Educate YouMeWe's Mark Bell Scholarship

Since our last update, the Mark Bell Scholarship community has grown in some full-circle ways.

Shizuma, one of our scholars, is now teaching — a moment that captures exactly what this program is built for: young people who once needed support now stepping into roles where they guide others. Yuta, another scholar, teaches music online, transforming his own education into a livelihood he shapes on his own terms.

We've also seen the program's reach extend within families, with siblings of current scholars now receiving and applying for scholarships themselves — a sign that the support we provide doesn't just change one life, but can shift the trajectory of an entire family.

And for one scholar taking his next step into independent living, we're helping furnish his first apartment — the kind of practical, tangible support that turns "leaving care" into "starting a home."

None of this happens without consistent groundwork. We continue to run weekly study sessions, quarterly check-ins on grades, mental health, and finances, and our Fostering Higher Education Mentor Program, which pairs mentees with a mentor for at least their first two years at university. Nationally, 90% of youth aging out of foster care drop out in their first year of university, and only 2% complete their degree. Every scholar who stays enrolled, every sibling who applies, every apartment we help furnish — these are the numbers we're working to change.

Thank you for making these moments possible.

With gratitude,

Michael Perry-Clemons

Founder