ISF
INVESTING IN SUCCESS OF FOSTER YOUTH
Our Mission
The problem: Youth with lived experience in foster care are often less prepared to earn their college degree, or achieve vocational training, due to a lack of a support system, and 97% will slip through the cracks.
Youth who spend their teenage years in foster care and those who age out of care face many challenges as they move to early adulthood. While in care, they miss opportunities to develop strong support networks and develop the independent living skills that their counterparts with family support more naturally acquire. Even older foster care youth who return to their families can still face obstacles. Poor family dynamics or a lack of emotional and financial support hinders their ability to achieve their goals as young adults. These challenges are revealed by the fact that youth who have spent at least some years in care during adolescence exhibit relatively poor outcomes across a number of domains.
ISF leverages the power of education, mentoring, and leadership development to empower students to do what less than 3% of foster care students achieve: a college degree that can become the springboard to a life of fulfillment and significance.
Click Here for Student Stories!
Our Leadership
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Deanna & Ben Carroll
FOUNDERS
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Dr. Blair Ritchey
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Gina Fawcett
Operations Director
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Faith Davis, MS
Alumni Association Director
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Renee LeClair
Mentor Program Coordinator
Board of Directors
Katherine Clark
Debbie Finley
Keith Finley
Denise Hoyt
Jeff Hoyt
Chris MacFarland
Bart McCullum
Ben Carroll, Founder & Board Chair
Deanna Carroll, Founder
Cindy Mills
Ken Mills
Robert Reisch
Deborah Reisch
Katie Talman
Tyler Talman
Jennifer Krone
Peter Krone
Here’s what we do to help.
Financial Support
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: ISF's Student Success Fund helps students meet their financial obligations and pursue their dream of a college or trade school education. These funds can be used to cover any legitimate expense that helps a student stay in school. Financial support can be renewed each year, provided the student meets academic and mentoring requirements.
For students aging out of foster care, financial stability is one of the first and most critical steps in entering young adulthood on their own. We aim to relieve financial burden so that students can focus on their education, positive relationships, and personal growth.
Mentoring
ISF students receive a one-on-one mentor to guide them through life decisions, educational success, and career pathways. The mentoring program builds a trusting relationship between a seasoned leader and a student. ISF's mentorship program emphasizes character-based leadership, wise decision-making, personal and spiritual health.
The consistent support of a mentor has shown to be a key factor in whether or not a student succeeds in their educational pursuits.
Leadership Development
ISF students participate in an annual leadership conference in Dallas and an international mission trip serving orphans in resource-challenged areas.
“The only experience that I have [had] abroad was on the Guatemala mission trip with ISF,” one student shares. “To say that this experience was phenomenal would be an understatement.”