Yesterday, we stood alongside fellow advocates at Austin City Hall as Council Member Ryan Alter proclaimed May 30th as Foster Care Day on behalf of the Mayor and the City of Austin. The proclamation signals the city’s growing awareness of and commitment to the nearly 1,000 children currently in foster care locally and to the 100+ young adults who age out of the system each year without the safety net many of us take for granted.
Read more about the proclamation and event here in KVUE’s coverage.
Among fellow attendees were incredible peer organizations like The SAFE Alliance, Austin Angels, and Lifeworks, each doing vital work to support foster care youth and families. Huge thanks to Change1 for organizing and amplifying this cause.
Empowering Foster Care Youth Through Education
At Learning Bridge, we support foster youth with free, year-round, personalized tutoring tailored to the challenges they face academically and beyond. Our trauma-informed approach recognizes that these young people often endure more in a few months than most experience in a lifetime. Even daily routines like hygiene and sleep can be upended by instability, in turn affecting their school interactions and academic journeys.
That’s why our tutors don’t just show up with lesson plans, they show up with compassion, consistency, and patience.
“Harper,” is a seventh-grader who was struggling in math and growing increasingly discouraged. After working weekly with her tutor, Paula, she not only gained confidence, she made the honor roll. And not once, but twice!
“Harper is an awesome kid, and I’m so lucky to get to work with her and see her progress!” Paula shared.
We again know we’re on the right path when foster parents share the transformation witnessed, such as one foster dad: “The improvement the girls have made is absolutely astounding. The overall impact on academics and self-confidence is hard to describe. Pretty cool!”
The impact of our program extends beyond academics. One of our partner CPS caseworkers noted: “It was wonderful to know that they were not only providing academic support services, but were looking out for the general well-being of the youth in care.”
These stories are why we do what we do.
If you’d like to learn how you can get involved, whether as a volunteer, donor, or partner, reach out to us at info@learningbridgetx.org.
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