Foster Pride

Foster Pride has helped over 12,000 children and teens in foster care reach their potential through mentorship and the arts. The significant, long-term relationships that Foster Pride educators develop with their students are a unique and powerful component of the organization. This mentoring is particularly important to young people who see countless adults drift in and out of their lives. Today, Foster Pride offers weekly programs annually to approximately 400 children and teens in foster care agencies and group homes in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as scholarships, internships, and mentoring. Our job-preparedness programs help provide foster teens with the resources that they need to make a successful transition to adulthood as they age out of the system. Youth in foster care are among the most vulnerable in the city: They are at a very high risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased rates of incarceration, and homelessness. Nearly half of all foster children never graduate high school; 68% of former foster children have been on food stamps; and, seven out of ten homeless people in New York were once in the foster care system. Foster Pride’s programs help youth in foster care beat the odds. The significant, long-term relationships that Foster Pride educators and mentors develop with youth are a unique and powerful component of the organization. This mentoring is particularly important to young people who see countless adults drift in and out of their lives