Comfort in Art - Sara's Story

The World is Yours - Denisse's Story

Denisse loved school all her life. It was a sanctuary, a place to escape from the violence and anger she often faced in her home situations. She loved school and was always eager to learn.

“School was my home where I had friends, and there weren’t any bad things. But one day, I got home just five mins late and he beat me with a belt and cables. It hurt to walk. So, I reported him through my school who then reported him to the police.”

Her dad was arrested but was soon out...

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Pivotal Connect 2023

Thanks to everyone who joined us at Pivotal Connect! We were inspired and touched by the stories of resilience we heard and the beautiful artwork on display in the Lost Childhoods Exhibit from the Foster Youth Museum and Pivotal’s companion Cover to Cover exhibit.

We’re so grateful for all our supporters and we hope you had the chance to meet some of our scholars and hear how much your support really means to them. If you didn’t get a chance to attend or make a donation at...

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Full Circle - Molly's Story

When Molly was growing up, her mom had serious mental health issues and struggled to take care of herself, much less her children. At 15, Molly was removed from her mom’s care and the court tracked down her father with the hopes that she could stay with him. He was a biker, affiliated with the Hell’s Angels, and was in rehab battling substance abuse issues. When they met at a restaurant, Molly hadn’t seen her dad in five years. He asked if she had any money. She paid for...

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Visit the Foster Youth Musuem

This year, Pivotal partnered with California Youth Connection to bring the Foster Youth Museum to Santa Clara University’s Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation. Created in 2006 by current and former foster youth, the Foster Youth Museum uses artifacts, art, photography, and digital media donated or created by foster youth to provide an intimate look into their experiences.

This is the first time the exhibit has been publicly displayed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pivotal has...

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Make the Most of Yourself - Monica's Story

Growing up, Monica and her brother were severely abused physically, emotionally, and psychologically by their mother's partner. Monica found solace in books – she became a voracious reader, finding escape and peace between the pages. But fiction couldn’t protect her from the realities of her life. When she was 11 years old, after a traumatic beating that left her brother black and blue over half his body, Monica knew she had to seek help. She and her brother ran away, Child...

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Welcoming Chelsey Souza - Chief Development Officer

This month, we’re welcoming Chelsey Souza, who is joining Pivotal as our new Chief Development Officer. A passionate fundraiser, Chelsey is known for her philanthropic development expertise, enthusiasm for ethical fundraising, and keen ability for inspiring volunteers.

Since entering the social sector in 2001, Chelsey worked as a staff member, volunteer, and consultant at robust organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, Silicon Valley...

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Welcoming Nkia Richardson - Board Member

Nkia Richardson is the Executive Director of CASA of San Mateo County, a position she took on in 2018 after serving on the organization’s Board of Directors for five years. A passionate advocate for children and families, Nkia began her legal career as a dependency attorney in Los Angeles County where she represented children and parents in cases of child abuse and neglect. Prior to joining CASA, Nkia worked as a Senior Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Jose, where she litigated...

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The Pivotal 2022 Annual Report is Here!

Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the scholars we served in the 2021-22 Academic Year and read more about how Pivotal aims to reach even more young people from foster care as we continue our mission to provide foster youth with the education, career, and life they want for themselves.

Our cover story is about Anaztajia, who talks about how the Pivotal team went above and beyond to guide her to an on-time high school graduation and acceptance into UC Santa Barbara.

“Pivotal...

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Introducing Pivotal's New CEO - Matt Bell

In January, Pivotal welcomed our new CEO, Matt Bell. For much of the past two decades, Matt has worked to ensure that marginalized and underserved communities have equal access to education, work, and independent living opportunities. He feels passionately that regardless of socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, or family structure, these fundamental tenets of life should be accessible to all people. 

Most recently, Matt served as Executive Director of Via Services,...

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Meet Candy

Growing up, Candy had big hopes and dreams for her future. First, she wanted to be an engineer, then a zoologist, then a pediatrician. When her uncle became a nurse, she saw how dedicated he was to helping others, and the life he built for himself, it sparked her interest. She talked it through with friends, thought about it more, and realized she wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a neonatal nurse. 

Having role models and adults who can provide guidance and lead by example is...

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Meet Savasia

Savasia was placed in foster care early in her high school years. At a time when she wanted to focus on her education, graduating, and just being a typical high schooler, she suddenly found herself emotionally overwhelmed by everything happening to her. Over the course of her time in care, she had to manage huge changes in her life and her support structure. Her social workers changed frequently, as did her therapists, and every time she sought help from a new person, she had to tell her...

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