There are many foundations that spend their time and money helping young people all over the world, hoping to give these children a chance to live better lives and grow no matter the situation they are in. An example of an impactful children’s charity is the Children’s Foundation of America (CFA).On April 18, the CFA hosted a non-profit fundraiser for Child Abuse Prevention Month called “Fostering Style.” At this event, individuals could buy new clothing and accessories. CFA received hundreds of clothing items and accessories which were then sold in the Fostering Style shop with most items selling for $5 or less. Pop-up Shops are not the only events that CFA holds; it also holds different types of fundraisers.

CFA was founded in 1999 with the mission to provide an opportunity for every individual to help children heal, learn, and thrive. Although CFA has only been running for 16 years, the main organization they provide support to, Trinity Youth Services, has been helping for 50 years.

CFA holds fundraisers to help pay the foster families. On top of what the state pays, CFA provides annual scholarships to foster children who are transitioning out of the system and will be attending vocational and college schools. As the foundation works with Trinity Youth Services, a service that keeps a therapeutic environment for neglected and abused children, they help provide volunteers for one time events such as holidays and seasonal events. Outreach Director Rebecca Tortes is one of the individuals who works to help CFA.

“I go all over the place with the Foundation, which is one of the best perks of my job. A lot of my job is what we call ‘friend raising,’ simply going out into the community and seeing how we can partner on events. It is my goal to bring more ‘events’ and fundraisers to our volunteers,” Tortes said.

Being a mother, Tortes wants to provide the same loving home as well as opportunities that her daughter has, which made it an easy and natural fit for a job. Anyone can participate in CFA events and help further the cause. Even students at CHS can help volunteer at events like this and are encouraged to do so.

“I think that this foundation is good because there are a lot of kids that are in foster care and they are not taken care of as well as they should be so by supporting this foundation. I want to contribute to this because it will end up helping a lot of kids,” freshman Ally Guerts said.

Tortes is reachable by contacting [email protected]. Any ideas for events are appreciated and welcomed. CFA will also be moving their offices in Claremont next month. CFA is excited to become a part of the community and hopes to receive support from students at CHS.