Over 50% of foster youth who age out of the system are unable to find a job.
However, two social enterprises, iFoster and Doing Good Works, are now working to change that statistic.
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On October 17th, we arranged for twelve young adults who have spent time in foster care to attend their first day of job training at the Ralph’s grocery store headquarters in Compton, California. The youth were picked up by Lyft drivers–all requested and scheduled by the Doing Good Works team so they could arrive on time at 7:30 a.m.
The youth sat in a boardroom set up to look like a classroom. Despite the early hour, they all remained engaged and enthusiastic as the training manager gave them advice on how to succeed. They were prepared, ready to respond to questions without hesitation.
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How did iFoster and Doing Good Works make this happen? iFoster, a non-profit that provides resources to former foster youth, has continued the jobs program and encouraged grocery stores to hire these young people. Though the youth aren’t guaranteed a job, they get the opportunity to impress a hiring manager during an in-person interview. Once the youth is hired, iFoster continues to support them on their road to success. This includes collaborating with Doing Good Works to make sure that the youth arrives to their training on time.
Doing Good Works, a California benefit corp, focuses on enriching life after foster care. In this instance, they arranged for the Lyft transportation. Without their aid, the youth might’ve needed to rely on social workers to drive them to Compton before sunrise, or navigate Los Angeles’ unreliable public transportation system.