Cherished Hands meeting at USC to build up foster youth for success

By Natalie Reyes

To “cherish,” or to carefully nourish and strengthen others, is the goal of volunteers in Cherished Hands. Cherished Hands is a nonprofit organization that works to create a stable, supportive environment for students in foster care. Primarily funded by private donors, the Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Foundation and Southern California Edison Gas Company, Cherished Hands hosts Saturday Academy, field trips, a Clothing Closet program and holiday events throughout the year.

Janae Chatmon, a recent graduate from USC’s Class of 2017, began volunteering with Cherished Hands during her sophomore year. For her, cherishing students in the foundation is a commitment not only to tutor students academically, but to also mentor and equip these children with skills they will need to navigate the future.

Tutoring to make a difference

Janae remembers working with a young boy who had extraordinary math skills for his age. “He was brilliant and I asked if he was in accelerated math classes and he responded with, ‘What is that?’ He didn’t even know it was an option at his school,” Janae said. The next time Janae saw her student, he had successfully moved up to advanced math classes and was excelling in the more challenging classroom.

“When you take time to invest, even in the small ways like sharing resources, that can make a huge difference. We need mentors who will help these kids realize they’re brilliant and push them to grow.”

In her own life, Janae experienced the benefits of kinship care when her mother passed away unexpectedly while she was in high school. During the crucial time of applying to colleges and scholarships, being in the care of relatives gave Janae the support she needed to carry on with her education. “I would not be where I am today, I would not have gone to USC, much less had funding for USC, if it had not been for that mentorship that pushed me to apply for opportunities in higher education.”

Janae graduated with a degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from USC in 2017 and will begin her first year of medical school at UCLA’s PRIME program this Fall 2018 with a full tuition scholarship. Janae hopes to continue mentoring kids with Cherished Hands and looks forward to continuing to see the organization grow.

Joining forces

Students like Janae and working professionals volunteer their time to mentor students and form community to support student success.

Founder and CEO, Devyn Davis shares, “All children are children, more than anything, all children have a desire to be loved and know someone cares about their education and their steps in life.”