First Place for Youth

Mother's Day and Father's Day are fast approaching and we want our parenting participants to know we see all the hard work they have put in to create better lives for themselves and their children. You can help create gift baskets for the moms and dads of First Place with a shopping trip to our Amazon wish list. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/13MHBRO8PZMTS

Wow! Out today from Fangrlpress, the Unity in Diversity zine features 14 artists sharing their messages for today's world. Fangrlpress will be donating 100% of proceeds from this fantastic project to support our work! See more about the artists involved and how to order your own copy at https://www.fangrlpress.com/fundraising

Our services will be closed today to commemorate the birthday of César Chávez to pay tribute to his commitment to social justice and his respect for #HumanDignity. #firstplaceforyouth #cesarchavezday

One of the areas we are most excited to highlight in our new research brief, Raising The Bar, is the identification of 13 high-impact goals and services that significantly influence #fosteryouth on their journey to independence. By identifying high-impact factors like this, we can craft better roadmaps, customize services and aim to improve the likelihood that youth can exit the #fostercaresystem and earn living wages.

The fact that I don’t have to worry about how to pay rentthat set me up to be focused on the stuff that I needed to, like school and working, said Henry, a First Place participant in Los Angeles. After reviewing the options available in our apprenticeship pilot, Henry chose the healthcare track and enrolled in Medical Assistant classes at East Los Angeles College. Henry will be prepared for a living-wage job in the medical field by the end of the spring 2021 semester, and... he plans to train further for a career in nursing. The earn and learn approach of the Apprenticeship Model is particularly beneficial to transition-age foster youth, as it allows them to obtain education and training that supports long-term success while providing immediate economic stability. It also offers a faster route to living-wage employment in high-growth fields than a traditional two- or four-year college degree.

Holiday gift delivery has started at First Place! If you haven't yet given to our Holiday Cheer Fund, now is the time! Another generous First Place supporter has stepped up and offered to match the NEXT $1,500! Give today at https://www.firstplaceforyouth.org/holiday-cheer-fund/ or via our Facebook Fundraiser https://www.facebook.com/donate/373783117022006/

First Place is proud to be among the community partners working to end youth homelessness in San Francisco through the city's Rising Up initiative. Now, we're thrilled to share that Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia has donated $12.5 million to this vital work! This gift will help provide rapid rehousing housing for 180 additional youth experiencing homelessness, as well as intervention services to prevent homelessness for more than 100 vulnerable youth.

Tiny Porch Concert- Holiday Edition. Fundraiser for First Place For Youth Holiday Cheer Fund, www.firstplaceforyouth.org First Place For Youth helps to support young people in the foster care system. The Holiday Cheer Fund will help with gifts and meals during the holidays.

Starting in just a few minutes, Brand New Heartache goes live with a "Tiny Porch Concert" in support of our Holiday Cheer Fund! And thanks to another generous supporters, the next $1,500 dollars raised will be matched!!

Our 2020 Annual Report is now available! In a year of challenge and change, First Place never lost sight of the big pictureremoving barriers to success and changing the odds for foster youthas we responded to the urgent needs of our young people. Thank you to all our supporters whose generosity has made our work possible!

Our thanks to the Las Vegas Raiders for their generous gift of 10 televisions earlier this year! The TVs were set aside as prizes for our youth recognition raffles, rewarding young people who have shown perseverance in education. Now as our young people head into finals week, the last two TV's await their new owners in our final raffle of the year.