San Diego CA—Susie entered the foster care system at the age of 16 due to neglect. Today, she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and has aspirations to become an attorney at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Susie is part of the Promises2Kids’ Guardian Scholars program, which supports foster youth beginning in high school, in achieving their educational and career goals. Promises2Kids is celebrating its 40^th anniversary and in that time has helped over 200,000 foster children.
Susie was placed in a foster home with many other children and did not receive the support she needed. She bounced around from 10 different schools. She was still a child needing to make adult choices but was able to get in touch with Promises2Kids and break her family cycle thanks to Guardian Scholars – a highly successful program that provides former foster youth with a partial financial scholarship, skills and opportunities, along with mentoring support to assist them in adapting to and excelling in a higher education setting, and transitioning to adulthood.
Programs like Guardian Scholars are made possible thanks to community supporters like La Jolla Cosmetic (LJC). Promises2Kids received a $10,000 gift from LJC, which will help give youth like Susie, the tools, opportunities, and guidance to change their lives for the better. La Jolla Cosmetic has been providing ongoing support to Promises2Kids over the past couple of years and especially throughout the pandemic.
“La Jolla Cosmetic was one of the main sponsors of our annual concert gala last year, and when the concert didn’t happen, they still stepped up,” said Tonya Torosian, CEO of Promises2Kids. “Marie Olesen, Dr. Hector Salazar and the La Jolla Cosmetic team know that the needs of foster youth don’t go away and have continued to show their support for youth in need.”
For more information on Promises2Kids and the Guardian Scholars program, visit www.promises2kids.org