Greetings friends and family! As you all may know or not know, I work closely with students at LA Valley College (LAVC) who have experience in the foster care system. Many students who grew up in foster care are on their own and independent. Historically, youth who experienced foster care are disproportionally represented in statistics surrounding academic success. For a student with experience in foster care, higher education is not often a viable option, but for those that do make it in higher education, it is extremely difficult, which is why I started this GoFundMe.

One of the amazing students I have the privilege of working with (keeping anonymous to respect confidentiality), recently graduated from LAVC and applied to transfer to a four-year university and was ACCEPTED! Only 4% of former foster youth receive a college degree, but this individual, against all odds, is breaking statistical barriers and attending his dream school: UC Santa Barbara! I have taken him under my wing and have been mentoring him through this scary, yet exciting, process.

While he is excited for his acceptance, he must move his entire life into family housing on campus along with his partner and small child, which is not cheap. We have exhausted all other grant opportunities and scholarships but he still needs lot of help. So, I am calling out to the community to help us get him to Santa Barbara with minimal financial stress.

He is changing the game for those students who are aging out of foster care and transitioning into the world. I have no doubt he will be successful at UCSB, which is why I feel this will be an investment that will reap huge dividends in the future. If you can help with $5 or $100, I will be forever grateful and I am sure my mentee will be, too. At this point, any amount will go a long way.

Thank you in advance. Together, we can make his dreams come true!

Alex (Mazatl)