The Silver Linings of Distance Learning

July 15th, 2020 Foster Care System

Parents everywhere are wondering what school will look like this year and worried about the challenges and pitfalls of distance learning. As Pivotal scholars prepare to start the new school year remotely, we asked how they feel about distance learning. Because of their own unique experiences in the foster system, many prefer it over in-person instruction. Here are five things we learned:

1. You can live anywhere.

For many young people from foster care, securing stable housing after they emancipate from the foster care system is a challenge. The high cost of living in...

June 17th, 2020

Alumni Success Stories

Words from our Scholars!

We’re so proud of our graduating college seniors! While the pandemic changed many things in the lives of our Pivotal scholars, not even Covid-19 could stop Naeim, Farhad, Latif, and Diana from achieving their goals. Below we offer some Q&A with these four stellar scholars.

How does it feel to earn your bachelor’s degree?

Latif: As a first-generation college student, earning a bachelor’s degree feels like a tremendous accomplishment for myself and my family....

June 16th, 2020

Foster Youth Services

Pivotal Perspectives - Social Justice Dialogue

Pivotal is responding to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that are happening around the country and here at home, with conversations about Black Lives Matters and racial justice. This month, we invite all Pivotal high school, college, and alumni scholars to Pivotal Perspectives Social Justice Dialogue. It will be a safe space for scholars to discuss their thoughts and concerns about race relations, talk about ways to cope in difficult times, and think about how to be active change...

June 8th, 2020

Our Impact

Black Lives Matter: A Letter from Pivotal's CEO and Board President

Last week, we watched in horror, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, which was just the latest in a string of deaths that included the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. As our outrage over these events continues and we sit with heavy hearts, we are taking a moment to speak out because silence is no longer an option.

June 5th, 2020

Our Impact

My Year as a Pivotal Intern Coach

Students in Pivotal’s Intern Coach Program are working towards a bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work. Our program gives them an opportunity to complete their required professional hours under the supervision of our team of experts, all of whom have Master’s degrees in Social Work. Intern Coaches work exclusively with high school students for one year and manage a caseload of roughly six students per coach. They deliver social-emotional learning, teach success...

June 5th, 2020

Alumni Success Stories

Meet Monserrat

By Janelle Blakely, Director of Development

Incredible is how I describe Pivotal scholar, Monserrat. Inspired is how I felt after I sat down and talked with her.

Monserrat is very educational-oriented, a lover of learning and school. A first-generation college student, she will make her dreams a reality when she attends UC Santa Barbara this fall!

Her love of learning was passed down from her mom who always placed great value on education. Although Monserrat’s mom encouraged her kids to...

May 27th, 2020

Our Impact

Be Pivotal: Two Ways to Help us Save Summer 2020

By Melissa Johns, Executive Vice President

As we head full steam into June, Pivotal is on a mission to Save Summer 2020! Normally you’d find us spending the last days in May helping high school and collegiate scholars finalize the details of their summer internships, while calming their nerves as they prepare for their first professional jobs. But 2020 is no typical year.

Coronavirus has upended the tradition of summer internships, and young people across the country are feeling the...

May 20th, 2020

Foster Youth Services

Triad of Support Offers Free Meals to Pivotal Foster Youth During National Foster Care Month

Our friends at the Junior League of San Jose have been ardent supporters of both transition-age foster youth and women entrepreneurs for years. When they read our newsletters about Pivotal scholars' Covid-19 emergency needs, they came up with a plan to blend support for both populations.

May 20th, 2020

Foster Youth Services

Pivotal Provides Laptops to College Foster Youth During Covid-19

Nicole is a former foster youth who attends San Jose City College and has big dreams for herself. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, she completed her course assignments in the computer lab at her apartment complex. But when shelter-in-place forced her complex to shut down the lab, Nicole ran into a significant problem: How would she do her work without access to a computer? Pivotal stepped in to help.

Adobe HQ — Adobe has been a Pivotal partner since 2018.

April 22nd, 2020

How to Help Foster Youth

Silicon Valley Corporations and Foundations Step It Up During the COVID Crisis

We applaud the Silicon Valley corporations and foundations that are supporting nonprofits like Pivotal during COVID-19. Many wonderful partners such as Acer America, Comerica Bank, Pinpoint Foundation, Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Sobrato Family Foundation, and Tipping Point Community have generously donated to Pivotal’s Emergency Assistance Fund.

April 21st, 2020

Acer America Gives to Pivotal's Emergency Assistance Fund

On March 18, 2020, Pivotal launched an Emergency Assistance Fund to provide immediate financial support to youth who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. These youth had experienced a drastic loss of income and were worried about paying for essential needs like rent, groceries, and utilities.

We were thrilled with many generous offers of support from individuals, corporations, and foundations who wanted to step up for foster youth during the COVID-19 crisis. One of these companies was...

April 17th, 2020

Our Impact

When They're Just Not That Into You

Getting teens to focus on their future can be tricky under normal circumstances, let alone a time hard-hit by a global pandemic. This era of uncertainty triggers a wide variety of responses, and for some, the response is to go quiet and withdraw. Pivotal coaches share their secrets for getting clever and engaging scholars during these tough times.