A Future for Every Child

15 Days and 35 Futures - The Year-End Challenge! Time is ticking, and 35 young adults are waiting to take the first step towards financial independence! With your support, so many of our AFEC Achievers are thriving, holding steady jobs in industries like Healthcare, Hospitality, IT/Engineering, Automobile, Business, and Marketing. Now, 35 more youth are waiting to access the education and training they need to achieve the same success. Here’s how you can help: Join the Year-End Tax Deduction Challenge and make a lasting impact while securing your personal tax benefits. Every contribution counts toward funding these young adults’ brighter futures. Donate here: https://afec.giving/donate

Happy Thanksgiving from AFEC!

Our first-ever Donor and Youth Engagement was a resounding success, all thanks to YOU! Special gratitude to our donors, our amazing partner, Catalysts For Social Action in India, and our young AFEC Achievers. Together, we explored life-changing moments through powerful questions: What experiences have significantly impacted your life? How did you navigate the emotions they brought? and What helped you stay resilient through it all? The conversations revealed that no matter where we come from, challenges unite us. From these shared stories emerged a wealth of wisdom: - Persistence in the face of obstacles - Finding peace through meditation - Leveraging support networks - Staying goal-focused and embracing opportunities - Practicing self-reflection and positivity - Taking ownership of your journey - Seeking solutions and developing new skills Stay connected and subscribe here if you are interested in future donor/youth engagements: https://lnkd.in/gk7vYjMP

The Joyful Jubilee virtual event was a tremendous success thanks to YOUR amazing support! Your presence and generous contributions made the evening truly special, and your thoughtful questions enriched our discussion. These meaningful interactions fuel our passion and strengthen our commitment to our mission. Thanks to Jayshree Radia and Sanjay Radia's incredible matching gift in both Zoom sessions, we've surpassed our fundraising goal! Your sponsorship of 29 youth was matched with support for an additional 12. Together, we will make a difference in the lives of 41 young adults, a remarkable achievement! If you missed the event and would like to donate, you can do so here: https://lnkd.in/gGWk8Vwr

Thank you, Maggie Rangan and Raja Bhadury, for hosting us at the HP Diwali Indian Luncheon! It was an honor to share our mission of supporting vulnerable youth in India, and we’re proud to have been showcased alongside Asha for Education. Curious about "A Future For Every Child"? Join us in November for one of our Zoom events! We’re excited to share inspiring success stories and engage in a meaningful discussion about our work. We’d love to connect with you all! Zoom Session 1: Thursday, Nov 14, 5-6 pm PST http://bit.ly/3NJLhHC Zoom Session 2: Sunday, Nov 17, 2-3 pm PST https://bit.ly/3YilnQl

Skilled trades are a vital part of the community and are becoming a more popular career choice. We see it directly as 83% of our AFEC Achievers choose vocational training over higher education due to accessibility and economic security. Read more about why Gen Z are choosing these jobs here: https://lnkd.in/evnqgGha

October 10th being World Mental Health Day, we are pleased to officially announce the rollout of a new initiative focused on the emotional well-being of our young adults transitioning out of institutional care! This initiative is being implemented in partnership with our on-the-ground partner Catalysts For Social Action for social and will address the challenges these young people face such as workplace conflicts, relationship struggles, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. This program is comprised of several components: Building Awareness with training sessions and self-help videos 24/7 Counseling Support through YourDost's online platform, with chat, audio, and video counseling options. YourDOST is available to Program Officers as well as our young adults. Psychiatric Support as needed "Barefoot Counseling" Training of Program Officers to serve as the first point of contact. After six months of piloting this program, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 80% of users giving it a 5-star rating. Read more about the program here https://lnkd.in/dsaQgMny See Instagram or Facebook for more details and testimonials from users!

Thank you to Asha for Education - Silicon Valley Chapter inviting us to talk about AFEC's program for care leavers at your Asha-32 conference celebrating 32 years of impact on childhood education! Look forward to collaborating in the future. #LaunchpadForAdulthood #AFutureForEveryChild

Special guest Mrs. Parvathy Ayyar, fondly known as "Amma Madam," set an inspiring tone of purpose and gratitude for the evening by announcing a generous endowment that will support 20 new Achievers each year, in perpetuity. A standout moment was her heartfelt speech, where she emphasized the transformative power of education in her own life and the unwavering support she received from her husband and mother-in-law. She contrasted this with the profound lack of support faced by youth from care homes, highlighting the urgency and importance of AFEC's mission. Jayashree Subrahmonia Wells Fargo Valya Ragu Shastha Foods Merrill Lynch

Guru Krupa Foundation Inc (GKF) has generously awarded AFEC a multi-year grant to enroll 15 new AFEC Achievers into our Launchpad for Adulthood (LFA) program in Tamil Nadu, implemented by our partner SEVALAYA. Our commitment is to help youth (care leavers) who are orphaned or semi-orphaned get the training and mentoring to become self-sufficient and create a bright future for themselves and their future families. Thanks to GKF, we have enrolled 15 care leavers from all over Tamil Nadu. The map with the purple dots shows the locations of the care homes in which youth from this particular cohort have grown up. The students are studying a variety of courses – Accounting, Nursing, Social Work, Fisheries Technology, English, Political Science, Business Administration, Computer Applications, and even Bharata Natyam – in colleges all over Tamil Nadu (see map with red dots) They came together with other AFEC-supported youth in June for a 2-day boot camp, to help create a community and get training in life skills such as Problem Solving, Creative Thinking, Goal Setting, and Interpersonal Relationships. The image shows the students from the GKF cohort at the boot camp. #AFECPartners