SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State University hosted a fundraising event Friday evening to raise awareness and to obtain financial support to benefit their Fostering Ram Success program.
The program is designed to provide academic support for ASU students who were previously in the foster care system.
“The program is designed to provide additional support for them in mentoring and academic advising, finding the appropriate tutor, support that they may need just hoping that they excel each and every day on campus at Angelo State,” ASU Vice President for External Affairs Jamie Akin said.
Former commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Hank Whitman said moving forward, he hopes more universities will provide academic support to former foster youth.
“For all of our universities to have some type of liaison with the family and protective services, to let these children know that are aging out and leaving the foster system that they have these educational opportunities afforded to them, so why not, why should we not reach out to them? I don't want to hear any more seven percent, I want to hear one hundred percent of them are taking advantage of their educational opportunity,” Whitman said.
Candace Bashore is a nursing student at ASU who went into the foster care system for the second time at the age of 12. She said Fostering Ram Success has been a big help in her academic career in the past two years.
“They’ve helped me with everything from registering for classes, financial aid to buying books and making sure I had somewhere to go for Christmas and Thanksgiving,” Bashore said.
Bashore recommends that young people currently in the foster system look for resources and don't give up.
“It seems impossible, but you can make it work,” Bashore said.