Robert Hall, of Elkins, and his friends Katie Hay and Mia Scanlon are working together with the common goal of supporting students in the foster care system.

Last year, Hall and Hay raised $4,456.33 to benefit a college scholarship fund that will help a West Virginia foster child. They partnered with Together We Rise, a nonprofit agency that is made of motivated young adults and former foster youth with a vision to improve the lives of foster children in America.

This year, joined by Scanlon, their goal is $5,000.

They have reached 34 percent of their goal, with $1,708.66 raised as of Sunday.

HAY

The fundraiser kicked off during the “giving season” the day after Thanksgiving, and it has 30 days remaining. The fundraiser can be found at www.togetherwerise.org/fundraise/m_r_k.

“Last year was a great response,” Hay said in a recent phone interview. “Things are a little slower” this time, but she said they are confident they will meet their goal.

Hall said this fundraiser is the perfect opportunity for them to raise awareness of the challenges facing foster children, and he’s happy he can help.

Hall met Hay while they were studying at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown. Hall has since graduated and traveled throughout Europe, and currently resides in Elkins.

He has remained close friends with Hay, who has a background in the foster care system.

SCANLON

Hay said she wanted to do something to help others who “aged out” of foster care be able to attend college. She became a foster child at age 13, and she was moved from different families and caseworkers continually the next two years. She and her sister eventually were cared for by relatives in a stable family environment, but they still were considered part of the foster care program.

She said studies have shown as little as 3 percent of children in foster care graduate from college — and she is lucky to be part of that 3 percent.

“It’s a crazy statistic when you hear it,” she said of the number of foster youth who are able to obtain a college degree. “So low. (Foster children) are obviously extremely disadvantaged.”

An estimated 400,000 youth are in the foster care system across the country, and 84 percent say they want to attend college and obtain higher education, according to research shared on the Together We Rise website.

Hay said she is proud to be part of this effort to help foster children reach their dreams, and help them feel like they are not alone. She said the scholarship for a West Virginia foster child would help alleviate a small portion of a college student’s financial burden.

Hay currently attends Loyola University in Baltimore, and she plans to graduate in July with a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Scanlon also is a student there; she is studying English, writing and marketing and plans to graduate in May.

Hay noted Hall and Scanlon both have a passion for children and education. Scanlon was adopted from China at age 1, and said she was interested in helping foster children when she heard about Hay’s background.

The three friends not only hope to continue raising money each year for the scholarship campaign, but they also hope to encourage more people to help foster children in other ways, such as decorating duffel bags for children so they don’t have to carry their belongings in trash bags.

Additional information about ways to help children in the foster care system can be found at the Together We Rise website at www.togetherwerise.org.