The Foreign Service Journal, September 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2019 43 ity sometimes have difficulty answering the seemingly simple question, “Where are you from?” As one Foreign Service youth explains, “All my life, I’ve belonged somewhere and nowhere. I’ve come from neither here nor there, and yet I’m from everywhere.” The working group quickly agreed on the need to create a new, larger and better-funded organization to expand on the work of AWAL. At the request of FLO and OBC, the white-shoe law firm Arnold and Porter drafted bylaws on a pro bono basis. The Una Chapman Cox Foundation contributed $20,000 in startup money, and AAFSW provided an additional $5,000. A volunteer board of directors was formed; and, on June 5, 1989, the Foreign Service Youth Foundation was formally incorpo- rated as a nonprofit organization headquartered in the District of Columbia. Joel Levy, a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Information Agency, was the first FSYF president. In its early years, FSYF took over the teen-focused programs of AWAL and established Globe Trotters for preteens and Diplokids for grade schoolers. Those programs offered social activities for D.C.-area youth and workshops focused on “reen- try” to the United States following an overseas assignment. The foundation published four books to help Foreign Service youth deal with the opportunities and challenges of growing up over- seas (including The Kids’ Guide to Living Abroad ). FSYF also began publishing a youth-written newsletter, coordinated community service projects and inaugurated the annual Welcome Back Picnic. In 1996, FSYF joined with OBC to create the KidVid Contest, in which youth at embassies and consulates create videos depicting life at overseas posts from a kid’s perspective. FSYF also offered workshops, including Teen Get Away Weekend Training retreats. Other programming came and went depending on the availability of adult volunteers and funding. FSYF Today Thirty years after its founding, FSYF remains focused on helping our young people adapt to changing environments as they transition between posts worldwide. This social safety net is made up of four components: information, activities, affirma- tion and advocacy. • Information on TCK issues is shared with FSYF’s globally dispersed membership via webinars, a youth-written newsletter and an online video and document library (www.fsyf.org ). • Activities bringing together domestically assigned youth spread across the Washington, D.C., area include reentry seminars for middle school and high school students return- ing from overseas, a college admissions workshop, fun teen/ tween meetup events, community service activities and the fall Welcome Back Picnic. • Affirmation is achieved by celebrating our youths’ achieve- ments via annual contests in art, essay writing, community service and video making. FSYF also offers academic merit scholarships for high-performing young people. Each year, these contests draw more than 150 applicants and award more than $20,000 at the annual FSYF Youth Awards Ceremony at Main State (see photo). • Advocacy in the last few years has focused on meeting with senior State Department officials to seek better mental health support for Foreign Service children and assistance for those with special educational needs who accompany their parents on an overseas assignment. As FSYF turns 30, it continues to benefit from the support of FLO, AAFSW and the Foreign Service Institute. The last three Secretaries of State have sent congratulatory messages to FSYF youth award recipients. Susan Pompeo gave the keynote address at last year’s awards ceremony and joined the FSYF Board of Directors as an honorary member. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen—a former Foreign Service youth—has long been on FSYF’s Advisory Council. Generous donors continue to fund FSYF’s programs, led by Clements Worldwide Insurance, Jim FSYF founders Maryann Minutillo (center) and Lee Lacy are honored with Youth Advocacy Awards at the June 2019 Youth Awards ceremony. The awards were presented by FSYF President John Naland, at left. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA