College-Bound Foster Youths Honored

The Freddie Mac Foundation recently sponsored a Capitol Hill congressional briefing and reception recognizing the Orphan Foundation of America's 2002 Oliver Project Award recipients. The program brought 11 Orphan Foundation college scholarship recipients to Washington, D.C., where they spent a week meeting with their congressional representatives, administration officials and business leaders. The scholarship recipients are students who have "aged out" of the foster care system, having never been adopted.

During their stay, the students raised awareness of the needs and potential of the 25,000 youths who "age out" of the foster care system each year. They focused a lot on the difficulties of being left on their own with few, if any, supports at such a young age. Following the events, the students returned to their communities where they are engaging in a year of service and volunteerism as part of the Oliver Project.

Maxine Baker, president and CEO of the Freddie Mac Foundation, told attendees at the briefing that the issue of children in foster care is one that "cuts across political lines and creates a common ground." She highlighted the Foundation's work with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and our public-private partnerships to help our nation's children. At that evening's reception, Maxine referred to some of the students' remarkable stories of courage and resilience. "These young people have experienced traumas that would have made many of us give up," she observed. "Instead, they turned potential despair into determination. And they demonstrate how, with a little help and support, great achievements are possible."

Maxine also introduced Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., fellow adoptive parent and board member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Sen. Landrieu and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, together with Maxine, accepted the Orphan Foundation's leadership award on behalf of CCAI.

During the reception, Shalita Savoy, a junior at University of Maryland-College Park and summer intern for the Freddie Mac Foundation, shared her experiences as a second-year recipient of the Orphan Foundation scholarship. Shalita said that her first experience in corporate America has helped her discover her career path, and that The Orphan and Freddie Mac Foundations have taken the time to understand what it is like for young people like her who have grown up in foster care. "Through these organizations, I have received support for my aspirations beyond what I would have hoped for or expected," she said. "And because of their support, I now have opportunities I would not otherwise have had."

A Freddie Mac Foundation grantee, The Orphan Foundation has served, for more than 20 years, thousands of orphans and foster youths as they have transitioned from foster care to young adulthood.