WASHINGTON (EMWNews) August 6, 2008 —

It is back-to-school time and many young people are saying

goodbye to their families and heading off to college. Others,

however, are making the journey alone: thousands of foster care teens

who have “aged out”

of the system. For many of these youth, education has been the

one promising constant in their lives – and

now, at the threshold of adulthood, it is a struggle to find financial

and emotional support to sustain their educational and career goals.

“Care packages, internships, scholarships

and other support give these young people hope,”

said Eileen McCaffrey, executive director of the Orphan

Foundation of America (OFA), a Washington D.C.-based, national

not-for-profit organization focused on education, mentoring and

workforce development for those who have aged out. “At

OFA, we encourage college-bound foster youth to succeed by connecting

them with the love and resources of a caring community.”

At any given point, there are more than 500,000 U.S. children in foster

care. Every year, more than 25,000 of them age out of the system and

face a challenging world without financial or family support. Only half

of them finish high school and only about 13 percent start college. Of

those who do go to college, half drop out in the first year. For those

involved in OFA’s programs, however, these

numbers improve dramatically. More than 65 percent graduate from college

within five years, a rate comparable to their peers.

There are several ways people can help support OFA’s

programs and close the educational gap:

• Join the Care Package

  program: Three times a year, OFA sends care packages to

  thousands of foster students at colleges, universities and training

  programs nationwide. Consider donating just $20 to help OFA fill a

  care package with school supplies, gift cards and other items college

  students appreciate. Encourage employers to get involved, too, through

  funding contributions or in-kind donations.

• Sponsor a Scholarship:

  Every penny from monetary donations designated for an OFA

  Sponsored Scholarship goes directly to the students. Each year, 2,000

  hopeful young people apply for these programs.

• Offer college internships:

  Your workplace could provide an environment for a foster teen to

  gain real world experience. Internships give them opportunities they

  might never have on their own.

“All of us can do something to help foster

youth achieve their educational dreams,”

added McCaffrey.

Visit www.orphan.org for more

information.