA scholarship sponsor Amy Bernstein was in town last weekend to visit her son, a freshman studying political science at The George Washington University, and she shared a lovely breakfast with scholarship director Tina Raheem at Washington’s historic Union Station.

Ms. Bernstein has been funding scholarships for many years, and the student she currently helps to fund, Nanjiba will be graduating from West Virginia University in May 2010 with a dual degree in Marketing and French. As Nanjiba recently said, “I remember five years ago, I walked into the University, frightened and feeling small. I felt that graduation was so far away but now it’s only one more semester away. Some days I didn’t think I would come to see that day for graduation; when every homework and test seemed to difficult to accomplish, but now I am almost at the end of the tunnel and cannot wait to walk proudly with two degrees across that stage; and it’s all because of your generosity and the support from OFA.”

Ms. Bernstein supports OFA and the scholarship program in honor of her two children and the daughter of her heart, a young woman for whom Ms. Bernstein and her husband are “voluntary parents.” As Ms. Bernstein says, “I simply can’t imagine going to college and facing young adulthood without parents or a family.”

Ms. Bernstein also supports the OFA Care Package program and recently contributed packages for three OFA scholars who attend The George Washington University.

THANK YOU, Mrs. Bernstein! It is the investment and support of generous individuals like you that gets our students through college. Truly, their success is a testament to your belief in America’s foster youth.

To find out how you can support an OFA scholarship student, contact scholarships@orphan.org. To contribute to our Care Package Program, click HERE.

Saturday evening, November 28, scholarship team Mary Imler and Tina Raheem along with scholar Antonio D. (Shenandoah University, 2011, Criminal Justice) attended the third Cotillion-Beautillion of the Loudoun County, VA, chapter of Jack and Jill of America where Antonio was presented with a generous scholarship award. Antonio thanked the organization eloquently, received a standing ovation, and was given several leads for summer jobs.

Founded in 1938, Jack and Jill of America is an African-American organization of mothers who nurture future leaders by strengthening children ages 2-19 through chapter programming, community service, legislative advocacy and philanthropic giving. They believe every child, with proper guidance and opportunity can be a leader. The culminating experience for many young Jack and Jill participants is the year-long program leading up to presentation as a debutante or beau at the Cotillion-Beautillion gala ball.

On Saturday evening 14 young adults were presented by their proud parents to the 300 attendees during a magnificent dinner held at the exclusive Ritz Carlton in McLean, VA. Nationally-recognized actor Terry Crews (Get Smart, Everybody Hates Chris) gave an inspiring speech, internationally-acclaimed young violinist Sandy Cameron performed, and younger members of Jack and Jill rounded out the evening with a spirited dance.

Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to Dr. Linda Coleman, vice president of the Loudoun County Chapter, and to the entire organization, for their generosity in including Orphan Foundation of America – and especially 2010-11 Jack and Jill Scholar Antonio D. – in the festivities.

OFA is pleased to announce a new scholarship partnership with Poksak, an innovative reusable tote bag company out of Rhode Island. Poksak believes in giving back to the community in a big way, and has started the Poksak Foster Fund to support foster youth in college. We are proud to collaborate with them in this generous effort and look forward to welcoming Poksak Scholars to OFA in the fall of 2010.

For more information on Poksak and the Foster Fund, and to see statements from OFA students, click Here.

A great note from a college bound student OFA gave a 2009 scholarship to. She’s had a tough time of it but with OFA’s help, the future looks brighter. Sarah Lawrence College, Talia is on her way!

Dear Tina and Mary (and everyone else out there who is helping you two run this organization ),

Yesterday, I came home from a few days at a friend’s house to find that I had two pieces of mail waiting for me. One was from Sarah Lawrence College (my school!! yay!)

and the other was from the OFA. I opened up the one from Sarah Lawrence first (I am supposed to be getting word about what my “First Year Studies” course will be any day now! I am full of anticipation until I find out!), and to my dismay, it was not about my academic courses…. it was a bill. Nobody thinks those are much fun, right? Well, I proceeded to open the envelope from the OFA, and lo and behold I found …my check to pay the bill asking for the rest of my fall semester balance! Woo hoo! Thanks to OFA, that bill was not nearly as stressful as it otherwise could have been. I happily enclosed the check and the letter to go with it in the the pre-addressed envelope and mailed it off to school. It was such a feel good moment – I know this will minimize the loans I have to deal with later, and it’s making my higher education possible.

What a wonderful investment. I just wanted to share that moment with you both and say thank you to OFA for making that moment possible by choosing to invest in me. I am so excited for school and all the doors I know it will open for my future. Just 18 more days until I arrive on campus to begin this journey! Wish me luck!

Sincerely,
Talia

Auston Higgins suffered a lifetime of heartache. Growing up with a mentally ill mother, he was sent to live with his grandparents. He had a special bond with them and them one by one, they both died.

In an out of the foster care system, finally aging out, he’s on his own now but one things for sure, he wants a college education. With your help, he can do it. Auston needs a scholarship and The Orphan Foundation of America needs you to help make it happen. Will you consider funding a scholarship for a deserving youth?

Click here to learn more about how you can sponsor a college scholarship.