San Diego County CA— On July 26, 2018, Promises2Kids, San Diego’s leading nonprofit with a focus on foster care, honored the 2018 Guardian Scholars graduates and welcomed a new class of students at the La Jolla home of Ramin Pourteymour. More than 250 youth and community members gathered on this special occasion to honor and celebrate the 24 Guardian Scholars graduates and welcome the new class of nearly 175 youth into the Guardian Scholars program.
Promises2Kids’ Guardian Scholars encourages foster youth to pursue higher education through community college, trade school or a university degree. This highly successful resource provides former foster youth with a partial financial scholarship along with mentoring support to assist them in adapting to and excelling in a higher education setting.
Of the 55% of former foster youth that attend college, only 8% will graduate nationally compared to the 80% of Promises2Kids Guardian Scholars who will successfully complete their education. Of these Guardian Scholars, over 90% will be first-generation graduates.
The incoming class of Guardian Scholars will include 13 alumni from Promises2Kids’ Junior Guardian Scholars. This unique component to Guardian Scholars reaches foster youth while they are in high school – intervening at a critical time in their lives – preparing them for graduation, a higher education, and beyond. Junior Guardian Scholars provides multifaceted support through mentoring, SAT preparation, college planning, financial aid, college tours and college application workshops.
With the community’s generosity and support, Promises2Kids has been able to grow its capacity and was able to welcome the largest class to date with up to 175 students.
Promises2Kids is seeking 50 community volunteers to serve as mentors for its Guardian Scholars. To support this program, visit www.promises2kids.org/, call 858-751-6617or e-mail patricia@promises2kids.org