This is Sherina’s second year as an AmeriCorps Youth Aide for the Child Abuse Prevention Council. During Sherina’s first term of service she served at a local high school supporting foster youth. Currently, Sherina is serving a term at Sierra Forever Families in the Destination Family Program. The Destination Family program works with foster youth ages 11- 18 years old to help youth find a sense of belonging through guardianship, adoptive, family reunification, or a lifetime commitment contract. While serving in the Destination Family Program, Sherina has been able to connect with the teens, help prepare, and support them through the process of finding permanency. Though Sherina is very busy attending school full time and serving as an AmeriCorps member, she goes above and beyond to inspire foster youth and those who support them. In her spare time outside of AmeriCorps service she enjoys staying involved and volunteering. During the last year, she has been involved with many different organizations that involve supporting and helping foster youth. Sherina says she volunteers because she feels it is her duty to be a voice and helping hand, as she is a former foster youth herself. Over the past year, she has became a voice for foster youth by speaking at the Child Abuse Prevention Council foster parent meetings to help reach out to potential foster parent’s. She has collaborated with different school districts to help teacher’s better understand a foster youth’s perspective. Sherina has also done a number of presentations for the Sacramento County Indepentdent Living Program, discussing topics ranging from education to financial responsibility after emancipation. Currently, she is also preparing a presentation with Volunteers of America to address the need to help foster youth. When Sherina is not advocating for foster youth, she is spending time raising awareness and speaking at presentations to raise funds for much need programs for foster youth. She has done a number of presentations for Women in Philanthropy and volunteered at this year’s Crab feed for Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) bringing awareness to a large group of people. She was also given a great opportunity to be the speaker at one of Yolo CASA’s program biggest fundraisers of the year. She is currently working with Volunteers of America, preparing a presentation about the need to help foster youth at one of their annual events. When talking with Sherina about all the wonderful things she does to help foster youth, she said “I feel really blessed at where I am now in my life. And that is exactly why I do what I do. When I see struggling foster youth, it hurts inside because I know they just need a little push over that hill. A lot of times they just need someone to tell them that they can do it.” Sherina not only inspires the foster youth that she works with, but everyone she meets. Tracy L. Fauver, Executive Director for Yolo County CASA was one of the many people inspired by Sherina’s story. She shared the following with me when I shared I would be nominating Sherina for this award:
While attending an AmeriCorps supervisors meeting I heard several people singing the praises of Sherina Hardie. Upon inquiring further with Carol Noreen, the Executive Director of Sacramento CASA, I was told that Ms. Hardie is a very articulate young woman, who is doing great work with AmeriCorps while attending college, and has a very compelling story about being in foster care and succeeding as a young adult. Ms. Noreen shared that Ms. Hardie had spoken at their recent Crab Feed fundraiser and was very well received.I was given Sherina’s contact information and found her very receptive to the idea of sharing her story to a crowd of CASA supporters. During a phone conversation prior to our event Ms. Hardie generously shared with me a great deal of her background story. What I heard was a story of resilience, determination and appreciation for every opportunity that was offered to her.The night of our event came and Sherina appeared, on her own, ready to share her story. When it came time to speak, Sherina was as eloquent as she had been when we first spoke. In just five minutes, she was able to convey to a room full of strangers, the power of having an adult advocate in the life of a child who had been left disappointed and alone. The crowd rose to their feet in appreciation to Ms. Hardie for sharing her story and message of hope. The room also responded in commitment, by pledging over $40, 000 in a matter of just ten minutes to support providing more CASAs to foster children.After the event I sent Ms. Hardie a message of thanks for sharing her story. Her response blew me over. She said: “Thank you for inviting me to the beautiful event and for giving me the opportunity. It gives me great joy to be able to talk to others and spread the word about how much people are actually helping. It just makes me want to cry at times being able to actually experience others giving helping hands to these kids. I wish all the youth in-care and emancipated from the system could see and recognize all the love and kindness others are giving to them.” What impresses me most about Ms. Hardie is that in a profoundly selfless way, and despite many disappointments and struggles, she understands that by sharing her story and her success, she magnifies the willingness of those around her to affect positive change and intensifies their desire to do it.