Fashion show helps Sacramento foster youth pursue higher education
Updated: 6:20 PM PST Nov 7, 2024
KIDS IN OUR AREA GET A HIGHER EDUCATION, ALL BY ATTENDING A FASHION SHOW. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. AND THESE ARE THIS IS VIDEO OF SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS FASHION SHOWS. SO YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT WHEN FOSTER KIDS BECOME ADULTS, THEY ARE BASICALLY ON THEIR OWN. THEY AGE OUT OF THE SYSTEM AND THEY CAN THAT CAN MAKE GOING TO COLLEGE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. THE FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATION FUND IS A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM THAT HELPS THEM EARN A DEGREE AND PAY FOR REALLY ANYTHING THEY MAY NEED TO GET THROUGH SCHOOL. THIS SUNDAY. THE ORGANIZATION IS RAISING MONEY FOR THEIR EDUCATION FUND BY PUTTING ON THEIR 20TH ANNUAL FASHION SHOW STARRING THE LOCAL FOSTER YOUTH. AND I’LL ACTUALLY BE THERE AS THEIR EMCEE FOR THE 10TH YEAR. AND THE THEME OF THE SHOW THIS YEAR IS BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND. AND JOINING US IS VIRGINIA WILLIAMS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CGI AND MALAYSIA. ROBINSON, A FORMER FOSTER YOUTH AND RECIPIENT OF THE FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATION FUND, WHICH HELPED YOU YOU NOT ONLY GOT YOUR BACHELOR’S DEGREE, YOU GOT A MASTER’S DEGREE, RIGHT? TELL US ABOUT BOTH OF YOUR DEGREES. SO I RECEIVED BOTH OF MY DEGREES. ONE IN WOMEN’S STUDIES FROM SAC STATE, AND MY OTHER ONE IN GENDER EQUITY FROM SAC STATE IN 2021. AND AS A FORMER FOSTER KID. AND THEN YOU GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL. IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE THAT FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATION MONEY, HOW HARD WOULD IT HAVE BEEN TO GO ON AND BECOME AND GET YOUR BACHELOR AND YOUR MASTER’S, WHICH, BY THE WAY, IT’S ONLY WHAT, 3% THAT GET A COLLEGE DEGREE OF FOSTER KIDS AND THEN ONLY 1% THAT GO ON TO GET A MASTER’S DEGREE? YES. CORRECT. I MEAN, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE ALWAYS THINK OF WHEN WE ARE EXITING THE SYSTEM IS SURVIVAL. SO BASIC NEEDS LIKE RENT, LIKE HOW AM I GOING TO GET FROM PLACE A TO PLACE B, WHERE CAN I FIND A JOB? SO WITHOUT LIKE SYSTEMS LIKE THE FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATION FUND, IT WOULD BECOME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO GET A DEGREE. NONETHELESS, MULTIPLE DEGREES EXACTLY MULTIPLE DEGREES. AND YOUR CURRENT JOB RIGHT NOW YOU’RE ACTUALLY GIVING BACK RIGHT? YES. SO I DO SERVE AS A VOLUNTARY BOARD MEMBER FOR THIS WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION THAT POURED INTO ME. BUT I ALSO AM AN ANALYST AT THE CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF THE FOSTER CARE OMBUDSPERSON, WHICH SERVES FOSTER YOUTH IN HELPING THEM LEARNING THEIR RIGHTS AND ADVOCATING FOR FOSTER YOUTH ACROSS CALIFORNIA. NOW, I REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A YOUNG FOSTER KID IN THE PROGRAM, WHEN I WAS EMCEEING IT AND YOU GOT TO BE IN THE FASHION SHOW IN VIRGINIA. WE’VE DONE THIS FOR SO MANY YEARS. IT’S WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS AS YOUR COMPANY? CGI IT’S A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY. WHY DOES YOUR COMPANY GIVE BACK AND GIVE SO MUCH MONEY TO THIS AND HELP PUT IT ON EVERY YEAR? WELL, WE DEPEND ON THE WORKFORCE RIGHT? AND SO TO HAVE AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE READY TO GO FOR OUR JOBS, OUR COMPANY IS IS VITAL AND FOR ALL THE COMPANIES IN THE COMMUNITY IN SACRAMENTO. SO ANYTIME WE CAN SUPPORT SOMEONE WHO HAS A DREAM OF FURTHER EDUCATION, WE WANT TO DO THAT BECAUSE THAT IS OUR FUTURE AND IT’S SO MUCH FUN TO BE A PART OF THE THE FASHION SHOW. YOU KNOW, I DO A LOT OF FASHION SHOWS, BUT THIS ONE IS SO MUCH FUN BECAUSE THE STARS OF THE SHOW ARE THE FOSTER YOUTH. ABSOLUTELY. AND THIS YEAR WE EVEN HAVE A FORMER FOSTER YOUTH DOING ONE OF THE SCENES, DESIGNING IT, AND EVERYTHING. RIGHT? YES. MARQUIS MARQUEZ IS DEFINITELY DESIGNING SCENE FOR. SO HE GOT TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE FLOW OF THE SHOW WITH THAT THEME OF THAT SCENE. WOULD BE AND DIRECT IT. SO WE ARE VERY, VERY PROUD OF HIM. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN FOSTER YOUTH DON’T GET TO GO TO COLLEGE AND GO ON AND GET A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR A MASTER’S DEGREE, LIKE YOU, WHAT WHAT ARE THE STATISTICS SAYING? WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM? SO 1 IN 3 FOSTER YOUTH CAN EXPECT HOMELESSNESS AND A GOOD AMOUNT LIVE IN POVERTY. SO LEVELS BELOW WHAT IS SUITABLE FOR BASIC NEEDS. AND ALSO THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE OF INCARCERATION BECAUSE YOU GET INVOLVED IN THINGS THAT ARE NOT FOR YOUR BEST INTEREST, BUT ONCE AGAIN, THAT SURVIVAL PIECE. RIGHT? RIGHT. THIS IS WHY I GET INVOLVED WITH IT. I KNOW THAT’S WHY YOU THIS IS WHY I’VE, YOU KNOW, SPENT TEN YEARS DOING IT. BECAUSE IF WE CAN HELP THESE FOSTER KIDS EDUCATE THEMSELVES, GET THROUGH COLLEGE, GET A DEGREE, TWO DEGREES, A MASTER’S DEGREE, THEY GO ON AND DO WONDERFUL THINGS. AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU, MALAYSIA. THANK YOU. AND I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO COME JOIN US THIS WEEKEND. EVEN IF YOU CAN’T, YOU CAN EVEN MAKE A DONATION. THE FASHION SHOW WILL BE THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH AT 1 P.M. AT THE SAC STATE UNION BALLROOM. YOU CAN GET TICKETS AT THE DOOR OR GO TO F Y E F.ORG. IT’S F Y E F.ORG. AND LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION IF YOU CAN’T COME. BUT IF YOU DO COME, IT’S A REALLY GOOD SHOW. IT’S MY FAVORITE FASHION SHOW TO BE A PART OF. AND THE KIDS HAVE SO MUCH FUN. I CALL YOU ALL KIDS, BUT I MEA
Fashion show helps Sacramento foster youth pursue higher education
Updated: 6:20 PM PST Nov 7, 2024
An upcoming fashion show is going beyond just showcasing talented designs— it’s helping foster kids in the Sacramento region get access to higher education. The Foster Youth Education Fund is a scholarship program that helps foster students earn a degree by providing them with money for tuition, housing, books and more. FYEF is raising money for their education fund, by putting on their 20th annual fashion show, starring local foster youth, on Sunday. The funds are needed because when foster kids become adults, they age out of the system and are on their own, and that can make going to college extremely difficult. The FYEF gives them money to help them succeed in college. The theme of the show this year is, “Back by Popular Demand.”The fashion show is Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in the Sacramento State Union Ballroom. You can get tickets at the door or on the fund’s website.KCRA 3’s Lisa Gonzales will be the show’s emcee for the 10th year.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
An upcoming fashion show is going beyond just showcasing talented designs— it’s helping foster kids in the Sacramento region get access to higher education.
The Foster Youth Education Fund is a scholarship program that helps foster students earn a degree by providing them with money for tuition, housing, books and more.
FYEF is raising money for their education fund, by putting on their 20th annual fashion show, starring local foster youth, on Sunday.
The funds are needed because when foster kids become adults, they age out of the system and are on their own, and that can make going to college extremely difficult. The FYEF gives them money to help them succeed in college.
The theme of the show this year is, “Back by Popular Demand.”
The fashion show is Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in the Sacramento State Union Ballroom.
You can get tickets at the door or on the fund’s website.
KCRA 3’s Lisa Gonzales will be the show’s emcee for the 10th year.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
