Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to Present Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation CEO Nichol Whiteman with National Foster Youth Institute’s Champion of Youth & Children Award
Award to Recognize Whiteman’s Efforts to Support VulnerableYouth
LOS ANGELES (March 1, 2024) – On March 2, the National Foster Youth Institute and the los Angeles Dodgers Foundation will host the 2024 Afternoon of Learning & Celebration to lift up and amplify foster youth voices. This year’s event honors Nichol Whiteman, CEO of the award-winning Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation. NFYI Founder, The Honorable Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, will present Whiteman with the honor.
Under Whiteman’s leadership, LADF earned the distinction of 2020 ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year. Collectively, Whiteman has cultivated partnerships that have resulted in more than $60 million in community investment impacting over 10 million youth. Whiteman has been a leading force as LADF is tackling the most pressing problems facing Los Angeles with a mission to improve education, health care, homelessness and social justice for all Angelenos.
NFYI Executive Director Rebecca Louve Yao said, “Selecting this year’s National Champion of Youth and Children award winner was not a hard decision for our committee to make. Nichol’s name continues to be mentioned in many rooms for her continued leadership and genuine commitment to serving the most vulnerable populations in our communities.”
The event will be hosted by comedy writer and executive producer DJ Nash, creator of ABC’s A Million Little Things, and the day will include special remarks by former foster youth, elected officials, and advocates/activists. NFYI will also announce a new event launching in May that will create additional opportunities for current and former foster youth to engage with local elected officials around issues like homelessness, mental health care, juvenile justice, and substance abuse.
Past recipients of the award include national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate David Ambroz and Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
The annual event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium and will celebrate and support NFYI’s work to create better outcomes for children, young adults, and families impacted by the foster care system. Funds raised at the event support the critical work of NFYI’s programs including the Los Angeles Chapter, The Congressional Leadership Academy, Internship programs, and National Voices work which connects current and former foster youth from across the country.
To learn more about the event please visit NFYI’s website.
About NFYI: Launched in 2012, National Foster Youth Institute was created to organize foster youth and families, foster care alumni, and allies across the country to mobilize around transforming the child welfare system. NFYI annually engages over 250 current and former foster youth across the U.S.
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