As FosterEd’s volunteer program comes to an end, we take a look back at the program’s many accomplishments. This report summarizes the five-year span when FosterEd Arizona collaborated with the communities that surround our students and engaged volunteers as Educational Champions, Academic Guides, and Success Coaches for students in foster care. It features our diverse group of volunteers and includes key takeaways that summarize our growth and the goals we achieved as a program.

Engaging volunteers in any organization should be beneficial to the individuals giving energy and time, the populations they serve, and the organization itself. FosterEd Arizona has managed a volunteer program that supported young people in foster care striving towards their educational goals and simultaneously raised awareness in our communities, creating advocates out of educators, students, and parents.

As sole coordinator of the FosterEd Arizona Volunteer Program, I am incredibly proud of the connections that volunteers of all different backgrounds made with our students. Every match, every goal, and every champion has made an impact in these young people’s lives.

Our volunteer program’s ethos was beautifully summed up by longtime volunteer Sue Vardon when she reminded me, “I don’t expect things to suddenly happen. Our job, as adults who work with kids, is to plant seeds, even if you don’t get to see what grows.”

– Arayah Larson, Associate Director of Community Engagement