Fostering Hope

For my ACES pillars project, I chose to research a Northeast Ohio, non-profit organization named Fostering Hope.

Fostering Hope aims to help with raising awareness for youth and children within the foster care system and it helps them experience things and activities that they may not have been able to otherwise, whether it were for any reason, including, but not limited, to financial need and limited resources. This organization is very big on letting kids be kids and helping to connect them to valuable resources that they may need to continue on sort-term and long-term.

Fostering Hope is very big on advocating for kids and youth being just that: kids. They are there to show these youth that there is always someone there that can and is willing to help. The volunteers are always ready to help make someone’s day, whether it be hosting events, making goody bags for the kids, making a community garden for all, and helping over 2,000 kids, teens, and overall youth.

G.O.A.L.S.: Academic Enrichment

Ever since I was younger, I have always wanter to better and expand my education. I graduated from a community college at 18 concurrently as from my high school with both: my Associates’ of Arts degree and my High School Diploma; earning my CPR and First Aid certifications along the way.

Now that I am a student at The Ohio State University, I have continued my education, taking a variety of Social Work and Psychology classes to continue my goal of earning my dual Bachelors’ degrees in both Social Work and Psychology, to be able to go into foster care or psychology to be able to help, advocate, and care for those who may not have someone who can help them do so for themselves, within four years and continue on this journey to ear my Masters’ of Social Work just one year later and then hopefully continue on with developmental or clinical psychology and psychological research.

My education is a very long journey that is extremely important to me, to continue to meet this goal and better myself and my education, I plan to continue to take the classes that go along with my major and interests, continue to seek and hopefully be a part of various research opportunities, and seek internships and placements that will help not only me but those whom I am here for and here to help with.

G.O.A.L.S.: Service Engagement

Throughout High School, I was a very involved individual and, in a way, made it a goal to volunteer and be a service to my community. I started off with being a LinkCrew leader at the Early College High School program I was in, later on, eventually joining in and helping out at the 2022 Ohio Special Olympics, hosted in Elyria, Ohio, which led me to be more involved in my community. Volunteering at a local hospital (University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center) one to two days a week, from four to six hours at a time.

To me being involved and being of service means being able to help out whenever, wherever it is needed. Whether it be helping set up before events, cleaning up after events, helping out and guiding children in the special olympics, or even just helping out in a hospital.

This is something that I carry along with me to college, more recently being involved in events that help cancer patients by making them goody bags, crocheting breast cancer ribbons with my fellow ACES, making journals and bookmarks with BSA on campus, and volunteering with the Gladden Community House to raise money for people in need in surrounding cities and suburbs, and throughout Ohio.

University Hospitals – Elyria Medical Center

During my Junior and Senior years of high school, I was presented with the opportunity of volunteering in different areas of the community; as a result I chose to get involved with a local hospital: University Hospitals – (Elyria Medical Center) EMC.

Volunteering with University Hospitals EMC, I learned a lot; not only about the community but about my position there and how it helped advocate for the patients. Volunteer-wise, there was a wide age range, from high school sophomores to older, retired seniors. Overall, a lot of people looking to better the community and help out however they could, whether it be answering simple phone calls, transporting basic and confidential information and/or specimens to where they had to be/go, showing patients around the hospitals and guiding visitors to where they had to go, to even delivering over 500 orchids, that were donated, up to the lobbies so that the hospital staff could have a nice little pick-me-up after a long shift at the hospital.

I primarily worked at the desk right when one would walk in, from 4 hour shifts to 6 hour shifts just helping out and working with others who just wanted to help and give back to the community. By helping with a variety of activities and different jobs, we helped insure that the little things were also being taken care of, as well as, the big things; from something as small as just calling someone down to change and restock masks and hand sanitizer or taking flowers that were sent to a patient, to something as big as being able to help a loved one locate their family member who was getting treated and/or helping nurses get paperwork and specimen to where they had to go.

I was very fortunate to be able to help out such a wonderful staff and be able to meet some of the greatest and sweetest people just by volunteering at University Hospitals Elyria Medical in the short year that I was able to and am very grateful to the staff and volunteers that became a secondary familiar community to me.

About Me: Sheliya Cordero

Hello, my name is Sheliya Cordero. I am from Lorain, Ohio and I am a first-generation college student. I attended Lorain County Community College’s Early College High School Program alongside my high school career and my road to earning my Associate’s of Arts Degree. I am currently on a continuous educational path, pursuing dual bachelors’ degrees  in Social Work, as well as, Psychology as a first-year, rank 3 (Junior ranking), at Ohio State University. With this I plan to go either into psychology or even foster work to work with children and be able to help and advocate for those who may not be able to. I have many different interests and things I like to do in my free time, including reading, writing, painting, being with friends and close family, and doing community service. I chose OSU and the ACES (Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars) Program to be able to further my knowledge in being able to help others and further my education, which will help me help others.