Scholarship recipient Kevin Reidel speaking at the Fostering Futures event
DETROIT, MI — More than 300 former foster youths received college scholarships through the annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Benefit held on the evening of September 25th.
This event and other fundraisers this year collected approximately $130,000 for scholarships through Michigan Education Trust, the Michigan Department of Treasury’s prepaid college tuition program.
More than 340 people attended the fourth annual Fostering Futures, held this year at the Atheneum Hotel in Detroit.
The Detroit event featured remarks from Michigan First Lady Sue Snyder and Detroit Lions rookie Laken Tomlinson.
Snyder and her husband, Governor Rick Snyder, are honorary chairpersons of Fostering Futures.
“Together, we are helping to make a difference in the lives of our state’s foster youth,” Sue Snyder said. “These students are truly an inspiration and I hope their success helps encourage future generations of foster kids to pursue their dreams. With hard work and determination no goals are unreachable.”
A partnership between MET and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) makes Fostering Futures possible.
“Young people are Michigan’s future, so the efforts of our partners at MET are so important,” said MDHHS Director Nick Lyon. “Children in foster care often lack the financial resources that others have to pay for college so that they can realize their dreams. The Fostering Futures partnership is just the type of thing Governor Snyder is referring to when he talks about the River of Opportunity – a philosophy for state government that envisions a coordinated approach to providing services that meet the unique needs of individuals.”
Approximately 13,000 students are in the Michigan foster care system run by MDHHS. Many want to attend college, but fewer than 10 percent nationally enroll after high school and fewer than 3 percent eventually earn a degree.
“Many former foster care students simply don’t have the support system and financial resources they need to be able to attend college and earn a post-secondary degree,” said State Treasurer Nick Khouri. “In just four short years, Fostering Futures will have helped more than 1,000 very special young people reach for their dreams. This has been a remarkable, collaborative effort – one the Department of Treasury is strongly committed to – with planning already underway for Fostering Futures 2016.”
Anyone who could not attend can make donations to the MET Charitable Tuition Program by visiting www.fosteringfutures-mi.com. All contributions to the MET Charitable Tuition Program are eligible for a state income tax deduction.
Thirteen Michigan colleges and universities have programs to assist former foster care students. They are Baker College-Flint, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Lansing Community College, Michigan State University, Northwestern Michigan College, Saginaw Valley State University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan-Flint, Washtenaw Community College, Wayne State University and Western Michigan University.
This column was printed in the October 17, 2015 – October 31, 2015
