Promise in Action
What’s Inside 2 From the CEO
3 Equitable Pathways
4 Opening the Doors to Higher Education
6 Building Stronger Families
Summer 2026
From the CEO Dear Friends, As summer unfolds across New York City, I have been thinking about what it takes for children, young people, and families to move forward and feel supported at every step. Progress rarely comes from a single moment or program. It grows from steady relationships, timely opportunities, and people who show up again and again. That is the thread running through this issue of our newsletter: with the right foundation, possibility expands. Phoebe C. Boyer Children’s Aid President and CEO
Promise in Action A publication of Children’s Aid, helping children in poverty to succeed and thrive.
Children’s Aid 117 W 124th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10027
Jill Olson Chair
You will meet young people completing their first year at Clarkson University. Their story is about more than access to college. It is about belonging, encouragement, and the power of a support system that helps students imagine—and pursue—a future that once may have felt out of reach. You will also see that same commitment in our advocacy. Through the Fostering Youth Success Alliance, young people with foster care experience are helping to shape policies that recognize both their strengths and the very real barriers they face. And in our early childhood work, you will meet Gina Morales, a family advocate whose steady presence has helped one family move from uncertainty to confidence. Her story reflects what we see every day across Children’s Aid: trust is transformative. These stories are different in scale and setting, but they point to the same truth. Lasting change happens when opportunity is paired with consistent support—and when partners like you make it possible for Children’s Aid to remain present through every stage of a young person’s life. With gratitude,
Phoebe C. Boyer President and Chief Executive Officer Caroline Gallagher Chief Development Officer
Phoebe C. Boyer President and Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Ramos Vice President, Marketing and Communications ChildrensAidNYC.org 212.949.4936 Children’s Aid | SPRING 2020 2 Children’s Aid | Summer 2026
On the Cover: An early childhood student at P.S. 8 in Washington Heights celebrates the end of the school year.
E Q UI TA B LE
PATHWAY S
Higher Education for Students with Foster Care Experience
Promise in Action Executive Update Fostering Youth Success Alliance Advocacy Day in Albany
Access to higher education is critical for economic mobility, yet students with foster care experience face systemic barriers that make college persistence and completion far less attainable. To address these gaps, Children’s Aid proudly houses the Fostering Youth Success Alliance (FYSA), a statewide coalition advancing policies and programs that expand access to education and stability for young people transitioning out of foster care. In 2015, FYSA led the creation of the Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYCSI), New York State’s first and only statewide program dedicated to supporting college students with foster care experience. Since then, FYCSI has served nearly 4,000 students across SUNY, CUNY, and select private institutions. This year alone, FYCSI supports 1,348 students statewide through flexible financial aid, helping to cover tuition, housing, books, transportation, and urgent personal expenses, with annual awards typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per student.
Evaluations of FYCSI at SUNY highlight the effectiveness of this investment. The FYCSI Impact Study, published in 2025, found that students who received FYCSI support demonstrated stronger college retention, higher associate degree completions, and higher graduation rates over time than their peers with foster care experience who did not receive the award. But as the need grows, so too must the investment. FYSA has been working to ensure New York State invests $10 million to meet the growing rates of enrollment. This year, after celebrating 10 years of FYCSI funding with many of their partners in Albany, FYSA secured $8.529 million for youth with a foster care background enrolled in the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year.
Georgia Boothe began her tenure as Chief Program Officer. Throughout her 11 years at Children’s Aid, Georgia has championed quality, collaboration, and results. In this new role, she will oversee all programmatic operations, bringing together the organization’s broad portfolio of services under a unified leadership structure.
Trevor John joined Children’s Aid as the Vice President of Child Welfare & Family Services. Trevor brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in New York City’s child welfare system and throughout the broader human services sector.
By pairing strong policy and advocacy with direct financial investment, Children’s Aid, FYSA, and FYCSI are helping ensure that students with foster care experience are not just entering college, but graduating and building pathways to lasting opportunity. Summer 2026 | Children’s Aid 3
COM MIT T E D
PA RTN E R S
Opening the Doors to Higher Education
Every journey begins with a single step. For a group of New York City students, their journey began with a six-hour bus ride that would change their lives. Last summer, a generous Children’s Aid supporter invited students to visit his alma mater, Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. During a weekend trip led by our staff, youth explored the campus, met current students, and networked with faculty and staff, including the school’s president. Each young person approached the weekend with one question on their mind: “Can I see myself here?” That question would be answered for five students who applied for and were awarded scholarships funded by that same generous donor and Clarkson University alumnus. These scholarships close the financial gap for each student for all four years—including books, meals, moving expenses, and other essential costs—easing the burdens that too often stand between young people and their dreams. Behind the scenes, Children’s Aid staff partnered closely with the team at Clarkson to build a strong foundation for success, ensuring each student was matched with a faculty mentor and secured an oncampus job before classes started. When it came time to leave for college, the journey became a shared celebration. Students, their families, and the Children’s Aid team traveled together for move-in day. Parents helped unpack the dorms, shared hugs and tears, and watched with pride as their children embarked on their next chapters. Today, the students are thriving. They are pursuing challenging majors, including mechanical engineering and civil engineering, while adapting to an environment and community that differs greatly from the one they know in New York City. Together, they have created a home away from home—making new friends, studying late into the evening, cheering each other on through challenges, and sometimes spending an afternoon fishing and cooking whatever they catch. Their first year has ended, but their stories are only beginning. For several, they are the first in their families to attend college. We look forward to following their stories. What started with one donor’s belief in the potential of young people has become a powerful example of what is possible when philanthropy is paired with purpose, relationships, and opportunity.
99% of 2025 high school graduates in Children’s Aid targeted programs who applied to college were accepted, as compared to 75% of students city-wide.
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On page 5: The scholarship recipients making the most of their first year at Clarkson University.
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B UILDIN G
S T RO N GE R
FA M I L I E S
Gina Morales, Family Advocate For families enrolling in a Children’s Aid Head Start program, Gina Morales is a steady and compassionate presence. Since joining the organization in 2008, she has served our Early Childhood families in multiple roles. However, her current role as a family advocate is the one she has been preparing for throughout her entire career.
Partnership with LINC to provide community-based early literacy workshops for early childhood families
As a family advocate, Gina serves as a bridge between home, school, and community. It can often be difficult for families to know what help they need and where they can find those resources. With a deep commitment to service, she works closely with families to identify their goals and connect them to critical support like housing assistance and domestic violence resources.
Gina plays an essential role in supporting children with additional needs, helping families navigate behavioral health services while coordinating extra classroom assistance. Through home-based education and monthly socialization activities, she strengthens parent-child relationships and fosters a sense of belonging within the community. Another key to Gina’s success is her ability to build partnerships with community organizations to expand the services available to families. One of her proudest achievements is the semiannual Dental Day, held in partnership with the NYU College of Dentistry. Over the course of one day, more than 70 children receive free on-site dental exams and cleanings. Families often share that their children feel comfortable with Gina right away. “Kids seem to like me,” she says modestly, but her impact goes far beyond that. She listens without judgment, responds with empathy, and empowers parents to advocate for themselves and their children. Through dedication and partnership, she continues to change lives one family at a time.
Dental Day in partnership with the NYU College of Dentistry
Children’s Aid | SPRING 6 Children’s Aid | 2020 Summer 2026
Gina holding a child whose family she has helped
One parent shared, “Gina’s work is filled with love, compassion, and real magic. She shared a wealth of neighborhood resources that helped us feel truly welcomed and connected. Even when my life became busier, she continued to support us with flexible arrangements for meetings and referrals to wonderful programs. Thank you, Gina and Children’s Aid, for helping our family grow stronger, healthier, and full of hope.”
Children’s Aid Highlights Photo Key: 1. Children’s Aid youth attend an exclusive meet-and-greet with New York Knicks
5. Students and staff gather for a photo at the P.S. 8 Moving Up celebration in Washington
champion OG Anunoby.
Heights.
2. The Dunlevy Milbank Community Center in Harlem hosts its annual art show,
6. Players on the after-school soccer team at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in
where youth have the opportunity to display and sell their artwork to attendees.
the Bronx warm up before a game.
3. A Bronx family celebrates their child’s preschool graduation at C.S. 211.
7. Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle and Harlem native, Ajani Cornelius, hosts the Dream Infinite Youth Camp at the Dunlevy Milbank Community Center.
4. A child at Richmond Early Learning Center on Staten Island enjoys the festivities of their Stepping Up ceremony.
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