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First Star Featured in
TIME Magazine's April Cover Story
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Our CEO, Lyndsey C. Wilson, lends her voice to the April 12th cover story in TIME magazine, which serves as a time capsule that captures the difficulties young people face to finish high school and to go to college. The article highlights a First Star Miami scholar who is now shifting their sights from college to the workforce, shining a light on the struggle facing so many students as many make that difficult choice and the toll it could take on their futures.
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Foster youth are falling further behind their peers. Your contribution helps us continue to support our scholars as they face these difficult choices during an unprecedented time. Help First Star ensure their success a year from now, and five years from now.
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May is National Foster Care Month
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To celebrate National Foster Month, First Star will be featuring the First Star Alumni Spotlight Series across our social media platforms. This will be an opportunity to shine a light on many of the important topics that both our current students and alumni face as they navigate and eventually age out of the system. The series will include interviews from various alumni, words of inspiration and wisdom for our current scholars, and live talks with those close to the First Star family.
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First Star's Scholar Advisory Committee is Leading the Charge During National Foster Care Month!
We will also be featuring content created by the Scholar Advisory Committee, under the helm of our First Star Kent State University Academy Director Danielle Green-Welch. The Scholar Advisory Committee is comprised of current scholars from across our entire network of Academies, representing the collective voices of our scholars. For National Foster Care Month, they have created content that will include foster care statistics, child welfare reform highlights, and each Wednesday throughout the month a Live on IG! talk with First Star Ambassadors and other community supporters.
Make sure to follow our Scholar Advisory Committee on Instagram @fs.scholaradvisorycommittee to take part in all their activities throughout the month of May!
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First Star National STEAM Academy
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Join Us for May's Tech Talk on Artificial Intelligence!
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Our next Tech Talk on Saturday, May 8th at 12 pm PST/3 pm EST, will be focused on Artificial Intelligence and feature Justin Shaifer, aka 'Mr. Fascinate'. A rising star in STEM education and advocacy, Justin "Mr. Fascinate" Shaifer is a Linkedin Top Voice in Technology with a talent for inspiring Generation Z. Far from camera-shy, Justin has hosted science TV shows with WGBH, Travel Channel, and Al Roker Entertainment.
Growing up in a single-parent home on the South Side of Chicago, he had little awareness of the potential of a STEM career. Self-taught and fascinated by science, Justin earned scholarships from NASA and NOAA that covered 100% of his tuition and room and board at Hampton University. Justin graduated with a degree in marine and environmental science, earning the department’s highest GPA while also serving as student body president. Inspired to pay his success forward, Justin co-founded the STEM Success Summit, a large-scale conference for diverse STEM students that secured sponsorship from Best Buy and General Motors. Kickstarting his professional speaking career with a popular TEDx Talk "How to Speak Generation Z", Justin continues to reach millions with his content, keynotes, and workshops.
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Watch Our April Tech Talk on SUSTAINABLE FASHION!
Featuring Guest Speaker Jacques Agbobly, Fashion Activist
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Hear from Fashion Activist Jacques Agbobly on the importance of sustainable fashion, making change through design inclusivity, fashion activism, social justice, and equitable fashion systems. Jacques is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and recipient of the 2019 Council of Fashion Designers of America Design Scholar Award. As a fashion activist, Agbobly is also an advocate within the HIV community in Chicago.
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First Star University of Miami Academy Hosted
an In-Person Spring Break Camp
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As the world begins to open up again, our First Star University of Miami Academy was able to safely host students on campus for an in-person Spring Break Camp this month! The week-long event gave our Miami scholars a much-anticipated opportunity to reconnect and build community after a year of virtual programming. The week also served as a wonderful preview of what a full, in-person summer session might look like for the UM Academy this year.
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In addition to having some fun, our UM scholars took part in academic tutoring sessions, lectures from the University of Miami Law School on how to file taxes, and welcomed First Star national staff members to learn about joining the First Star Alumni Program after graduation. Our First Star National STEAM Academy Director, Dr. Kilan Ashad-Bishop, visited the group for a discussion on space exploration and the importance of representation in the science fields. Scholars even got to build their own solar system models!
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Since the start of the pandemic, First Star has been able to offer micro-grants to Alumni to help with food, tech, health & hygiene, and living necessities. To date, we have met the immediate needs of over 40 alumni! We will continue to offer these supports as funding allows and as the crisis continues to present challenges to their success. We have also received a generous donation of 30 laptops from our allies at the Foster Youth Education Fund in Sacramento. These will be so vital over the coming months, allowing us to bridge the technology gaps so many of our alumni face.
We have also partnered with the LA-based organization The Change Reaction, which has enabled us to make larger grants to First Star alumni supporting rent relief, tuition for school, and help to purchase textbooks.
The Change Reaction is helping our alumni feel supported long after they graduate high school and leave the First Star Academy program. Hear from one alumna, who is chasing her dreams as a result of their generous support:
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In May 2020, First Star hosted a special national virtual graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020, honoring the largest graduating class to date! We will be carrying on the tradition this year, continuing to honor our amazing seniors who have been working their whole lives to reach this milestone, an achievement that deserves to be CELEBRATED.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS for this year's ceremony and stay tuned for how you can join us on the special day!
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Want to help our graduating seniors get the send-off they deserve? Your contributions can help us send each senior a graduation gift box!
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Check Out Our 2020 Virtual Graduation Ceremony!
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Arizona
With the stroke of a pen, history is made in Arizona. Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1391 which gives every child in foster care legal representation. “When a child enters foster care, a court case is initiated. Parents are appointed lawyers to protect their rights, the Arizona Department of Child Safety is appointed lawyers, yet the victim in the case – the abused child – was not given legal representation,” architect of the bill, Rebecca Masterson said. According to a news release, children are 3.5 times more likely to leave foster care faster if they have an attorney representing their case.
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Washington
In Washington, the Keeping Families Together Act seeks to tighten the standards for removing children from their parents and ensure that disability, poverty, inadequate housing, and other conditions that don’t necessarily pose an imminent threat to a child’s physical safety cannot be the only reasons to take kids away. Another key legislative goal is to reduce the overrepresentation in foster care of Black and Indigenous children, who are about twice as likely as their white peers to be placed in care.
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Iowa
Iowa children in foster care are receiving special deliveries this spring designed to comfort them during difficult times — free stuffed animals. Four Oaks Family and Children's Services has partnered with Lavender Life Company, a Michigan-based online store, to hand out more than 3,500 stuffed dogs and bunnies, which is one for every child in the state. "Being placed into foster care can be a very emotional and confusing transition for children," Kelli Malone, Four Oaks chief program officer, said in a news release. "Being able to provide something of comfort to children while they undergo this difficult transition is incredible."
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Stay Connected!
Make sure you are following us on all our social handles
to stay up-to-date with our Academies.
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