Organizational Development

Do you still have Olympic fever?  Congratulations to all our amazing Olympic Games 2012 athletes.  Let me share a few records with you: Swimmer Michael Phelps is now the most decorated Olympian of all time. Gymnast Gabrielle Douglas is the first African-American all-around Olympic champion and the first U.S. gymnast to win both that title […]

If you’ve read my blogs for more than a couple of weeks you know that I am a huge proponent of volunteerism.  I believe that each of us has a responsibility to help our fellow man.  I am so excited when service meets philanthropy and ABC’s Secret Millionaire TV show marries the two wonderfully.  Secret Millionaire

It’s officially “back to school” time.  The rush is on – new school supplies, dorm needs, uniforms and fashionable fall clothing.  Is this what the start of a new school year has been reduced to?  Education is so much more!   Education is a key factor in the attainment of economic stability and self-sufficiency.  Educational

I’m just as connected to my elementary school as I am to my senior high school.  I met two of my dearest friends there.  We are watching each other’s children grow up.  Through the wonders of social media I have reconnected with my Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten teachers.  (Yes, they still remembered me all these years

Separation of siblings in foster care happens all too often.  Two made for TV movies shed light on this common practice that often adds additional trauma at a time when young people need the love and familiarity of family the most.   This weekend I watched the GMC movie Raising Izzie.  I love GMC so

The results of a poll conducted by the consulting firm Twentysomething, Inc. states that roughly 85% of recent college graduates planned to return to their parent’s home.  “Boomerang kids” as they are now known are adults who left home for education or work and due their inability to find well-paying jobs have had to return

We all want to belong – to be accepted in a group.  We want to socialize and hang out with people with whom we have common interests.  These desires play out in different ways – enjoying a sleepover with friends, good times sharing a cabin at summer camp, and partying in a college dorm room. 

How did you celebrate the birthday of The United States of America? Cookout? Parade? Did your Independence Day festivities end with a spectacular fireworks show? Independence Day for many teens in the foster care system comes on their 18th or 21st birthday. Last year on my daughter’s 18th birthday there was a major, unexpected east

Approximately 20,000 youth age out of foster care every year without a permanent family.  Other youth are discharged from foster care before the age of age 18 and reunite with their biological families. Their family connections are often weak and these young people may quickly find themselves without a stable place to live. Another group

If you spent your teen years like the average teenager, trying desperately to exercise your independence and separate yourself from your parents/families you may not understand why a 17 or 18 year old in foster care may want to be adopted.  If the primary goals for you or your friends as teenagers were to obtain