First Star is Resilient During a Time of Uncertainty

View this email in your browser

First Star is Resilient During a Time of Uncertainty

These are unprecedented times for all of us. We hope you and your families continue to be safe and healthy. One of our core values has always been the sense of family and community that we create for our students. It has been our honor to come together as the First Star Network to confront these undeniable challenges. While some of them may differ from Academy to Academy, we remain committed to supporting our Scholars, Academy Directors and Alumni as we all embark on a new path ahead.

Mianna

An alumna of our Loyola University Chicago Academy, Mianna is one of our graduates who we've had the privilege of helping during this time of need. Prior to this crisis Mianna has been a huge source of inspiration for all our current LUC scholars, while serving as one of their Peer Mentors. A current sophomore at LUC, facing a campus closure, First Star was able to help with moving & storage costs and provided her with gift cards to purchase essential hygiene products.

Crisis: A Time of Danger & A Time of Opportunity

The current situation is often referred to as a crisis. But the Chinese characters for 'crisis' have a two-fold meaning, comprised of hanzi for both danger and opportunity. While we may feel a sense of danger, this is also a moment to remember the opportunity we have to show up for each other and create a deeper sense of engagement and support for our community.

Meeting Our Students' Needs

First Star's commitment to supporting our students is the heart of what we do. While it is unfortunate that the current situation has adversely affected many of our students, we have shown up in ways that are making a real difference. Our Academy Directors and community partners, along with the national First Star staff have hit the ground running to make sure we can be a source of strength and hope for our scholars.

Supporting our Academy Directors

We couldn't do the work we do without the dedication of our Academy Directors. They are working everyday to meet our students' needs and provide reliable support to their caregivers and caseworkers. Last week we convened our network of Academy Directors, university liaisons and staff to discuss a plan of action that effectively combats the growing needs of our scholars and greater foster care community. We have compiled this comprehensive national and local list of resources, which we will update regularly.

We recognize how hard our entire First Star family has been working to ensure our students' needs are met. As a gesture of gratitude, we gifted our Academy Directors and team with a gift card as a small token of thanks and a reminder to take some time out for themselves during these unprecedented times. We are all in this together!

Supporting Our Alumni

Our alumni are just as important to us during this time as our current scholars. Many of them have had to deal with the lack of secure and safe housing, technology barriers to completing school work, transportation and moving expenses to vacate dorm rooms, food insecurity, and the loss of work-study jobs.

Thanks to amazing support from our First Star Alumni program, under the helm of Jennyann Gallo, many of our alumni have been assisted with these needs and our staff and Board continue to help with any challenges that arise. If you are an alumnus in need of help or resources, don't hesitate to reach out to us at: alumni@firststar.org or visit our website.

Make a Donation Today

First Star is Committed to Taking Care Of Each Other

For more helpful hints on taking care of your mental health visit Mental Health America.

Sharing Up to Date and Accurate Data on COVID-19

We will continue to share all the latest and trusted sources of information on the COVID-19 virus with our community and how to make sure we are all doing our part to stay safe and healthy at this time. For more information on the most accurate news and updates, visit these links for the CDC and WHO.

Places We're Finding Hope and Joy

103-Year Old Woman Recovers

A 103-year-old woman has become the oldest person to beat COVID-19 and return home! Zhang Guangfen recovered from the disease after receiving treatment for just six days at a hospital in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak. Her doctor, Dr. Zeng Yulan told reporters the centenarian’s quick recovery was down to her having no underlying health conditions apart from mild chronic bronchitis.

Virtual Museum Visits

Stuck at home with nothing to do? Museums, zoos and aquariums across the country are hosting virtual tours you can take from the comfort of your couch. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago went one step further by allowing two of their penguins out to explore the aquarium and visit with the other animals (all under the care of critical staff members of course). Check them out here.

Italians Making Music Together

One of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, Italians have taken to their balconies to entertain each other during these difficult days. Andreas Kappes, a psychologist in London said of this phenomenon, "What produces this care and concern for others is the sense of common identity that stems from common fate. We are all in this together."

Make sure you are following us to stay up to date
with our response to the COVID-19 crisis