About UFC
United Friends of the Children is dedicated to the premise that foster youth deserve a successful adulthood.
Through our Housing and Education Programs, foster youth are provided with the opportunity to graduate from high school, attend and graduate from college, get a job, find housing and have a support system that moves them gradually towards independence.
Our goal is that the youth in our programs not only survive, but that they thrive.
Jhamasa
I am intelligent and confident, and I know that the world is in my hands. Someone who heard my life story might question how I know all these things with such assurance.
And my answer would be because of the all the people who helped me get there, made sure that I believed that I fit there, and whenever I doubted it, reassured me that I was exactly where I belonged.
I grew up in and out of foster care from an early age, enduring the hardships that come along with that. I entered foster care because my mother had a substance abuse problem and could not care for me and my siblings.
After moving into my new foster home, I joined UFC’s Foster Families program, which became my extended family. Through UFC, I met some of the most fantastic and supportive people. Every holiday all the foster families from the program got together to celebrate. I knew that this huge family I was a part of was different because every time we got together, I felt loved and part of something.
When I turned eighteen I left home and headed for college. I was convinced by that time that I would be alone for sure. Little did I know that UFC would still be willing to lend a hand. After leaving one program at UFC, I joined another - the College Sponsorship Program - which helps with tuition and other school-related expenses, and even little things like moving in and internships. Before leaving to attend school in Mississippi, I thought I was aware of how blessed I was to be a part of the program, but it wasn't until I got there that I fully realized. The staff members continually shot me emails to see how I was doing, making sure that I was okay in more ways than just financial. And even more recently, they helped me land a summer internship in the entertainment industry.
Like I said, it’s the people that have come into my life, that have helped make me the individual that I am. And it’s the unconditional love that has had the greatest affect in my life. UFC has been there for me since the beginning, and I am so grateful for everything that they have done, not only for me, but for my siblings too, who are now in UFC’s College Readiness Program.
I can never repay UFC, but I hope I make them proud with all my accomplishments.