The highs and lows of it all
Keann was homeless and living in his car throughout high school. He would park under a streetlight each night just to do his homework.
After aging out of foster care and finally having the family she always dreamed of, Bella's husband was killed by a drunk driver.
Haleemah was adopted and then placed back in the system and commutes over 5 hours each day on public transit to get to work.
These are just a few of the inspiring individuals we had the privilege of meeting earlier this week in NYC. The reason for the trip - we told them - was to participate in a Roundtable Discussion on foster care and aging out and how organizations like ours could better support adults with lived foster care experience.
While this was the focus of the afternoon, and they knew they would receive a $500 wish for their participation, they didn't know that they were also going to receive a year of car insurance, a year of free gas, and... A CAR!
Each of the 9 individuals that were honored overcame significant obstacles to get to a place in life that many are still striving for. They all work hard in their careers and in school, and they have all been dedicated advocates for those still experiencing foster care and crisis.
It was truly a magical night - you can see the video here - but as it often happens in life, that magic seemed to fade more quickly than we would have liked. The OSW Team headed back to the office to a record number of wishes submitted to the website.
And, sadly, to a record low in donations for the month of November.
Since we returned, we have been feverishly posting on social media, reaching out to our major donors and corporate supporters and asking everyone who will listen to please go to the website to grant a wish.
We will need to raise $1.1 million dollars between now and December 31 in order to reach our goals and continue all our programs into 2023.
We know it is a huge goal, but we did it last year and we are confident we will do it again. This network is strong and full of heart, and we wholeheartedly believe that will help us ride this wave into yet another magical moment.
So, here we go again!
Danielle and The OSW Team
