We are incredibly thrilled to announce the graduation of eleven Blavin Scholars this spring. Years of hard work, persistence, and determination have paid off for these amazing young adults and we couldn’t be more proud of and inspired by them. These individuals — six from University of Michigan and five from Northern Arizona University — bring our total number of graduates to 47 since the inception of the Blavin Scholars program. Please join us in celebrating our grads. Congratulations to each and everyone one of them, to their spirit, and to their strength. And, thank you to those have worked along side them in support of efforts and their dreams — there are many of you and we are so grateful.

And, here they are — our Class of 2018…!

“Earning a Bachelor’s degree is a big accomplishment for anyone – but especially for students who spent time as teenagers in foster care. The odds are stacked against them. But Detroit native Malaysha White is a success story…” […Continue Reading]

Coming from a community many of his peers weren’t able to attend college, Deyanco knew he wanted to lead a different life. He set a goal to transfer to Michigan and join the football team. With help from the Blavin Scholarship, which provides support for students who grew up in the foster care system, Deyanco was able to reach that goal and more.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher levels of education translate to higher employment rates and higher lifetime earnings. But for many students, both young and old, there are many obstacles that interfere with their higher education and career pursuits. Researchers at Reviews.com identified not having proper educational resources and/or the lack of financial funding as the most common factors. The site addressed these head-on in their recent guide so that students and families in can learn about their options and feel empowered to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.

You can see Reviews.com free collection of guides and tools here:

• http://www.reviews.com/best-scholarship-search-platforms/
• http://www.reviews.com/online-tutoring/
• https://www.reviews.com/mooc-platforms/
• https://www.reviews.com/student-internship-platforms/

Paul and Amy Blavin continue their mission to help young people who are aging out of foster care pursue higher education. Enter their latest project: “Mully: Changing the World One Child at a Time.” Paul and Amy are executive producers of this important documentary film about Charles Mully – an abandoned Kenyan orphan who goes on to become a wealthy businessman and risks everything to provide a home to orphaned children across Kenya.

Earlier this month, Paul and Amy extended their outreach to over 80 movie theaters in Michigan, where representatives from Michigan’s Fostering Futures Scholarship organization were on hand with information about providing financial support, becoming a licensed foster parent, or adopting from foster care.

You can read Paul’s letter about this initiative in the Detroit News here – it’s inspiring!

For information about showings of “Mully” at a theater near you, visit mullymovie.com.

And, if you, too, would like to help Michigan’s foster children, please visit michigan.gov/hopeforahome.