“Our responsibility, those of us who’ve aged out of the foster care system and chartered new paths is to say– see I’m not special, see you can do this. Because I did it. It’s not even a question of if you can, it’s a question of how… New Yorkers for Children is the how.”

“As I’ve gotten older I’ve observed everything that went on in the past, and I told myself ‘I don’t want to be like that. I want to be better’… I just hope that this program continues, because I know there’s a lot of kids in foster care who would like these opportunities.”

“New Yorkers for Children, they sent me a package for school when I started my first semester… I didn’t have the money at the time to get that stuff. And I felt loved, I felt happy… I didn’t think I’d be where I’m at right now three years ago– living on my own, going to…

“If someone educates you and tells you something, that’s something no one can ever take away from you. If it wasn’t for New Yorkers for Children, I would not even have graduated from high school. So for them to come and tell me they’re going to help and support me through college…that  there’s somebody here…

“When a stranger is willing to give up their time in their life for children like me, children in foster care that’ve been through abuse, and make them feel like, you do have a family– yes it’s not your mom– but you do have a family, and it’s us, New Yorkers for Children.”

“New Yorkers for Children taught me to dream, and to keep dreaming– once you have one dream, you have another, and another… and once you have confidence in yourself and confidence that you can do it, you will do it.”

“New Yorkers for Children has really opened up my eyes to a new world. Because I know there are people standing on the sidelines rooting for me, and I don’t want to let them down.”