Ready To Succeed (RTS) hosted their annual two-day summer camp, Camp Ready, this month. The event is the start of the internship and scholarship program for new participants in the RTS program and for the first time, Congressman Ted W. Lieu announced a $5,000 scholarship for each of the 50 foster youth participating this year.
With support from Congressman Lieu, the Ready to Succeed was included in the federal budget for the first time ever, receiving a $1M grant in the Omnibus Bill passed by Congress. The largest chunk of the grant will be allocated to the $5,000 scholarship for each RTS scholar to head into the school year without worrying about basic needs. This follows the recent Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program that was just released in Los Angeles county which also supports the viewpoint that basic needs are a human right and improve society on a macro level.
Camp Ready is the first interaction Ready to Succeed scholars have with their program and initiates the start of their ongoing support to guide them through college and beyond.
Camp Ready is a summer boot camp designed to make sure that foster youth and first-generation college students Scholars have a career toolkit ready to launch themselves into new opportunities. Last year, 81 scholars were able to attend and now have the career readiness resources they need.
RTS is a local nonprofit dedicated to helping foster youth develop vital skills. RTS founders Romi Lassally and Pat McCabe, alongside a skilled team of experts, scaled a successful program that has resulted in 94% of scholars placed in paid summer internships during college, 92% secure jobs 6 months post graduation , and 95% say they can envision a bright future for the first time in their lives. They are the only nonprofit nationwide that fully focuses on career readiness using a holistic model centered on coaching, community and connections. Graduates of the program average $49,320 upon entering the workforce six times that earned by most foster youth at age 21. For more information, visit https://readytosucceedla.org/.
