BACKGROUND
Mission, History, Goals & Objectives

Our mission is to foster support, and nurture imagination, creation and talent by providing free opportunities to foster youth through enrichment programs that include a Theatre Program, Adventure Program, Referral Program, and long-term Mentoring Program.
Fostering Imagination was created in 2005 by family law attorney Ilia Lopez in response to the growing number of foster youth who become destitute when they emancipate from the foster care system upon turning eighteen. Working with experienced youth advocates, she set out to develop innovative programs that would build self-esteem, confidence and respect in foster youth, provide a safe place to learn and participate in extracurricular activities, and establish life- bonds between foster youth and adult mentors.
Our desired outcomes are youth-focused. Fostering Imagination strives to develop foster youth’s capacity to evaluate, plan, and enact their own positive development as well as to work with others to do the same. The goal for each youth participant is based on six measurable outcomes:

(1) Academic improvement
(2) Increased self-expression, confidence and self-esteem
(3) Development of positive peer relationships
(4) Improved ability to interact with people of different cultures
(5) Development of a sense of stability and belonging
(6) Creation of a permanent and lifelong connection with an adult mentor

In addition to participant outcomes, Fostering Imagination also strives to impact the larger community by reducing the traditionally negative prospects for foster youth, including unemployment, failure to graduate from high school, incarceration, homelessness, and reliance on public assistance.