During her years teaching at Title 1 schools, Flagler College alumna Aubrie Simpson-Gotham saw a wide gap in services for local children in foster care and foster families. She found that St. Johns County foster children needed mentorship, career coaching and access to resources.
So, in 2019, she established Fostering Connections St. Johns (FCSJ).
“St. Johns County is the only county in Florida that doesn’t have a nonprofit arm running its foster programs,” she said. “There are more than 170 kids currently in foster care in St. Johns County’s Family Integrity Program. It’s a unique system and one that needs the help of the community to make sure that these kids have all of the support they need.”
The goal of FCSJ is to help all foster youth reach their full potential and connect volunteers and community leaders to opportunities to assist foster families in providing stable, loving homes for children in transition.
The organization is supported by an all-volunteer board of directors and advisory council. Some of the services offered include providing care packages and other essential items to children who are entering foster care and a Career Readiness Academy program for teens.
“Career Readiness Academy, a three-class job-training program held twice a year for teens in foster care, was started last summer in partnership with The Kookaburra, a local coffee shop and roastery,” said Simpson-Gotham. “It’s an amazing program where students learn foundational skills they need to secure a job, including writing a resume, interview skills and working as a team. At the end of the program, students apply for paid internships with our business partners to receive job coaching and develop a professional plan.”
Fostering Connections St. Johns is seeking business and corporate sponsors, volunteer job coaches, soft skills teachers and mentors for its Career Readiness Academy.
Fostering Connections St. Johns will host its “Night of the Arts” fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. May 1 at Fantasy Farms, 194 South Roscoe Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach, with live painting demonstrations, auctions, cocktails, catering by Sporks and more. The event will be primarily outdoors at 50% capacity with social distancing precautions in place. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased at bit.ly/307hW1k.
For further information, go to fosteringconnectionsstjohns.org.
