United Friends of the Children  has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation. The grant will provide education and housing support for hundreds of Los Angeles County foster youth. United Friends is a leader on the frontlines of improving the lives of over 1,400 foster youth every year in Los Angeles County.

“We are proud of our long-standing commitment to empower more Los Angeles County foster youth to become self-sufficient through service-enriched education and housing programs, advocacy and stable relationships,” said Dr. Kara Allen Soldati, president and chief executive officer of United Friends of the Children. “And with generous partners like the S. Mark Taper Foundation, we can continue to produce positive outcomes for one of the most vulnerable populations in our community, foster youth.”

“We are proud to support United Friends of the Children and its efforts to improve the lives of Los Angeles County foster youth,” said Adrienne Wittenberg, Executive Director of the S. Mark Taper Foundation.

In Los Angeles County, there are more than 30,000 youth in foster care. The odds are stacked against them. Less than 50 percent graduate from high school, and only 3 percent earn a college degree. Enter United Friends, whose education program participants graduate high school at the rate of 93 percent and graduate college at a rate of 73 percent. These outcomes are a foundation that empowers thousands of foster youth to live better lives.