The Sonia Foundation is dedicated to supporting young people from foster care in achieving their academic and personal goals. We believe that every young person, regardless of their background, deserves the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.
To achieve this goal, we provide merit-based scholarships to youth from foster care who are pursuing higher education in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related field. Our scholarship program is designed to recognize the unique challenges and obstacles that foster care youth face, and to provide them with the financial support and resources they need to overcome these challenges and succeed in their studies.
We are proud to be able to make a difference in the lives of foster care youth, and we hope to continue to expand our scholarship program in the future to reach even more young people outside the foster care system. If you would like to learn more about our charity and how you can support our mission, please contact us or consider donating.
To fund these scholarships, we rely on the generosity of donors who share our vision and commitment to supporting foster care youth. There are several ways that you can support our mission and help us provide more merit-based scholarships to youth in care:
- Make a donation: Every donation, no matter the size, helps us provide more scholarships to youth in care. You can make a one-time or recurring donation online, or you can mail a check to our office.
- Become a monthly donor: By becoming a monthly donor, you can provide ongoing support for our scholarship program and help us plan for the future.
- Offer services, such as tutoring or other academic resources. We can provide these alongside financial awards to better ensure success of recipients.
We are grateful for the support of our donors, and we are committed to using every donation wisely and efficiently to provide more scholarships to youth in care. If you would like to support our mission, please contact us to learn more about how you can get involved.
We are currently focused on acquiring funding for our merit-based scholarship program. To achieve this goal, we are working to build relationships with potential donors and partners who share our commitment to supporting foster care youth. We are also actively seeking out grants and other sources of funding that will allow us to provide more scholarships.
In addition to seeking out funding, we are working to build relationships with educational institutions. By building strong partnerships with colleges and universities, we can ensure that our scholarship recipients have access to the support and resources they need to succeed in their studies. We are confident that with the right partnerships in place, we can provide an even stronger foundation for our scholarship program and help more youth in care achieve their academic goals.
Once we have secured sufficient funding, we will begin accepting applications for scholarships. We are excited to begin this process and to provide more young people with the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential. If you are a youth in care interested in applying for a scholarship, we encourage you to keep an eye on our website and social media channels for updates on when applications will open. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue working hard in school and pursuing your goals, and we hope that our scholarship program can play a role in helping you achieve your dreams.
DISCLAIMER
The Sonia Foundation is NOT YET REGISTERED AS A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION IN BC. As such, by donating, you will NOT RECEIVE A TAX RECEIPT FOR CHARITABLE DONATIONS. Please see the 'Funding Allocation' tab for more information on the plan for obtaining this registration.
Highlights
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A meta-analysis of 29 studies which investigated academic performance and outcomes for foster care alumni (individuals who have been in the foster care system, FCA) was assessed to identify the essential need of consistent support for FCA. For the full study, please see Geiger, J.M. & Beltran, S.J. (2017). in Outcomes and experiences of foster care alumni in post-secondary education: A review of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 186-197.
The summary provided here only encompasses the results of six (6) of the 29 assessed studies. These studies are:
- Barnow, Buck, O’Brien, Pecora, Ellis, & Steiner (2015) in Effective services for improving education and employment outcomes for children and alumni of foster care service: correlates and educational and employment outcomes,
- Batsche, Hart, Ort, Armstrong, Stozier, & Hummer (2014) in Post‐secondary transitions of youth emancipated from foster care,
- Blome (1997) in What Happens to Foster Kids: Educational Experiences of a Random Sample of Foster Care Youth and a Matched Group of Non-Foster Care Youth,
- Day, Dworsky, & Feng (2013) in An Analysis of Foster Care Placement History and Post-Secondary Graduation Rates,
- Day, Dworsky, Fogarty, & Damashek (2011) in An Historical Narrative of the Educational Trajectory of the Child Raised in State Care, and
- Dworsky & Courtney (2010) in Homelessness and the transition from foster care to adulthood.
In summary, four themes were identified through a priori coding: money management, work, parenting, and transportation. These themes were identified as factors that contribute to resiliency in foster care alumni at the individual, family, and system level. The text also mentions that foster care alumni are more likely to drop out of high school, less likely to obtain a GED, and less likely to be in a college preparation track, even with similar grades.
Recommendations for addressing these issues include foster parent training, careful reflection by workers about their biases and expectations, and efforts to provide foster youth with stability. The text also mentions that foster care alumni have a slower graduation rate than a comparison group, and that a history of foster care has a negative impact on the graduation rate of students in good academic standing. There is a discussion of policy and practice implications related to the unique needs of foster youth, including financial support, housing, and work-study.
The text also mentions that undergraduates from foster care are more likely to drop out of college before the end of the first year and prior to degree completion compared to low-income first-generation students, and that race is associated with dropping out, but only at the bivariate level for non-foster care students. Only a small percentage of those who completed a year of college at age 21 had graduated by age 23/24.
These studies emphasize the incredible need for services for FCA. The Sonia Foundation would like to provide merit-based scholarships to FCA (also known as former youth in care, FYIC) who are pursuing or intend to pursue a career path in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field. Depending on available funding, we would also like to provide subsidized or free resources for active FCA such as tutoring or textbooks.
Through your generous donations, we believe opportunities not yet experienced by countless youth may finally be possible.
Funding Allocation
Transparency is crucial when requesting donations. We are committed to provide information pertaining to the allocation of fundraising funds within The Foundation. The above image provides a brief overview of how we intend to distribute funds within the first operational year.
- $500 will be allocated to operational costs. This can include fees for website hosting, email hosting, business registration fees, procurement of brand resources (logo and relevant licensing), etc.
- $3000 will be allocated to three $1000 scholarships within the 2023-2024 academic year. If fundraising goals are not reached, any amount greater than the $500 operational costs will be entirely allocated to scholarships, regardless of amount.
- $500 will be allocated to legal council to register as a charitable organization in BC. To issue tax receipts, a society will need to apply to the Canada Revenue Agency for charitable status. We have been well advised to acquire legal advice during this application to ensure success down the road, It could take a year from the date of the application to finding out whether we obtain charitable status.
- $500 will be allocated to tutoring subsidies. This will be delivered either alongside the scholarship recipients, or if not utilized, by any who apply and qualify. The point of this subsidy it to provide tutoring services at a reduced cost to the recipient. We intend to work alongside local charities within Vancouver to deliver quality tutoring.
- $500 will be allocated to textbook subsidies. As with tutoring subsidies, this will be delivered either alongside the scholarship recipients or by any who apply and qualify. The point of this subsidy is to offset the costs of textbooks for post-secondary applicants.
