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September Newsletter | Our Standards: Led by Youth, Guided by Experience
Foster Greatness September Newsletter | Lifelong Relationships & Community
Isabel Stasa
September 02, 2025
Every month, we’ll be sharing community updates that include insights from our Thriver Stories, thoughts from Panel Discussions and our Theme Release for the month!
September 2025
Lifelong Relationships & Community
Hi FG Member!
Yesterday, we celebrated Labor Day and honored the strength and contributions of workers everywhere—including the incredible, often unpaid labor of foster parents, kinship caregivers, and advocates like you. 🇺🇸 And today, in a special #LaborOfLove, we're celebrating one full year of Foster Greatness newsletters! 🎉 Thank you for growing with us each month.
This August, we dove deep into the heart of what makes healing possible: Lifelong Relationships & Community. 💞 Through powerful events and shared stories, we reinforced our commitment to ensuring every member of our community knows they have a place to belong and people they can always turn to. Because trust isn’t just built—it’s rebuilt, together.
Now, as we step into September, we’re shifting our focus to Education & Personal Development! 🎓📚 This month is all about empowering you with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to write your next chapter—whether that’s heading back to school, levelling up your career, or investing in your personal growth. Get ready for resources, workshops, and stories that inspire you to keep reaching, learning, and becoming your most brilliant self. ✨
This August, we put our theme of Lifelong Relationships & Community into action with some truly powerful gatherings! From intimate conversations to foundational workshops, we built connections, shared wisdom, and strengthened the bonds that make our Foster Greatness family so special. Here’s a look back at the magic we made together:
 | ☕ Coffee & Conversation with Resilient Voices & Beyond On August 6th, we joined Resilient Voices & Beyond for a virtual, laid back coffee chat built for those with lived experience. This was a space to come, be yourself, and enjoy great community. |
 | 📣 Effectively Engaging Alumni Perspectives with Shalita O’Neale Shalita schooled us all on moving beyond tokenism to truly center lived experience in child welfare work. This masterclass was a game-changer for advocates and agencies alike! 🙌 |
 | 👫 Sibling Rights & Connections Workshop In a workshop hosted by our sponsored program, The National Network for Fostering Sibling Connections, we tackled the barriers that keep siblings apart and equipped our community with legal knowledge and advocacy tools. Because no system should ever break the bond of family! 💖 |
 | Being part of Foster Greatness has been exciting to be a part of the beginning of something. So many organizations build something and then invite lived experience to the table. Foster Greatness has taken it a step further by partnering with lived experience in the creation of the process. Sharing my Thriver Story and participating on a panel I wasn’t just invited and told what to say, but a part of the creation of the story we told together. True partnership is what foster greatness is all about and it shows in the products they create. Faith Sharp |
🤯 Introducing our NEW Public Benefit Screener—your one-stop digital hub for identifying every state and federal public benefit you qualify for, with direct links and team support to apply! Simply answer a few questions in our 10 minute quiz and discover exactly what support you are entitled to! 🔍 And that’s not all: seamlessly connect to our updated Resource Finder Tool to discover immediate, local support across all 50 states! 🤝 Whether you need help with housing, food, legal aid, transportation, or education, simply enter your zip code and explore resources in seconds. No more guessing, no more stress. 💻 Join the Foster Greatness Community App today and let us help you navigate your path to stability with confidence.
 | 🧑🧒🧒 Join Our Parent Support Groups! Parenting as a former foster youth can raise deep emotions of grief, confusion, loneliness and more. Our Parent Support Groups are meant to be a shared space for parents who spent time in foster care to create community together, process, vent, and unpack deeper emotions and experience in a brave space. Join us for Session 3 and 4 on September 11th and September 25th at 4:30PM PST | 7:30PM EST. |
 | 💼 Employment Support w. Staffmark Earlier this year, we launched our Employment Pipeline program to provide comprehensive job search support to current and former foster youth in our community. From expert resume building support to a career advisor crafting tailored-to-the-job mock interviews, we’re making Foster Greatness members #JobReady! |
Interested in being featured in a Thriver Story and participating in an engaging panel discussion? 🎙️
We are actively seeking new and inspiring guests with lived experience in the foster system to uplift their voices and stories on the Thriver Stories podcast! If you have a story to share, we would love to hear from you. Simply fill out the form provided above, and we will get back to you with the next steps in the process. ✏️
Our Thriver Stories podcast is dedicated to highlighting the voices of individuals who have lived experience in the foster system. We aim to provide a platform for these individuals to share their unique experiences and personal journeys, all revolving around a specific topic of their choice. 💙
Participants are compensated for the time and contribution they make on our podcast show and panel conversations.
Foster Greatness’s mission is to co-create a dynamic platform with people directly impacted by the foster system to set the standard of empowerment and support. We are providing accessible, authentic connections and support by creating a lived-experience led platform. Our vision for every person who is and has been directly impacted by the foster system to feel empowered and supported.