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Fostering Success Michigan Newsletter Volume 32 March 2015
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Fostering Success Michigan's 4th Annual Summit!
Mark your Calendars! FSM's 4th Annual Statewide Summit will be held on May 22, 2015 at the James B. Henry Center at Michigan State University! This year registration will be mandatory and spaces are limited.
The Summit will offer networking and educational opportunities. What is most exciting, however is that the Summit will be designed and facilitated by FSM's Student Advisory Board! This is sure to be a wonderful opportunity for all involved whether they be students, professionals, or supportive adults.
Our theme this year is "Make Your Mark." As you register, be thinking about how you will make your mark to support students who have experienced foster care as they reach their education and career goals.
Registration is now open! Please be sure to register.
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Fostering
Succe
ss Michigan Summit
Pre-Confere
nce
This year FSM Summit is partnering to offer a pre-conference training opportunity. The
Fostering Succe
ss Coach Training: Level I, is an opportunity for professionals to engage in a 3-day CE
U app
roved training aimed to increase skills in working directly with young adults who have
experienced foster care.
Participation in this training costs $500, but if y
ou register prior to April 19th you will receive a $100 discount! To take part in this wonderful opportunity to
enhance your skill set, register today!
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FSM Summit Student Advisory Board 
The first ever FSM Summit Student Advisory Board has been busy planning the 4th Annual FSM Summit! The board is made up of 6 students representing 4 higher education institutions with across Michigan with campus-based support programs. The team has met via conference call and in person to brainstorm ideas, discuss ideas and ultimately design FSM's 4th Annual Statewide Summit.
Three of our six students were able to attend this face to face meeting. Highlights of the day included a meeting via Skype with Brittany B., FSM Ambassador, who will be heading up the social media campaign for Summit, numerous team building activities, Summit activity planning and a presentation to the FSM Higher Education Consortium partners. Thanks to Lori J., Gabriella G., and Sam N. for coming all the way to Ann Arbor to meet. Thank you to the entire FSM Student Advisory Board, including members Tamya M., Amber F., and Sheila V. for your continued work and commitment. Thanks to Tamara T., FSM Student Leader for the Student Advisory Board, and Brittany Bartkowiak for facilitating and planning meetings and supporting the students in this endeavor.
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#Make Your MarkFSM! 
We want YOU to participate in the student-led #MakeYourMarkFSM social media campaign!
This year's FSM Summit theme was developed by the FSM Summit Student Advisory Board who wanted to encourage every member of the FSM Network to make a positive mark in the education to career pipeline for students who have experienced foster care.
The Student Advisory Board is using social media to highlight the marks being made and inspire others to make their mark.
Join us by posting and tweeting your #MakeYourMarkFSM selfie! Simply write down the mark you are making as we work together to support young people who have experienced time in foster care, take a selfie, then, post your photo to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) with the hashtags #MakeYourMarkFSM and #PhotoChallengeFSM.
Encourage others to participate by tagging
them to take the photo challenge! Please like, favorite, and re-share posts as you see them to recognize the marks that your peers and colleagues are making!
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FSM Partner Spotlight: The Storyboard Project
The Storyboard Project is designed to be a resource for youth transitioning into adulthood to share their stories in a visual medium. The project's primary resources are the video stories. The stories are short 3-5 minute pieces that encapsulate why the specific youth was put into care, their thoughts about the care and also who they worked with along the way to help them in their transition. There are also educational modules designed to give them tips on how to dress for an interview and how to plan their elevator speech.
The Storyboard Project has partnered with a South Los Angeles foundation, Peace4Kids which has proved to be quite valuable. The foundation serves youth in foster care, teaching them life skills. Peace4Kids has a marketing/research group for youth who have already transitioned out of care. The Storyboard Project is actively working with the group on multiple projects designed to help young people in foster care. Many of the stories on The Storyboard Project website are with young people from Peace4Kids.
Focusing on giving youth the opportunity to tell their story in any way that they choose, The Storyboard Project empowers the youth they serve. What often comes up in the stories that the youth share is the story of what "caught" them. The youth share stories of mentors, schools, teachers, and organizations--someone who saw their worth and cared. The Storyboard project would like to share these video stories with FSM partners to share with the youth they serve in order to provide examples of how they can get the help and resources needed to be successful.
Remaining in contact with the youth of The Storyboard Project takes place through informal meetings, texts, emails, and unofficial mentor/mentee relationships. It seems to be a natural progression within the context of The Storyboard Project.
Although currently based in Los Angeles, The Storyboard Project would like to expand, enabling them to connect with youth throughout the country and share more stories, building their library of videos. Mira Zimet, the founder of The Storyboard Project, plans to include written stories, poems, photographs, and anything youth want to share.
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FSM Resource Spotlight: Getting to Know...Child Welfare for Educators
Fostering Success Michigan is excited to announce the release of their latest guide:
Getting to Know... Child Welfare for Educators.This guide will provide you with an introduction to what it means to be in foster care, typical characteristics of students from care, and actions you can take to support students in their quest for higher education.
For further information, visit the
FSM website
or view FSM's latest guide by clicking
here!
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2nd Annual MYOI Outdoor Education
On Sept. 1 through Sept. 3, 2015, The Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative (MYOI) of Marquette County is hosting the 2nd Annual MYOI Outdoor Education Camp at the Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay. The camp is open to all youth ages 14-21 who are eligible for Youth in Transition funding.
The focus of this year's camp is "Building the Bridges to Independence." Participants will be provided activities and information that will support their independent living goals and pursuits of higher education as they transition to adulthood.
For additional information, please see the brochure. Registration will begin April 1, 2015. There is no cost to attend but registration will be limited. Don't delay. Get your youth signed up right away!
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Meet Paige M. from
"Words Matter: Student Voices from the FSM Network"
Paige is a student at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, majoring in Criminal Justice. After she graduates with her associate degree, she plans to transfer to Western Michigan University. Her long term goal is to be a child custody lawyer.
Personally, Paige's life goals are to forgive her mother, giving her a chance at a mother/daughter relationship. Paige stated that, "Tomorrow is not promised and I would be devastated if she would pass away without me having the chance to say how I feel." Additionally, Paige aspires to be more active in a church that she can call her own and begin a spiritual relationship with God in order to live righteously.
Professionally, Paige would like to become more involved with foster care youth in order to give back to her community. She would like to start a group for foster care youth which would be an empowerment group to uplift youth who are in college to keep them focused on their career goals and at the same time help them to still enjoy college life.
Paige is fortunate to have a support system that helps her to achieve her goals. Paige's biggest support is God, but she also has the support of her family and her mentor. Additionally, Paige derives her motivation from her support system. Her faith in God, her boyfriend of seven years, and her grandfather all help to keep her motivated.
Paige's favorite song to dance to and to sing is Marvin Sapp's "Never Would've Made It". The song is more like a praise dance that motivates her to be grateful and to recognize how far she has come and how much closer she is to reaching her goals. If a movie was ever made about her life, she would want Keyshia Cole to play her. Paige has been told that she favors Keyshia Cole and she also believes the two have similar attitudes. They have had similar upbringings and Paige looks up to her as an artist.
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Michigan Teen Conference
Save the date! The 2015 Michigan Teen Conference will be held June 17-18 at Saginaw Valley State University.The conference will focus on transitioning out of foster care, helping to prepare youth for this transition and to provide young people with the knowledge of available resources. To learn more, visit The Michigan Federation for Children and Families'
website
and see the attached
flyer
.
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Attention: Tuition Incentive Program-3rd Quarter Bills Must Be Submitted on the SSS Excel Form!
Third quarter TIP bills must be submitted on the attached SSS Excel Form. If this form is not used, they will be sent back and payment could be delayed.
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NASPA Socioeconomic and Class Issues in Higher Education (SCI-HE) Knowledge Community Sub-Community
We are thrilled to share the NEW webpage for the
Check out the page and please share with your networks
. Key resources have been included, but suggestions from NASPA partners regarding other resources they think should be added are welcomed and encouraged. Also, if you are not yet a member of the NASPA SCI-HE KC, please sign up! It is a great way to stay connected to the sub-community and the activities of the KC in general.
Correction: For all those attending the Annual NASPA Conference, we look forward to seeing you on
Tuesday, March 24th at from 2:30-4 at the Hilton Belle Chasse room for our 1st Annual Sub-Community Gathering!!
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Fostering Success Michigan Network Webinar Series
This series is focused on providing students, partners, and supportive adults relevant resources related to the needs of students with experience in foster care.
Center for Fostering Success "Best Practice, Best Fit" Webinar Series
This research-based series focuses on providing helping professionals, students, and supportive adults discovery-driven solutions related to educational attainment for students from foster care.
Upcoming Webinar Reminders
The Center for Fostering Success is excited to be hosting Maddy Day, MSW and Liz Brass, MSW on March 17th, 2015 as they presents on Developmental Evaluation of Fostering Success Michigan: Looking Back to Look Forward. To view the evaluation report prior to the webinar, follow the link. Please be sure to visit the FSM website to register.
On April 21st, as part of FSM Network webinar series, Lorraine McKnight, M.A., L.P.C.-S will present on
How to use LinkedIn & Social Media to your career advantage!
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Make Your Mark FSM!
With the first signs of spring in the air, I find myself energized for this season of new growth. As the season changes, there are many changes on the horizon for our students as well. From graduations, to the end of another great school year, our students are preparing to launch into their next steps in the education to career pipeline.
This is also the time of year where we gear up for the Fostering Success Michigan Annual Summit. This year, the FSM Summit is being developed, in great part, by the FSM Summit Student Advisory Board. With the talents and ideas of these young people, the FSM Summit is sure to be an exciting experience you will not want to miss!
This year's FSM Summit theme is "Make Your Mark" and we are going all out with our hashtags, social media campaigns, and inspirational photos! We believe that each partner in the FSM Network has something special to add as we work together to strengthen the education to career pipeline students who have experienced foster care.
So, what make will you make? Will you bring a student who experienced foster care to the FSM Summit? Will you share the Storyboard website with the students you know? Will you send the new FSM Guide "Getting to Know...Child Welfare for Educators" with your colleagues? Whatever it is, show us TODAY how you will #MakeYourMarkFSM!
Take care,
Director of Outreach and Training
Center for Fostering Success
Western Michigan University
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