LIFE 360
Currently, Arizona has over 18,000 foster children and each year over 800 children “age out” of the system when they turn 18. 1 out of 5 become homeless. 1 out of 4 become incarcerated. Only 33% graduate high school with a diploma. Only 3% graduate from college.
Together the mentors and foster children focus on basic skills like money management, household management, planning for college, budgeting, interviewing for jobs, job skills, nutrition and meal planning. The mentors provide encouragement and guidance and help the foster youth become productive adults.
Want to help sponsor a child in our LIFE 360 program? The cost to sponsor is $100 a month. To help in part or in full, make your donation now.
Yearly Events
LIFE 360 KICK OFF
After returning from summer camp in Payson in July, our Life 360 events kick off with a popular visit to Golfland/Sunsplash in Mesa. It is a great way to start building relationships with our youth.
CARS 101
Do you know how to change a tire or check your oil, what about how auto insurance works? If you do, most likely you learned from your parents or a family member. Many of our youth miss out on these life lessons, so our Cars 101 event educates our kids about basic car care knowledge and minor car maintenance.
COOKING 101
Some of our kids have never had the opportunity to learn to cook, so our Cooking 101 event provides them with an opportunity to at least experience a few hours cooking up something nutritious, and well, hopefully delicious.
GOLF
We have a partnership with Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa, so this event gives our foster kids free instruction, food and fun one Saturday a month.
FINANCES
What is a budget? Is a credit score important? How much money will be taken from my paycheck for taxes. What are taxes and why do we have to pay them? What exactly is insurance and why do I need it? These are some questions our youth ask, and at this educational event, we provide answers for them.
EQUINE THERAPY
Horses can be very therapeutic. Being around a horse can help increase trust, self-esteem, self-acceptance, and social skills. Horses can help reduce anxiety, depression and feelings of isolation our youth deal with, so this event gives our foster kids the chance to engage with horses and benefit from their therapeutic qualities.
COLLEGE & CAREER FAIR
We literally do our own Life 360 College & Career Fair. We want to show our young people that their futures are bright, and they have choices about who or what they want to become. We understand college isn’t for everyone, but we present other educational avenues, such as trade schools, that could be a good choice for our youth.
ART
Creative expression can foster healing and mental well-being. Art, either creating it or viewing others’ artwork, can help people explore emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, boost self-esteem, and can improve social skills and that is why we provide artistic opportunities for our youth.
SERVING
Teaching our youth to give back to the community is vital. We provide an opportunity for them to serve their community one Saturday out of the year to help them experience the rewarding feeling that comes from helping others.
CELEBRATE
Only 33% of kids in foster care will graduate from high school. This is a statistic that should alarm all of us. That is why here at Hope & A Future we Celebrate Graduations. Each of our youth who receives their high school diploma is rewarded a $500 scholarship. There are some that it has taken to age 21 or older to finish, but the scholarship is there when they earn their diploma. We never give up on our youth.
