Community Connections
San Diego Foster Youth Current Events
Aug 29, 2024
A Summer Camp to Cherish
Camp Connect Summer Camp is a major highlight of our year, a special week where children can just be themselves and have fun with their siblings and friends.
This year’s expanded camp took place over 6 days and 5 nights and provided the unforgettable experience of an overnight camp. Over 100 foster children attended!
Campers gathered at a spacious campground in the mountains of Julian. In sync with this summer’s Olympic Games, campers represented their cabins, competing in all sorts of games throughout the week. Time was divided between a pool, ziplining, inflatable waterslides, horseback riding, music therapy, games, a talent show, and much more.
This is a huge undertaking each year and would never be possible without the support of dedicated volunteers, counselors, and Youth2Youth mentors who all provided a safe and fun experience for San Diego’s foster children.
Thank you to all our supporters who made summer camp possible!
Dress for Success: Nordstrom Shopping
The new school year is here and thanks to the support of the San Diego community, 530 foster children will be in class looking and feeling their best!
Foster children and youth visited Old Navy locations around the county to shop for clothes to get ready for the new school year. Dressing and feeling like yourself goes a long way toward making a difficult time of year a little easier for many foster children.
These longstanding shopping events have touched the lives of countless foster children in San Diego and are able to continue thanks to the generosity of David Dunn and his family. Sadly, Mr. Dunn is no longer with us, but his legacy and spirit continue to create brighter futures for San Diego’s foster children, and we are honored to be a part of it.
It’s often an underappreciated experience to be able to pick out your own wardrobe and children were excited and grateful for this opportunity as they left the store with their bags full, ready to take on the year!
Thank you to our amazing volunteers who make this possible!
Mentors and Mentees Explore our City!
Mentees and Mentors recently rang in the Summer with an amphibious tour of America’s Finest City!
Our group loaded up into the SEAL boat, wound their way through picturesque San Diego streets, and splashed down for a cruise through the waters of the San Diego Bay, taking in the famous San Diego sites and spotting marine wildlife like seals and dolphins.
It was a beautiful day for all to enjoy our wonderful city!
Guardian Scholars Explore STEM Careers in the Bay Area
3% of current and former foster youth graduate from a four-year college institution, and 50% of graduates report being unprepared, unsure or do not have a defined career path.
To address that disparity, a group of Guardian Scholars sought valuable insight into their futures on a recent trip to explore their professional possibilities in California’s key industries. This trip provided valuable experience and perspective to students putting in the hard work and careful consideration into the next phase of their lives.
The emphasis of the trip was to explore the vast career opportunities within the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) available within California. Students toured the campus headquarters of some of the biggest names in the tech and research industries including @google, @meta, @youtube, @pinterest, @amazon, @Apple, @Merck, and @Salesforce. Each visit was accompanied by a Q&A panel, where curiosities were fulfilled.
Guardian Scholar & @sanfranciscostate University alum, Kesia conceived of the trip that involved Guardian Scholars programs from SFSU and Promises2Kids, allowing youth to network and build relationships based on shared interests and experiences.
The experience was made possible through a collaboration between programs supporting foster youth at Promises2Kids & SFSU.