Blog / The Business Perspective
Reflecting on Foster Youth College Awareness Month
October 31, 2018
by Maria S. Salinas
Earlier this month, the Chamber was recognized by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger for our work in supporting foster youth and their educational attainment. The Board of Supervisors declared October “Foster Youth College Awareness Month” and doubled down on its commitment to supporting foster youth to college.
The Chamber has built upon our own efforts to target assistance to some of our most vulnerable young people -- our foster youth. We have teamed up with John Burton Advocates for Youth to develop financial aid resource guides, to train several hundred service providers, and to build strong partnerships among our schools, child welfare agencies, and the business community.
The Chamber takes seriously our responsibility to steward economic prosperity and quality of life in our region. We know these two objectives are complementary, as we cannot improve quality of life for all Angelenos without growing good jobs in our local economy, and we cannot sustain economic growth without addressing the barriers that keep many of our fellow Angelenos from achieving their full potential.
That’s why the Chamber has long partnered with the City of L.A. and several corporate Chamber members to help our young people get on a path to college through L.A. Cash for College. Since 2002, we have helped more than 278,000 low-income students and families learn about the college admissions process and apply for financial aid. Our efforts to help local students overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers have been recognized nationally by the White House Initiative on the Education Excellence for Hispanics and by the National College Access Network.
On Nov. 9 and 10, we will host our largest college event of the year, the L.A. Cash for College Convention, and will continue partnering with schools and communities through March 2, 2019 to assist students and families across the region with their financial aid applications. There is still plenty of time for you to join us. If you would like to schedule a corporate volunteer opportunity or discuss sponsorship opportunities, please contact Paola Santana, 213.580.7586.
Together, we can step up to ensure that all of our local students have a path to a college education. Our young people are counting on us.
And that's The Business Perspective.
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