Foster Youth Agency Receives Help From Chevron

Chevron partners with Covenant to provide hope through vocational training and mentoring

Covenant Community Services, Inc. (Covenant) continues the day-to-day work of serving and supporting foster children and former foster youth in Kern County. The dedicated team at Covenant reaches out to between 200-300 individuals each day. This work is strengthened through the generosity of community partners like Chevron.

In November of 2010, Chevron invested $5,000.00 into Covenant programs that serve and equip former foster youth for successful futures. The grant funds were used to train and mentor foster youth that recently exited the foster care system to independence. The funds were used to launch and strengthen two social enterprises of Covenant – Covenant Coffee and Covenant Media.

Covenant Coffee employs 6- 8 former foster youth and trains each youth in vocational, social and relational skills. The former foster youth participate in every aspect of the coffee industry from assisting in roasting speciality coffees to delivery to local businesses and customers. The youth have participated in sales training and have worked many corporate and special events.  This winter, Covenant Coffee will open a cafe location at the HQ of Hope located at 1700 North Chester Ave in Bakersfield, California. This location will enable Covenant Coffee to hire an additional 4-10 former foster youth.

The Chevron grant also helped with the launch of Covenant Media and mentoring. Through this innovative social enterprise, Covenant was able to serve 5 former foster youth through vocational skills training, mentoring and journalism training that included video production, interviewing and editing.

The Covenant Coffee Crew serving at a local bike race

Chevron has been a vital community partner to Covenant Community Services and the former foster youth of Kern County. Through their grantmaking, Chevron has enabled former foster youth to find hope and people who will not only believe in them but invest into their lives with time, talent and treasure.

Lindsay Long, a Covenant Service Coordinator working daily with former foster youth, states that the foster youth that serve at Covenant “feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership here. They are learning a specific skill set and accomplishing things very few people know how to do. It really gives them something to look forward to and someone who believes in them.”

Thanks Chevron for making a difference in the lives of Kern County foster youth by investing in hope. Through the partnership the lives of former foster youth are being restored and generations are being transformed.

Related articles

• HQ of Hope moving forward! (hqofhope.com)
• Helping Foster Youth Achieve Their Dreams (hqofhope.com)
• Covenant News and Notes for July 2011 is available online (hqofhope.com)

Who is Covenant?

At Covenant, we “provide hope and love to abused and neglected children”. Covenant … changing the lives of foster youth and transforming generations!

Covenant Community Services, Inc. (Covenant) is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) social service organization serving foster children, former foster youth  and their families inKern County and through replication efforts, the United States and the world. Covenant is meeting the needs of “hurting and hopeless” children/youth and families through partnerships with local churches, community-based organizations, individuals and businesses.

Call 661-829-6999 for more information or go to www.covenantcs.net to learn more and find out ways to get involved in changing a child/youth’s future today! Other Covenant sites include www.covenantcoffee.org and www.covenantmedianow.com