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Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance Foundation |
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Impacting the lives of foster children and youth
Annually, Give-a-Gift provides 20-30 laptop computers to foster youth. Each laptop package cost approximately $700 and includes software, accessories and a warranty. Our partnerships with Best Buy and Microsoft helps keep our laptop program affordable.
We expanded our program in 2007 to address the difficulties facing older foster youth. Many factors cause foster youth to suffer from a range of poor educational outcomes, including low high school graduation rates and significant challenges pursuing postsecondary education. Statistics are dire for foster youth enrolling, completing units, and graduating from college.
Our solution to remove these educational barriers and bridge gaps was to give them a valuable tool crucial to their academic access and success: a personal laptop computer.
How we determine the need: We partner with the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cub Scholars program, the SRJC NextUP Program and VOICES Youth Programs of Sonoma County to provide laptop applications for foster youth pursuing post secondary education. They identify students who qualify and forward completed applications.
 VOICES Sonoma provides young people aging out of the foster care system with family-like support, acceptance, and accountability as they set own goals and pursue them across VOICES’ youth-led core programs: health and wellness, career and education, and ILP-Independent Living Program |
SRJC foster youth programs—Bear Cub Scholars & NextUP—are committed to improving retention and success rates for foster youth attending college; Services include academic counseling, assistance with textbooks/supplies, parking passes, college trips and emergency gift cards. |
Give-a-Gift is a program of the Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For inquiries about our program, or if you'd like to sponsor us, please email Liz Bauer or Liz Restel, co-chairs of the Give-a-Gift Committee. Give-a-Gift Committee Members:
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Best Buy helps coordinate our Laptop Program with the latest technology in computers and accessories at non-profit discount rates. Geek Squad installs software and helps students with tech support and computer warranties for 2 years. | 
Microsoft provides software at a non-profit discount and assists in software installation. Additionally, they are a corporate donor to our program. |
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