"I am proud that I have been able to stand up and step into a leadership role. I have gotten to share my
personal story, be given the opportunity to public speak, and through CYC I’ve been able to come into myself."
-Charys, member-

"CYC has helped me to grow to be the person I am now. CYC has healed some things
that therapy could never do…It’s healed me."
 -Cassandra, member-

"CYC provides an opportunity to come together with people that are like me with similar backgrounds, and together we are changing the system so the people that come behind us don’t have to go through what we did."
-Allan, former member and current supporter-

"It’s my life and no one else’ life. I need to tell people what I need…what we, as foster youth, need.
It’s our life, we need to have a say in it. "
-Lazara, member-

"CYC has taught me to be involved and that what I have to say matters. My experiences matter."
 -Will, member-

"CYC is a great experience. It’s a place where you can be yourself, share your life and no one judges you. It’s amazing to be with people who understand your pain and joys. It’s not about me, it’s about we. "
-Clay, member-

"CYC is the family that my parents should have been and the state should have been.
Through making the system better, I have made a new family."
-Kevin, member-

"On the day I shadowed Assembly Member Beall, I got to sit up there with him as he voted [during a hearing]. It was a great experience because they treated us like equals and that they got our backs. It was a once in a lifetime experience."
-Joe, member-

"CYC changes your life. It made me focus more on “we” versus “me”. When I was in care, I was ashamed of being
a foster. But today, I know all of our past has made us who we are. CYC has really impacted my life-
it’s made me a stronger person."   -Feven, member-

"CYC means a place to advocate, a place to meet other fosters and a place to change. "
-Terrell, member-