Poppy Muse, Inc

Poppy Muse's career services to support the entrepreneurship of former foster youth break down into Advocacy, Stabilization & Support, Direct Funding, and Internships. In essence, we provide the young women we serve with what they need to start their professional lives by first partnering with agencies and group homes to find those who are in need, and then assessing what would be the best means to support their ventures. 

In 2020, we conducted Career Development and Health and Wellness curriculums virtually in partnership with a Bronx, NY foster care egency. Outside of our educational webinars and seminars, we have provided 8+ internship opportunitie; continuously provided youth with free meals, gifts, and clothing; and delivered 100+ meals to cancer survivors as part of our community engagement. 

We have funded college tuition and living expenses via our Emergency Displacement Fund, allowing one muser to continue her college education with our financial aid, while also preventing another young woman from being homeless when she lost her university housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to assist another young woman in finishing her college degree, and continued to advocate for her while also providing financial support. Our solution is to give female former foster youth the emotional and financial support they need to succeed at the same level as their peers at whatever business venture they choose---we have supported training and placement in health and beauty, supply chain management, and a wide range of other skills. 

The U.S. foster care system impacts some of our country’s most vulnerable youth, as demonstrated in the following statistics: 

• 424,000 Foster kids in the US
• 23,000 Foster kids aging out (per year)
• 1 of 4 Foster kids become homeless after aging out
• 60% of 100,000 Foster kids were sex trafficked in 2020
• 50% of children who are in foster care will be employed by the age of 24, 20% of that 50% will become homeless after the age of 18.
• 71% of young women who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant by the age of 21.
• 22% of aged-out foster youth battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which exceeds the rate of PTSD in the general population by five times. This surpasses the rates of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12% of whom are diagnosed with PTSD
• 27% of Americans within the welfare system do not finish high school
• There is a 3% chance or less for children who have aged out of foster care to earn a college degree

Our programs and services enable foster youth / alumni to take charge of their lives, and most importantly give them the resources to do so.

The Challenge states that it seeks "a new frontier for entrepreneurship across the United States." In the information age, access to capital is more inclusive than ever, but former foster youth are a huge blind spot in the world of business development and entrepreneurship. Those who have never experienced the chronic instability and bureaucratic opacity of the foster care system are unaware of the myriad of hurdles foster youth face. The private sector sees foster youth and their struggles as a charity project or a statistic---Poppy Muse, run by a former foster youth herself, sees its base as bright, ambitious young people who lack the resources to develop their business ideas. 

Founders like Arlan Hamilton opened doors for Black women in the field of entrepreneurship, but simply filling in racial demographics is not enough. To truly develop a new frontier for entrepreneurship, the market must acknowledge the economic and social setbacks many intelligent, creative Black and Latino young women face due to inadequate social services and a foster system which does not support their individual needs and ambitions. Poppy Muse is the first foster youth advocacy group that focuses not just on health and wellbeing but also career development and business ambition---two things often presented as mutually exclusive. By funding Poppy Muse, Solve would be not just be investing in a Black woman-led business, but creating an entirely new demographic for the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Poppy Muse was created with the intent to fulfill the needs of underprivileged young women that didn’t have the upbringing of their more privileged peers; specifically, young women that are wards of the state/orphans. They are either in group homes, foster homes, have aged out of care, and or have no one to turn to. These women come from broken homes, abusive living conditions or worse. 71% of young women who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant by the age of 21, and 60% of 100,000 foster youth were sex trafficked.  Black youth, who represent 14% of the total child population of the United States, make up a disproportionate 23% of all youth in foster care. Young women, who Poppy Muse specifically focuses on, make up 48% of all foster youth. 

Serving the needs of this population requires a founder with direct lived experience in the foster care system who can relate to the youth served. As A Black-led, former foster youth-led advocacy organization, Poppy Muse's career program enable foster youth / alumni to take charge of their lives without the condescension a white founder might bring to an organization of this kind. We believe that there can be a lasting impact for future generations, if foster care youth / alumni are able to live in stable environments, access educational courses on Health & Wellness along with Career Development, and be supported by counselors and therapists every step of the way as they become empowered with the tools to start their own businesses. 

New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas 

Our organization's mission is to help launch small businesses and other venture ideas the young women we serve may have. Many former foster youth women face undue barriers in terms of basic skills--lack of a high school degree, lack of a college degree, or pregnancy at a young age forcing them to retire from the workforce early. The field of entrepreneurship, which follows the examples of Bill Gates' and Steve Jobs' massive success without initial formal qualifications, is the ideal field to jumpstart the careers of those who traditional education is difficult for. 

Programs and organizations such as Poppy Muse are needed in underprivileged communities—in particular, in inner city/underdeveloped communities all over the world. In order for our future generations of foster youth to be stable and successful, it is crucial for all young women to know that they have someone and a place to turn to, that will give them consistent guidance, along with support and services to help them through all challenging phases of life. However, these organizations must not see those they serve paternalistically and must instead recognize their agency and be able to relate to them. Poppy Muse's success is largely built upon its founder's own lived experience as a foster youth, as our "muses" have said in their own testimonials.

One former foster youth whom we helped with stable housing stated in a testimonial: "Miss Tameka took her time calling and sending emails to assist me with my education needs and tuition fee. At first, I was hesitant to explain my problem to this organization but suddenly I found out that opening up and talking to generous and caring people like her was the solution to my problem." Another foster youth said "I felt an instant connection to Tameka because she understood the issues and concerns and was so willing to help."

These are young women who were unable to reach out to others about what they've faced within the welfare system. Having a Black woman mentor and role model enabled these young women to open up and begin a journey towards healing. A white corporate facilitator could not have necessarily accessed those same emotions, and it is evident from the testimonials of our youth that sharing a demographic with the founder makes those our organization serves feel more comfortable and thus sets them up for further professional and personal success.

We currently serve 20-25 former foster youth, from which a myriad of small business ideas can develop. In one year, we will be serving upwards of 30 foster youth due to growth we experience at the end of 2021. In five years, we aspire to serve 200 or more youth.

By seeking funding from Solve, we hope to receive more funds which can turn these ideas into successful businesses. Additionally, we are partner with woman-led yoga organization SAMA, a small business which both works with the foster youth Poppy Muse serves and receives its own funding from the organization. 

The community where we implement our solution started within the local community of the Bronx and Westchester County and has since expanded to a multitude of other states. The stakeholders of our community are the government agencies, foster homes, and educational institutions that help us reach youth more. That includes Family Services of Westchester, as well as outreach with Association of Child Services (ACS) and the Department of Education. Since these are large government entities, working with them provides us with a large base of potential youth to serve. 

Our community partners in New York include Immaculate Conception High School, SMB Empowers, Inc., FDNY, Foster Kids Unite, Inc., Together We Rise, Pace University, and Monroe College. 

We develop partnerships with local community organizations, the names of which are stated in specifics above, and then develop events and programs with foster youth in mind within those organizations. We developed Health and Wellness, Career Development, and Finance programs for foster youth and young adults, in partnership with group homes and foster care agencies. In 2020 we conducted our first Youth Pilot Program in partnership with a Family Services of Westchester in the Bronx, NY county and all other surrounding bureaus. 

To prevent youth from being pushed out onto the streets in New York during the COVID-19 Pandemic we started a petition and partnered with local agencies to “Pause Aging Out.” As of 2022, we have received 710 signatures and youth are now allowed to sign themselves back in to care to receive the resources they need throughout this trying time. New York has a troubling history of denying care to housing insecure people, many of whom are former foster youth themselves, and Poppy Muse rallied to protest the ways in which Andrew Cuomo's government was ignoring their needs.

Foster youth epitomize the definition of "systemically stereotyped, feared, dismissed, or marginalized." Their voices are completely missing from conversations around social justice and community welfare, which often focus on institutions like private universities and corporations which foster youth will never be able to set foot in, let alone access. Poppy Muse aims to re-orient the conversation around social justice to include them. 

We send out invites to the partner organizations listed above to allow them to collaborate on our projects. These partners either house the youth or work with them directly, and when they become a collaborator, they find interested young women to work with us. We also have a monthly newsletter which we send out to collaborators. By communicating our needs clearly and reaching out consistently, we establish relationships with partners that can then become ways for us to support the youth within those partner organizations. Within our community, we establish trust by being an organization run by former foster youth and thus a trusted voice for current foster youth. 

In the next year, we would like to reach more youth and have higher success rates in our constituents graduating from college and high school.

Additionally, Poppy Muse is expanding into two separate projects, Seeds Sown, a mindfulness-focused health and wellness collective for foster youth and youth in underdeveloped communities, and Fostering Logistics, a  vocational training network for male former foster youth to develop professional skills in the field of supply chain management and transportation logistics. 

With Fostering Logistics, our mission over the next five years is to contribute to the next generation of successful men from underdeveloped communities by creating jobs and supplying them with the tools to become future entrepreneurs, and leaders within the Supply Chain Management/Logistics industry. With Seeds Sown, the mission is to provide youth from undeserved communities with holistic tools to improve their mental health. Over the next five years, we aim to expand these networks out to serve 200 or more foster youth so that even more are able to work with an organization that supports them as individuals rather than being simply a number or a statistic.

At Poppy muse, we also plan to build out our team, establish a physical office space, and replenish our Emergency Displacement Fund for youth in crisis. We also aim to provide computers—for youth or alumni that cannot afford them—so that any foster care youth / alumni can participate in our offerings regardless of financial strain or circumstance.

I am a product of the foster care system myself. I was born with an unknown father, raped at age 4 by an older uncle, and found my mother deceased at age 8 which threw me into a life of physical abuse and instability bouncing from home to home. My professional and entrepreneurial path has always been to "pay it forward" and give foster youth the stability and support I never had. My experiences make the position I have in Poppy Muse an extremely personal and meaningful one.

We also employ mental health professionals and wellness educators, all of whom were personally vetted by myself as the CEO. As I am a former foster youth, I select people I think will be sensitive to the issues that are unique to my community. The team itself is very passionate about the mission of the young adults we serve. Over the past three years, they have proven their dedication to the organization and the work that we do. The women on our team are educated and well-versed in their desired fields and all have the ability to teach and impart their skills upon our youth. 

As an organization which aims to help youth achieve their professional and personal dreams, MIT provides an example for us of the kind of institution our youth dream of. A foundation coming from an institution based in intellectual curiosity and entrepreneurship is an ideal fit for our organization. Having MIT and The Challenge attached to Poppy Muse would add a layer of prestige and legitimacy to our organization that would help us achieve future goals of educational and professional support for our youth. 

The Challenge can help us overcome our barrier of lack of access to capital and lack of funding. An unfortunate reality in this country is that many mental health issues foster youth face are rooted in lack of access to capital, and while simply throwing money at a solution does not inherently solve it, access to capital creates new opportunities and peace of mind. The Challenge differs from a solely philanthropic grant because its focus is not only on treating those it funds charitably, but on helping them grow as self-sufficient individuals. Should The Challenge choose to fund Poppy Muse, it is investing in an entirely new demographic of future entrepreneurs and giving them the opportunity to thrive. 

In our potential partnership with The Truist Foundation, we also hope to educate the community about the plight foster youth face and the ways in which they can help. The primary support we are seeking is financial so that we can build Poppy Muse out further. Having a panel of qualified judges and a community of intellectually curious founders involved in Poppy Muse could open up more opportunities for mentorship and leadership opportunities for our youth as well. 

We know that greater access to capital for foster youth, alumni, and the general community will create long term impact, inciting legislation changes that result in justice, equality, sustainability, civic engagement, and social equity.

As stated in a previous question, one of Poppy Muse's long term goals is to create better data about those who age out of the foster care system. For this reason, partnering with social service organizations is a helpful way to begin the process of creating a stable and sustainable future for those who've aged out. 

We are also open to partnering with colleges and universities (as we already do with Monroe College and Pace University), group homes, foster youth agencies, advocacy groups such as Foster Kids Unite, and also health and wellness organizations as we did in our existing partnership with SAMA. On the whole, we are open to partnering with any inventive, creative organization that values being a changemaker.