United Friends of the Children: Long-Term Commitments Leading to Lasting Impacts

United Friends of the Children is dedicated to ameliorating the lives of children in foster care to help them achieve successful adult lives. They provide housing and educational programs to make sure that youth in foster care will graduate from high school and college, find a job and housing, and they serve as a support system to gradually teach them independence.

This program accelerates the lives of children that were put in difficult situations. UFC volunteers build relationships over an extended period providing commitment and consistency and serving the emotional needs of children. Once a kid turns 18, they are gradually taught independence while still being offered support and love from these enduring relationships.

Making Foster Care Better

Children that end up in foster care have had tumultuous childhoods. They have been neglected, abused, and even abandoned by their parents. Over 75% of children in foster care are there due to neglect.

In Los Angeles there are over 20,000 youth in foster care. There are about 500,000 foster youth in the United States, and 20% are in California.

In California, $1.7 billion dollars per year are spent on foster care. At United Friends of the Children, $15,000 will send a child to college, $5,000 will fund two summer internships, and $1,500 will offer three recent college graduates housing assistance.

What sets UFC apart from other child welfare organizations is that they continue caring for children once they have “aged out” of foster care after age 18. This means that they are no longer dependent on the state. United Friends of the Children make kids feel like they are part of a family, offering consistency and support through college.

Help out United Friends of Children

You can help out United Friends of Children by donating, volunteering, or providing internships.

Donating to UFC will give long-lasting effects to foster youth. Kids supported by UFC are graduating form high school, attending college, and securing permanent housing. Donate today.

Volunteering with United Friends of the Children includes providing group products, college readiness activities, life skills classes, fundraising activities, annual special events, holiday help, office assistance and tutoring. Download the Volunteer Application.

Providing Internships will help the UFC youth gain work experience, develop professional work habits, build self confidence, and gain networking opportunities. It is a great way to offer a child in need the experience they need to compete in the job market. Contact Carla Palmer for more info about providing internships to foster youth.

Want more contact information for United Friends of the Children? Call them between 9AM and 5PM Monday through Friday at 213-580-1850 or visit them on their website at www.unitedfriends.org.

Para Los Niños: Helping Children Succeed

Para los niños, for the children. This non profit organization is focused on the social wellbeing of children and their academic success. Providing high-quality education and family support services, Para Los Niños partners with charter schools and communities to alleviate the stresses of living in high-poverty areas of Los Angeles.

The Inspiration that Lead to the Formation of Para Los Niños

In 1979, an article was published by the LA Times illustrating children living in Skid Row, wandering the dangerous streets while their parents worked to support them. These “forgotten children” were forced to fend for themselves during the day, and their education and well being was overlooked. 90% of them did not attend school.

Tanya Tull formed Para Los Niños within a year of this article being published. It started in a previously owned false eyelash factor where at-risk children could have a safe environment with the chance of an education. With poverty at an all-time high in Los Angeles, Para Los Niños attempts to build stable families and create hopeful futures for children. They now help over 7,000 children, youth and families annually with their 400 employees over 22 locations. For a list of locations visit their Fact Sheet.

Margarita’s Story

“Margarita has a big smile on her face these days. After battling severe depression brought on by her mother’s drug addiction and months of living in foster care, Margarita now lives a peaceful life with her father.

Fourteen-year-old Margarita was referred to Para Los Niños’ Mental Health Services by her County case worker. Margarita had been removed from her mother’s care due to her mother’s drug use. Unfortunately, this turn of events left Margarita severely depressed, with thoughts of suicide. Margarita’s condition was so poor that Para Los Niños immediately arranged for psychiatric hospitalization for the heartbroken girl.

When Margarita was released from the hospital, she returned to Para Los Niños for outpatient care. Medication and therapy had relieved the worst of her symptoms, but Margarita was still a very troubled girl. She did not respond to her foster mother, and was faring poorly in school. Para Los Niños’ therapists – with the help of Margarita’s caring foster mother – helped Margarita cope with her situation. The therapists also reached out to Margarita’s mother. Sadly, Margarita’s mother, deep into her drug addiction, refused to help Margarita.

Soon, though, a relative of Margarita’s long-absent father discovered that Margarita was living in foster care. Her father had no idea of his daughter’s circumstances. With the help of her therapists, Margarita reconnected with her father, and her depression lifted. Margarita was able to discontinue the use of medication, and her case was closed when she successfully reunited with her father and his family.”

How You Can Help Para Los Niños

More than 6 million children go home alone each week. A child in California is born into poverty every 5 minutes. A child in California is abused or neglected every 4 minutes. Para Los Niños needs your help to alleviate these terrifying statistics.

You can help Para Los Niños by donating or becoming a mentor. To become a mentor you need to complete an application, pass a background check, submit a DMV driving record, participate in a personal interview, provide 4 references, attend the Orientation, and attend a four hour mentor training. You can download the application here. For more information on becoming a mentor visit them on there website www.paralosninos.org.

To donate to Para Los Niños click here. Your donation will go directly to help a child living in poverty in Los Angeles.

To contact Para Los Niños headquarters, email them at info@paralosninos.org or call them at 213-250-4800. You can also visit their website at www.paralosninos.org.

School on Wheels, Inc.: Tutoring Homeless Children Since 1993

Agnes Stevens was astounded by the hundreds of thousands of homeless children in the US that do not attend school. So in 1993, she started School on Wheels to teach homeless kids in Santa Monica.

On top of just simply educating the children, School on Wheels encourages kids to stay in school and keep up their grades along with instilling in them the value of a good education. Teaching kids from kindergarten to 12th grade, School on wheels looks to shrink the gaps in homeless children’s education and offer the highest education possible within reach including: one-on-one tutoring weekly, school supplies, a toll free number where students can keep in touch with their tutors, school entrance assistance, help in locating and maintaining academic records, and guidance with education.

Homeless Children Statistics

Over 292,000 children experience homelessness each year and over 2,200,000 of the children living below the poverty line in California, 13%are homeless. Families with young children account for over 40% of the homeless population.

In Los Angeles, the number of homeless people is higher than any other US urban area. 35,000 homeless children and adolescents are enrolled in Los Angeles County Schools, and of that, 12,500 are enrolled in LAUSD.

Education is generally one of the first things to be cut in terms of necessities for homeless children. School on Wheels looks to give a sense of self-worth and self-confidence by giving children an invaluable education.

How You Can Help School on Wheels

To help to School on Wheels, you can volunteer through being a tutor or a tutor coordinator, and you can donate.

Becoming a tutor requires no special background. Tutors are offered a special training course. All you have to do is fill out an application. As a tutor coordinator, you would lead a group of tutors. It comes with a little bit more responsibility.

You can also donate to Schools on Wheels. $170 will tutor a child for a year and $50 gets a child a backpack with school supplies. To donate to School on Wheels, click here. You can also donate from the Student Wish List.

Children’s Bureau: A Leader in Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment

The Children’s Bureau works to prevent child abuse and neglect, to protect and nurture abused children, to enhance families to meet the needs of their children, and to advance foster care, adoption, child development, parent education, and research. Their goal it to give vulnerable children the foundation to become productive adults.

Children’s Bureau started in 1904 and since then has worked to provide shelters, foster homes, and refuges for abused children and their families. Their advanced child abuse prevention and treatment services works in the positive direction to give a voice and a helping hand to children who are in at-risk positions.

Child Abuse Statistics

• 1 child abuse report is made every 10 seconds.
• 5 children die every day from child abuse. 75% are under age 4.
• 60-85% of child fatalities are due to maltreatment that is not recorded on death certificates.
• 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator; 68% are family members.
• 31% of women in prison were abused as children.
• 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers were abused as a child.
• 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children classify with at least one psychological disorder.
• The annual cost of child abuse is $104 billion (2007).

(Source: www.childhelp.org)

Help a Child in Need

You can donate your time and money to Children’s Bureau by volunteering, donating, or adopting a foster child.

Donate now to Children’s Bureau. Gifts of $1000 or more are recognized in their annual giving program, Century Circle for Children.

You can also adopt or foster a child in need. There are currently 63,000 children in foster care and over 12,000 waiting for adoptive families. You can click here to fill out a form that will keep you up to date about scheduling upcoming meetings or call 800-730-3933. For an application, click here or you can visit their website at all4kids.org. You can complete the application and mail it to them at:

Children’s Bureau
Foster Care & Adoptions
1910 Magnolia Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007

or fax it to them at 213-342-0253.

You can also become a volunteer. For more information, click here or contact them at 213-342-0100.

For upcoming events and news, visit their event calendar.

Big Brothers Big Sisters: Mentoring Matters

Our mission is to help children in need reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships.

The youth in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation are 76% less likely to be involved in gangs, and for over 55 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire have continued to make an impact in the lives of thousands of children. Together, BBBS and their volunteers work to enhance the social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive competencies of children living in poverty, to improve academic achievement and educational commitment, to improve the health standards of these children and inform of preventative health, to improve the children’s sense of a future, and to build the sense of self-worth for children.

Their goal: to serve 5,000 children each year by 2020 by ensuring effectiveness and quality of Big Brothers Big Sisters. A lot of the at-risk youth’s lives are transformed by Big Brothers Big Sisters. They work to transform the at-risk neighborhoods and schools in order to make the lives of children living in poverty better.

What does “at-risk” mean?

“At-risk youth” applies to children and adoelscents who are associated with crime, violence, sex, substance abuse, or a lack of access to basic human rights like healthcare or education. An at-risk child can live below the poverty level, live in low-income situations, or struggle with complex situations like difficult social environments, a hard family life, or peer pressure.

What does a Big Brother or a Big Sister do?

Over 1,500 at-risk children from ages six to eighteen are matched carefully with adult volunteers. They have multiple programs for children to cooperate in to ameliorate their situations.

The Community Based Mentoring Program matches one child with one mentor. This provides a one-year commitment meeting twice a month for two to four hours.

The Workplace Mentoring Program matches volunteers with adolescents in their sophomore year of high school. They teach students the necessary skills to succeed in the working world and instill the desire to do well in school.

The School Based Program offers consistent time and attention to children who need a long-term caring adult in their lives. The mentor meets with the child once a week for one hour – this commitment lasts 1 year.

Give Back to Big Brothers Big Sisters

You can give back to Big Brothers Big Sisters by becoming a Big, by making a donation, or by volunteering at their bingo hall.

To become a Big, you need to fill out the application and apply here. If you have any questions contact David Garvey at 213-213-2463 or email him at David. Garvey@bbbsla.org.

90% of the Big Brothers Big Sister budget is thanks to the generous donors. It costs $1500 to make a match. Even a small donation will help since they currently support over 1500 matches. Donate now or give an honorary gift. To make a donation over the phone contact Sylvia Ghazarian at 213-213-2422 or email at Sylvia.Ghazarian@bbbsla.org.

You can also donate your time at Bingo night. On Friday and Saturday night, Big Brothers Big Sisters hosts a live bingo night. It takes place Friday from 5:30PM to 11:00 PM and Saturday 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM at 5601 W. Slauson Ave, Suite 130, Culver City, CA 90230. Contact Rick Craft at 213-213-2424 or Rick.Craft@bbbsla.org.