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President Donald Trump was joined by First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday at the White House for a special ceremony marking the signing of an executive order supporting Mrs. Trump’s work to provide support and resources for American foster youth.
The First Lady kicked off her remarks by explaining her vision behind helping America’s foster youth, who are too often left empty-handed by the government system.
“Too many people from foster communities end up homeless, in danger on America’s streets,” she said.
The First Lady continued, “It was 2021 when I developed the idea to establish an impactful platform with an important mission to provide individuals from the foster community the ability to secure an entry-level job position and, in turn, financial independence.”
The executive order unites federal resources with public and private-sector partnerships to provide pathways to career success for young people who are aging out of the foster care system.
The First Lady said her work in this area “gives me tremendous pride” and promised that this fusion of federal agencies with private and public entities would be “impactful.”
She called on all organizational leadership to “rise above the ease of inaction.”
“Our united resolve will foster a thriving future filled with compassion and innovation. Together we will illuminate the pathway for today’s foster children to become tomorrow’s builders,” she stated. “…Tomorrow’s builders will foster the future of America’s legacy.”
President Donald Trump, in his remarks, thanked the First Lady for her remarkable efforts on this issue, and said the country was “truly blessed to have this magnificent and very caring First Lady – they love her.”
The “Fostering the Future” executive order will not only fuse government resources with the private and public spheres. It will create a “Fostering the Future” online platform for foster youth to develop their own career-building plans and increase their access to educational vouchers and federal grants, allowing them to pursue study areas of their choice. It will also expand the scope of scholarship disbursement for young adults emerging from the foster care system.
Federal agencies involved in this effort include the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.