La Sierra University is working to raise $2 million for an endowment that would cover the full cost of college for foster youth, collecting roughly $70,000 at a November 13 fundraising event.
University and county officials say the Home@LaSierra Endowment would fill a critical support gap for young people transitioning out of foster care, many of whom face homelessness, incarceration or other challenges after leaving the system.
Michelle Wohl, deputy director of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, explained that California's extended foster care program allows youth to stay in care until age 21 under certain conditions, but the state provides no dedicated funding for services. That leaves many aging out without adequate resources.
"When this university says we want this campus to be home, you're supporting a foster youth's ability to attend a private school," Wohl told attendees at the fundraising launch. "On this campus, they can actually be at home."
The November event brought together 16 community and university leaders who read from favorite stories and poetry in a transformed conference center decorated with fall colors and twinkling lights. Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, university Chief Financial Officer and Ward 7 Councilmember Steve Hemenway, and retired Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark E. Johnson were among those who participated.
Lock Dawson read works by nature writer Mary Oliver and former U.S. poet laureate W.S. Merwin, then drew connections between the endowment and Riverside's recent progress on youth homelessness.
The city reached "functional zero" for youth homelessness among 18- to 24-year-olds in March, housing 94 young people over the past two years through expanded shelter beds and partnerships with nonprofits and housing providers.
"This endowment represents the comprehensive support that truly moves the needle for our most vulnerable youth," Lock Dawson said. "It builds on that momentum by ensuring foster youth aging out of the system can access not just housing, but the education that opens doors to better futures."
La Sierra President Christon Arthur opened the evening by sharing his own experience of not going to college right after high school, even though he was academically ready. A church pastor eventually convinced him to apply to a small Caribbean college similar to La Sierra.
"If someone like you hadn't shown up and introduced this concept to me, I wouldn't be what I am today," Arthur told the crowd. "I can look back and see when my life turned for the better."
The Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists contributed $10,000 as a visionary sponsor. The university is planning a gala for October 14, 2026, at the Riverside Convention Center along with other fundraising efforts leading up to that event.
