The Bair Foundation Celebrates the Graduation of Thirteen High School Seniors
New Wilmington, PA (PRWEB) July 25, 2014 -- This June, thirteen Bair foster youth graduated high school. The Bair Foundation is proud of its thirteen students, who defied some alarming graduation statistics for foster children. Only 54% of foster youth ever receive a high school diploma. Eleven of the graduates serviced through The Bair Foundation have been accepted to a community college or university and one student will be joining the military.
The Bair Foundation would like to recognize the students’ foster families, who provided loving, stable homes for these kids, as well as the students themselves, who have shown great determination in overcoming many obstacles. Each has made an important investment, through education, to create positive opportunities for their future.
Mahogany Harrington, a Bair Foundation alumni and Bair Scholarship recipient, states, “I know for a fact that I would not have gone to college without the encouragement from my former foster family and The Bair Foundation.” Harrington recently graduated from Indiana University of PA with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.
In addition to providing support and services for foster families and foster children, The Bair Foundation has a number of programs that help foster youth achieve academic success & independence: The Edward B. Massey, Jr. Scholarship and the Paul Smith Independent Living Fund.
The Edward B. Massey, Jr. Scholarship was named after The Bair Foundation’s late board member Edward B. Massey, Jr. The scholarship is available each year for Bair’s graduating high school seniors and can be renewed throughout their college career if they complete the application packet annually. In addition, recipients receive mentoring from the Foundation’s staff and monthly care packages.
In addition to The Edward B. Massey, Jr. Scholarship, The Bair Foundation also offers the Paul Smith Independent Living Fund, which helps high school students overcome a major challenge they face upon graduation: transportation. Graduating students need transportation to get to college classes or a post-high-school job and The Paul Smith Independent Living Fund provides Bair teens with matching funds (up to $1,000) to purchase a vehicle. This vehicle is the “key” to independence and the path to becoming productive citizens.
For more information on The Bair Foundation and the services the Foundation provides or to make a donation that financially supports these essential programs, visit Bair.org.
About The Bair Foundation
The Bair Foundation is a national organization that has successfully cared for and treated children, teens and families for over 47 years. With 31 offices in 9 states it offers a myriad of community based services which include Structured Intervention Treatment Foster Care, Traditional Foster Care, Adoption Services, Medically-Needy Foster Care, Independent Living Services, Parent Empowerment Program, B.E.S.T. Program, Wraparound Services, In-Home Services, Assessment Home, and Outpatient Services. The Bair Foundation is accredited by COA (Council on Accreditation) and is a member of The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Alliance for Children and Families, Christian Alliance for Orphans, and Foster Family-Based Treatment Association. To find out more about The Bair Foundation, visit http://www.bair.org and http://www.facebook.com/thebairfoundation
Dorie Alcaro, The Bair Foundation, +1 724-946-8711, [email protected]
Share this article