This month’s Spotlight Organization is the First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Scholars Academy in California. BGSA is a partnership with First Star Academies and the Department of Children and Family Services. The mission of BGSA is to provide foster youth with the support they need to help them graduate high school and enroll in post-secondary education.
It is estimated that only 20 percent of foster youth who graduate from high school attend college, which is much less than the average 60 percent of high school graduates overall. Thankfully, FSBGSA is doing something to change those statistics. As part of the FSBGSA program, foster youth spend 2-4 weeks of each summer of high school living on the university campus and return 1-2 Saturdays per month during the school year. While on campus, they attend classes, participate in life skills workshops, and explore life on a university campus.
To learn more, you can visit the FSBGSA website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook. UCLA students can also apply to be a youth coach during the Summer Academy – what a great opportunity to mentor and equip foster youth for future success!
For every Courageous Coloring workbook or coloring book that you purchase, another Courageous Coloring workbook is given to a girl in foster care.
