The You Can Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting teenage boys, girls, and young adults who have been raised in foster care and children’s homes throughout the United States. While the Foundation’s primary mission is to provide annual scholarship opportunities for students pursuing continued education, we are equally committed to empowering young adults with practical life skills such as developing a monthly budget, building a professional resume, preparing for employment opportunities, and creating a path toward a stable, successful, and purpose driven future. Through our board members and volunteers, The You Can Foundation also delivers motivational and inspirational messages through Speak & Inspire events conducted across the United States and around the world.
As part of our continued commitment to changing lives, The You Can Foundation is proud to partner with Rise & Recover Sober Living in Oklahoma City. Together, we are helping individuals rebuild their lives through structured sober living, mentorship, accountability, recovery support, and life success programs designed to encourage long term independence and personal growth. This partnership reflects our shared belief that every person deserves hope, encouragement, and the opportunity for a second chance.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
The number one worry for graduating seniors currently living within children’s homes and fostercare throughout the United States is the feeling that they are about to finish high school, officially be on their own and not knowing where to turn next.”
Our goal is to give these students a peace of mind by providing various education scholarships, career placement assistance and financial aid search assistance
SPEAK & INSPIRE
The Founder and various board members of the You Can Foundation are living examples of men and women that although raised in children's homes and foster care have gone on to live a fruitful and successful life.
Through our Speak & Inspire Program, The You Can Foundation is honored to provide qualified speakers at various venues throughout the globe to share first hand experiences on countless subjects
CULTURE
According to U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, there is an estimated Average of 423,773 children in foster care. Unfortunately, young people transitioning out of the foster care system are significantly affected by the instability that accompanies long periods of out-of-home placement during childhood and adolescence. The experiences of these youth place them at a higher risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased rates of incarceration, and homelessness.
Of those 423,000 children in foster care, approximately 20,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year, many without family or economic support. Unfortunately, foster youth do not always have the option of turning to their families for support. Alone, these young people are confronting the harsh reality of the gap between the wages they earn and the cost of housing, as well as the knowledge and confidence they need to become a contributive part of the American society. As a result, youth aging out of the foster care system are becoming homeless at disconcerting rates with anywhere from 12% to 36% of young people transitioning out of the system experiencing some form of homelessness to include incarceration at the expense of the American tax payers.
ABOUT US
The You Can Foundation’s (YCF) mission is to provide financial, educational, inspirational and motivational assistance to underprivileged teenagers and young adults that live or have lived their childhood life outside of the traditional structures of a mother and/or father lead household.
With an emphasis on those teenagers transitioning out of the foster care system, YCF organizes resources to create financial, educational, vocational, health care, entrepreneurial, and recreational opportunities for youth who are leaving or have recently left foster care.
The goal is to help young people leaving foster care become financially literate; gain experience with the banking system; amass assets for education, housing, health care, and a few other specified expenses; and gain streamlined entry to educational, training, and vocational opportunities.