We believe every mentee has the potential to be a leader and that leadership plays an essential role in personal and professional success. Unfortunately, youth from foster care are not often given leadership opportunities due to a variety of reasons out of their control, like frequent moves and lack of transportation.
Since our founding in 2016, we had the vision to increase our service age limit (which we have!) and to offer more hands-on leadership and resume-building opportunities. Essentially, we have always planned to continually “age up” with our first Mentoring cohort.
We are proud to have a high rate of Mentoring Matches who continue in our program for two years or longer. As teens got older and several even became young adults, we knew it was time to make this vision a reality.
We are thrilled to share that our Youth Leadership Group officially launched this January! The inaugural leadership cohort is comprised of seven members, who are current mentees in our program. Each had to first apply and interview, which gave a complete getting-a-job experience.
This program is funded by grants from TEGNA Foundation through our local ABC10 station and The Starbucks Foundation. We intended to begin with a pilot cohort of five youth leaders, but thanks to unexpected generosity at the end of 2021, including a Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY) Grant, all seven applicants were accepted!
During a special in-person meeting held at Alchemy Salon, members received a Chromebook with a protective case and other supplies. Plus, members earn monthly cash stipends for attending required meetings and completing assigned or volunteered work.
As our Founders are currently the only two full-time staff, we needed someone to lead this new program. Recruitment began for a Foster Youth Initiative AmeriCorps Member to support this effort. We were thrilled to welcome Keri, who had, at the time, recently competed Cohort 4 Mentor Training but had yet to be matched with a teen. After her successful application and interview process, Founders began working with her to fine-tune the program. Of course, it had to be fun and meet our elevated standards.
Leaders and their mentors engage through monthly meetings that include a learning focus on topics of leadership, communication, organization, financial literacy and more. Outside of session time, members individually meet with Keri and work at their own pace, with support from the team, on special tasks volunteered or assigned. This real-life work experience also adds youth voice to our overall services.
One of the Leadership Group’s most exciting projects is planning this year’s remaining meetUPs and UPshops! This pilot group will end its term in July. Shortly after, a new 9-month term will begin.
Teaching leadership skills not only empowers youth with confidence but also equips them with knowledge and skills that will give them a big step up toward successful, self-sufficient futures. Not to mention, they’re having fun and making friends in the process!
