Naples Children Foundation Gives Fostering Success Grant

Fostering Success has received a $415,000 grant from the Naples Children Foundation, founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. The grant will directly support the organization’s Academic Mentoring program, a vital initiative that provides tutoring and educational support to local foster children, and its summer camp and after-school programming.

Foster children can face significant educational challenges due to frequent moves between homes and schools. Fostering Success addresses these barriers through its Academic Mentoring program, which provides one-to-one tutoring and educational guidance tailored to each child's needs. Once matched, students remain with the same Academic Mentor throughout placement changes, creating consistency and stability in their educational journey.

"Children in foster care have experienced circumstances no child should have to face, yet they deserve the same opportunities to thrive and envision a brighter future as their peers,” said Sarah Zaiser-Kelly, SVP of Grants and Community Impact at the Naples Children Foundation. “By investing in Fostering Success, we're helping create the stability and support young people need to build brighter futures and achieve lasting success."

Recognizing that children thrive when their academic, social, and emotional needs are met, Fostering Success also provides meaningful enrichment experiences through after-school programs and summer camps. These opportunities help foster youth develop confidence, build relationships, explore new interests, and create lasting childhood memories in a safe environment. So that students can easily access both services, tutoring sessions often take place in after-school and summer camp programs.

Thanks in large part to longstanding support from NCF, Fostering Success is proud to maintain a 100% high school graduation rate among participants in its Academic Mentoring program, helping foster youth overcome educational barriers and pursue brighter futures through continued education.

"We are so grateful to partner with an organization as dedicated to children as Naples Children Foundation," said Ann Hughes, CEO of Fostering Success. " Their support over the years has empowered us to provide foster youth with both the academic tools and enrichment opportunities they need to reach their full potential. This investment will help provide children in our community with access to the resources, experiences, and encouragement they deserve."