A constellation of support for NYC youth!

At the Table Header

May is Foster Care Awareness Month, and SparkYouth is proud to support multiple organizations working to ensure that the remarkable and resilient youth who have experienced foster care have access to opportunities they deserve.

We know that secondary education can be transformative for all young people, but students in foster care have disproportionately lower graduation rates, with just 12% of college-enrolled students with foster care backgrounds completing their degrees.

SparkYouth Grantee, At the Table, is on a mission to change these outcomes by connecting students currently and formerly in foster care with long-term, highly personalized college tutoring, advising, resource navigation, and emergency funding. And they’re igniting impressive results!

Of the students who've joined At the Table since launching in 2020, 43% have already graduated, with at least 60% projected to complete their degrees. That’s five times the national average!

“Students in foster care, historically, have not had the college degree outcomes that they want or deserve. We know from working with our students that these results have nothing to do with desire or potential. It’s about the way our society is falling short in supporting this incredible group of young people.”
-Michael Zink, Executive Director, At the Table

At the heart of At the Table is their unique community of care. They never turn away students due to GPA or past academic history, and their board of directors is majority-led by individuals with lived experience in foster care, ensuring the program is shaped by those who’ve been there.

Like all SparkYouth grantees, At the Table team members are experts in their field, and they know best what kind of support is most useful at any given moment. That’s why SparkYouth’s trust-based approach includes being nimble and responsive to our grantees’ unique needs.

“We’re really grateful for the flexibility of SparkYouth’s support. It’s not just that SparkYouth is helpful, they trust us to know what we need. That kind of respect is rare, and it makes a real difference.”
-Michael Zink, Executive Director, At the Table

SparkYouth also supports City Living NY, which connects youth aging out of foster care with housing and in-depth support. While 1 in 4 former foster youth becomes homeless within three years of leaving care, 100% of City Living’s youth have retained their housing.

Together, City Living and At the Table are building a constellation of support for young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood, providing access to essential resources to help them reach their full potential.

Want to rally behind At the Table, City Living, and all 15 of SparkYouth’s impactful grantees? CLICK HERE!