05.13.2020

Celebrating Successes, Big and Small

By Catherine Krummey, Treehouse Marketing & Social Media Manager

As physical distancing continues, we wanted to take a few moments during National Foster Care Month to reflect on how our youth, staff and community have adapted their routines in the last couple of months.

Becca, a Graduation Success youth, turned 18 and moved out of her group home two weeks before her high school closed due to COVID-19. Faced with the prospect of six weeks of isolation, she started applying for jobs immediately.

In the midst of a near-impossible economy for those just entering the workforce, Becca found a job at a hospital screening incoming patients and visitors for COVID-19 symptoms. Becca’s goal is to one day be a nurse or an EMT, and she loves the opportunity this job provides for checking out the medical field firsthand.

Cole has had to face many obstacles in life, but he is now thriving by continuing to engage with his Treehouse Education Specialist and setting goals, completing all class assignments and enrolling in credit recovery.

When COVID-19 hit, many of us struggled to adapt, but Cole did not, as it opened up many avenues for him. Getting to class daily was his biggest barrier, but with the Stay at Home Order in place, he was able to do his classwork distantly, which worked for him. Cole is now back on track to graduate as part of the Class of 2020 and is preparing for his future.

Like Cole, Jenny has a newly sparked motivation and passion to engage in school. She enrolled in our virtual tutoring program, participated in an interview with a school counselor to discuss her academics and is consistently setting goals for her future, including learning how to cook. Jenny even made dinner for her entire foster family. She is excelling in so many areas in her life and is headed toward a high school diploma.

Lexi texted her Treehouse Graduation Success Coordinator a photo of her checking out her name painted on her school’s football field alongside the names of her fellow graduating seniors. We are excited to see how schools and communities are rallying around the Class of 2020!

For Nolberto, his school district is honoring seniors by giving them each yard signs to display at home. Like Lexi, he celebrated his “signing” day by texting this photo to his Treehouse Graduation Success Coordinator.

As you can see, many of our Graduation Success youth have demonstrated resiliency and made the best out of the situations they’re living in right now. Our staff will continue to be there for them during the physical distancing and beyond.

Please support Treehouse in this work by sharing our National Foster Care Month posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. You also can make a gift today at treehouseforkids.org/donate.

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