Sara Start Fund for Foster Youth

08/14/2016

For our newest workshop, The Chow Challenge: Nourish on a Nickel, we took the TopChef formula and turned it on its head, moving the competition from the kitchen to the grocery store.

With 45 minutes to shop, we learned how to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and high quality proteins on a weekly budget of $65-$72 a week. Next up: The Big Reveal. Which team stuck to their list? Got the most for their money and beat the competition? Hang on-- there's more before we get to the top team...

Because after shopping, we were treated to a delicious lunch from our partners at SweetGreen. Local chefs along with SweetGreen food educator, Atara Berstein, met us at a commerical kitchen where we learned cooking basics.

Thanks to our partners, First Star, Safeway, St. Patrick's, SweetGreen, and Tiny Chefs...

And the top team? The Karrots! They came in $21 under budget and made food purchases that would make any nutritionist proud.

08/11/2016

After a year-long pilot program, we are proud to announce our partnership with First Star Greater Washington Academy! We bring our professional development and life skill workshops to this great group whose focus is to enrich education and employment opportunities for youth in foster care. We’ve learned how to dress for the office with our Style & Substance session at Macy’s and learned to earn with our Ka-Ching: Make the Most of Your Money financial literacy session at WellsFargo. Lots more to do and looking forward to it!

07/14/2016

Senator Mary Landrieu writes about The Sara Start Fund for Washington Life magazine. Interested in mentoring? Let us know!

08/11/2015

We are thankful to The Washington Informer, one of the longest-running African American newspapers in DC, for visiting us at RESUMANIA. Read the article to learn about SSF alums Ta'Kijah Ty Randolph and Derrick D-Riggs Riggins successful Resumania experiences.

WMAL/ABC News also spoke to us -- listen below!
http://bit.ly/1gwOiJv

One local nonprofit group transforms foster children that age out of the system and are often left with virtually no support into self-sufficient young adults.

08/04/2015

RESUMANIA: Get Noticed, Get the Job- US Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon dubbed our day-long workshop “resume boot camp” and he was right. In the energetic headquarters of SocialCode, we wrote, revised and tested these documents. Two SSF ’14 alums, Darrah Hall (now working at the Center for American Progress) and Ty Randolph (now working for Rep. Karen Bass of California) spoke to us about taking the next step after their RESUMANIA experience just a year ago. We learned how to effectively network using LinkedIn. Our mentees heard important interview tips from vox.com's Jonathan Allen, then participated in mock interview sessions with HR pros for entry-level positions in law, social work and business.

07/28/2015

"MORE MONTH than MONEY" is one circumstance we want our mentees to avoid and thanks to Michael Richardson and the Mid Atlantic Federal Credit Union we have the tools to do it. We learned how to establish credit, to “pay ourselves first” and went through a painful but practical budget exercise. We discussed what to watch for when signing any loan (always check the terms!!) and exactly what gets reported to the credit bureaus. Thank you Michael and Mid-Atlantic for being great SSF partners and to our Mentor Monia Denis, who helped us think BIG but plan small.

07/22/2015

THANK YOU to DC Toastmasters for hosting a stimulating and inspiring Saturday Session. With coaching from the masters themselves, each Sara Start Fund mentee had the opportunity to practice their impromptu public speaking skills – a crucial asset in the professional workplace. Talking points included everything from “What Business Would You Start and Why?” to “What Has Been Your Most Formative Life Experience?”

Thank you, Toastmasters!

07/21/2015

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." -- Aristotle

The Sara Start Fund was proud to partner with the Phillips Collection for the fifth annual Culture Close-Up event. We learned that art tells a story, and enjoyed Jacob Lawrence's Struggle Series that captured the struggle of independence for the individual and for the United States as a whole. We also learned that modern art is the "art of ideas" and invites opinion. It encourages the viewer to use their voice-- and we connect with that! Thank you to the Phillips Collection, for inviting us into the world of modern art!

06/17/2015

STYLE &SUBSTANCE 2015: Best practices. Evidence-based methods. We mix ‘em with our creative and dynamic approach to mentoring and professional development. Our Style & Substance workshop is just one example. Personal presentation skills. Bonding with a new mentor. Understanding value in a dollar and in yourself. More do than don’t. More can than not. Budget, don’t blow it. Thank you Almaz Haile and our partner Macy’s Pentagon City for helping make these lessons possible.

06/04/2015

WELCOME SSF 2015 MENTEES! This week we welcomed mentees who are interning in Washington DC. We look forward to a great summer, with a new Saturday Session “Stand and Deliver: A Public Speaking Primer” on the docket and more!

05/21/2015

BEING WRONG and MAKING IT RIGHT. Our 2015 Mentor Training, held May 9 at George Washington University, focused on "learning agility" and how to handle a mistake. The reading list includes Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margins of Error. Big thanks to GW's Sara Melita for leading our training three years strong!

10/06/2014

Proud of Sara Start Fund for Foster Youth Mentor Zephranie Buetow for being named one of 10 key lawyers making a difference in Washington on The National Law Journal's "Hill Hot List." Congrats Z!

Want to join our outstanding team of mentors? Email us at [email protected] with the subject "I'm Mentor Material" and we'll talk!

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