FosterFriends

FosterFriends is an organization developed by high school students in order to connect children in the foster care system with high school partners through shared passions. The app allows partners to connect and set goals for the progress of their extracurricular passion; for example: dance, art, music, soccer, or writing. It encourages creativity and cultivates friendships.

The high school students that participate in the program are committed to making sure that they are there for their partner, an elementary-school aged child who either is or has been in the foster care system. Through this program, high schoolers become more caring and attentive and get to practice their leadership skills, while children in the foster care system gain an amazing new friend and mentor.

This app has the technology to set goals, video message, work on projects, and work together, allowing close relationships to be formed and skills to be developed. Each mentor and mentee will have their own set of goals, and they can add or remove them as they see fit.

Each participant will have their own username, ID, and password, and each partnership will also have a supervisor assigned to them should any problems occur. Partnerships will be put together by supervisors, who will pair based on a variety of topics, including interests, personality type, and goals. In order to become a mentor or mentee, there is a form that will be filled out, which will help match the partners. For each mentor, there will be additional training in order to prepare every high school student to interact with their mentees in ways that are the most beneficial to both sides.

Want to learn a new skill or get better at an old one? Sign up with FosterFriends!
Explore your extracurricular activity with a partner to encourage you and keep you on track.

Create appointments with your partner for video call sessions, messaging, or project work time.
Set goals for the future to make sure you have a timeline.

If you would like to learn more, if you have any questions, or if you want to participate, please download the app and email us at fosterfriendsdc@gmail.com.