Help Felicia Achieve Her Dream
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Felicia Faust was an up and coming Youth Studies scholar at the University of Minnesota when her life was cut tragically short at the age of 22. Felicia’s academic passions focused on understanding the impact of transracial adoption on the adoptee’s identity and sense of belonging. As a Black child adopted by a white family in a predominately white community, Felicia experienced her own confusion about her Blackness and what that meant in a society being rocked by racial tensions.
Her fellow students & faculty, her beloved boyfriend, and her many families want to see Felicia’s academic, career and life passions continue on. This GoFundMe is seeking start up funds to create a Felicia Giles Faust Scholarship for Academics Related to Transracial Adoption. Our first task is raising initial dollars. Because the scholarship is not established yet, these are not tax deductible but must be gifts. Once the scholarship is established future donation to maintain the scholarship will be managed differently and likely be tax deductible. As we make this journey we will keep you posted along the way. We thank you for your interest.
In a recent essay describing her planned focus of her anticipated academics and career Felicia wrote: “Within the next 10 years, I hope to learn all I can about transracial adoption. While I envision a day, when family restoration is the priority, I would like to start by focusing on improving capacity in white adoptive parents regarding their roles perpetuating systemic racism and offer them options for doing better today. I plan to create some sort of guide for white adoptive parents to educate them on how to better raise and help their adopted child of color develop a positive racial identity in a racist society.”
A study published by the Institute for Family Studies in August of 2017 indicates that the rate of transracial adoption continues to grow in the US. As generations of transracial adoptees are coming to adulthood and gaining their voice, many are telling us that their adoptive (mostly white) parents may have loved them but lacked the insight, skill, or knowledge to fully support them in positive racial identity as they grew. Felicia felt this keenly and wanted to support families in being able to do better. Her journey was cut short by her untimely death. Her important voice was lost.
In Felicia’s words: “It is extremely important for every child up for adoption to be placed in a healthy, loving environment with understanding and supportive families, but it should be just as important for those adoptive families to have the tools and education needed to properly raise a child of color.” We hope by making this scholarship a reality new scholars will be inspired and supported and that those who have similar experiences and passions as Felicia will be helped to achieve their dreams.
You can read more about the Family Studies Institute report .
You can connect to voices of transracial adoptees .
Our family (the O'Nell-Meyers) pledge to contribute 10% of the funds we hope to raise in total ($3,000).
Her fellow students & faculty, her beloved boyfriend, and her many families want to see Felicia’s academic, career and life passions continue on. This GoFundMe is seeking start up funds to create a Felicia Giles Faust Scholarship for Academics Related to Transracial Adoption. Our first task is raising initial dollars. Because the scholarship is not established yet, these are not tax deductible but must be gifts. Once the scholarship is established future donation to maintain the scholarship will be managed differently and likely be tax deductible. As we make this journey we will keep you posted along the way. We thank you for your interest.
In a recent essay describing her planned focus of her anticipated academics and career Felicia wrote: “Within the next 10 years, I hope to learn all I can about transracial adoption. While I envision a day, when family restoration is the priority, I would like to start by focusing on improving capacity in white adoptive parents regarding their roles perpetuating systemic racism and offer them options for doing better today. I plan to create some sort of guide for white adoptive parents to educate them on how to better raise and help their adopted child of color develop a positive racial identity in a racist society.”
A study published by the Institute for Family Studies in August of 2017 indicates that the rate of transracial adoption continues to grow in the US. As generations of transracial adoptees are coming to adulthood and gaining their voice, many are telling us that their adoptive (mostly white) parents may have loved them but lacked the insight, skill, or knowledge to fully support them in positive racial identity as they grew. Felicia felt this keenly and wanted to support families in being able to do better. Her journey was cut short by her untimely death. Her important voice was lost.
In Felicia’s words: “It is extremely important for every child up for adoption to be placed in a healthy, loving environment with understanding and supportive families, but it should be just as important for those adoptive families to have the tools and education needed to properly raise a child of color.” We hope by making this scholarship a reality new scholars will be inspired and supported and that those who have similar experiences and passions as Felicia will be helped to achieve their dreams.
You can read more about the Family Studies Institute report .
You can connect to voices of transracial adoptees .
Our family (the O'Nell-Meyers) pledge to contribute 10% of the funds we hope to raise in total ($3,000).
Organizer
Susan O'Nell
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN