Celebrating BIG Accomplishments!
Celebrate Big Accomplishments
On July 19th, the Foundation for Foster Children partnered with Garry & Isis Jones to celebrate the big accomplishments, the Next Chapter Kickback! Mr. Jones is the President of Full Sail University and Mrs. Jones is the Chief Information Officer. The couple, who are passionate about seeing foster youth succeed, were the perfect pair to host this event!
The Next Chapter Kickback is a celebration of the Foundation has created to honor foster youth who have graduated from high school, technical school, and beyond, as they move into the next chapter of their lives. Garry & Isis Jones hosted this intimate gathering at their private residence and in addition had a special guest, Mr. Leslie Brathwaite, join all the way from Atlanta!
The Celebration
The celebration started out with a scenic boat tour of Winter Park’s Chain of Lakes, followed by a tour of the Jones’ stunning home. Next, the youth gathered on the lanai for a fun white elephant gift exchange. Following the exchange, each youth took a turn sharing their greatest accomplishment this year, as well as sharing challenges they believe they’ll face in trying to achieve their next goal. Among some of their accomplishments: a high school diploma, GED, completion of a culinary program, an Associate of Arts in General Studies, and more. Among barriers, a lack of transportation was a common theme, along with balancing work and academics, and responsibilities with younger siblings. This compelling discussion provided insight as to how the youth may need assistance in the future.
Discussions
After the discussion, the group went inside to the theater room to hear the personal stories of Isis Jones and Leslie Brathwaite, and watch video clips of Hall of Fame members from Full Sail University, which included Leslie’s.
Leslie is a Grammy-nominated audio engineer, who works regularly with big names, Beyoncé, Pharrell, and other A-List musicians. The youth were very impressed and inspired by what they heard! After this, everyone gathered to eat and create vision boards. The vision boards are a great visual tool to help youth stay focused on future endeavors.
As the party concluded, the group opened special gifts from the Jones’ family and the Foundation.
It was a fun, heartfelt, and inspirational time for all involved! We are so proud of these grads!
Photos by Dani Brown, Volunteer
