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You are tuned in to the Vitamin D with Dawn Day podcast and I am your host, Dawn Day, here to get you excited about your life so that you can live life on purpose and for a purpose.
If this is your first.
Time tuning in, welcome Vitamin D. It's upon of my name. My name is Dawn, and you get vitamin D from the sun. So I'm here a shed light into your life. And I do this with inspirational insights and conversations with celebrities and everyday people like you and me, because if you want to be better and you want to do better, then you're going to have to be able to see better.
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Our best lives and understanding and realizing how you are your greatest ass at get your vit.
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Hello, somebody, somebody, Hello home. I just have to say right now, I feel so good. Right people have been asked me to say, Dawn, how are you? I say, grateful and growing And we know that growing is uncomfortable, but this is what you have to ask yourself. You asked God to grow didn't you. Well, sometimes it will rain, and when there's rain, there's life, right, And just think of it this way. I've been saying this often. You've heard me say a hill ain't nothing to a stop.
So we gonna walk it out right, We gonna put one foot in front of the other.
And here's the thing. When we talk about growth, when we talk about becoming more, we understand that.
It is a trial going up because you're asking to be more than what you are right now. So when I ask you, or when I declare to you that it's time to get excited about your life, I have to ask you.
Are you you ask God to grow? All right?
It's Vitamin David Dante. I am here in live in to right. I'm in a studio. E no, we're not in the closet, and it feels so good.
I feel so good, all right.
But what's also extremely good right now is that I have a very special guest in the studio with me. I have the executive director for a nonprofit organization entitled Living Advantage. So Vitamin D family, put your radio way, send your energy, do whatever you got to do, and help me.
Welcome. We one and only miss Pamela Clad.
Sure.
How you doing, Pamela, I'm.
Doing grateful and wonderful, absolutely excited, excited, better live it because we live in our lives on purpose and for a purpose right solutely.
They say gratitude is everything. The more grateful we are, the more things we have to be grateful for.
What's you grateful for today? Today?
I'm grateful to be here with don to get that energy, get that positive.
Energy, get that vitamin D, get that vitamin D and take things to the next level. It's always one thing to talk it and you wake up and you express it, you pray, but it's another thing to actually do. That's what I have to be an action.
Faith that works is dead.
Absolutely today we're in action.
And your action started way early because you pulled up on me when I was over at FM DOW. MS Katie came out and said, Dawn, I have somebody that would like to be on the FM DOW And because of the immediate transition, you still didn't let that go by the wayside. I came out to the thirtieth anniversary event for Living Advantage. We connected and you said, Dawn, I still want to do some stuff with you.
That's right, absolutely, yeah. I mean I like where you were, of course, but wherever you are like to be a part of that.
Thank you.
Yeah, yeah.
I think you have very special talent and you inspire people motivate, and that's what living advantage is all about, especially working with foster youth. Kids that don't generally have a strong foundation, have a family foundation. So living advantages are the moms and dads of foster youth, and Dundee is part of living advantage.
I'm part of Dundee. So we're gonna inspire our kids to be the best they can we.
Shet a mind.
Yes.
Now, for anyone that may be unfamiliar, Living advantage started by your mother in nineteen ninety three, is that correct?
Yes?
Tell us more well, mom was at your mom Miss Bernie missus Bernie's Clay.
Okay, yes, say her name her, Miss Bernice Williams Clay. She was a special ad. She her background is speech pathology, so she was in special ad for the Los Angeles Unified School District. She did that for twenty seven years and then still being a young giving person, when she retired, she wanted to continue her efforts. She found that the majority of kids that were underserved in school, They didn't have learning disability abilities. It was mainly because of their
family upbringing, their family issues. So you know, all when they say, you know, kids have learning disability generally, was not that, like eighty ninety percent had nothing to do with their learning capabilities. It was what their emotion on spiritual you know, was going on in their households. And so from there that's why she want She decided that she.
Wanted to do a little more. And at the time I was a real estate investor. I said, well, let's go buy some houses and let's put the kids in and let's take care of them.
And that's how we started living advantage.
And it was in was it ninety six? Was it that you guys.
First ninety six our first home, our first group home?
Right, and then you took over the organization of ninety nine?
Yes?
Yes, Mom became me all unfortunately, and you know, I said, how hard could it be? Right, how hard can it be to hire a bunch of folks? Thirty years later, Look, I'm here, like, oh my goodness, stunting.
Care standing here, and I'm so grateful to have this conversation with you, because, as we know, may is Foster Care Awareness Month, Yes, as a foster care youth.
Foster Care foster foster Youth Awareness.
Month, Foster Youth Awareness. Yes.
So I'm glad that we can put this to the forefront because I feel like a lot of people, you know, we hear about foster care but not really understanding what it is and why it's important. Yes, so tell us a little wit, tell us what about it. You know, I learned a lot. Tell us what exactly is foster care and those how they end up in.
Absolutely so, one thing about foster care about you know, youth that are in the foster care system, children, babies, Each of them have their own history. It's everybody's unique. Some people are there because Some kids are there because maybe their parents passed or they you know, it could be just their parents are ill. Sometimes it has nothing to do with neglect, abuse, abandonment. Sometimes it's just a circumstance.
You know. Let's say, when parents go to the army, they go to the armed forces, and you know, they end up dying or something. From there, the kids end up in foster care. And usually if they're in foster care, that means their family dynamics, their their aunts, their uncles, their cousins, their grandparents. You know, usually it's not a strong force. So that's how they end up in foster cure. Just not a strong enough family union unit. So that's
where living advantage comes in. We are a support system. We started off with the group homes and then after twelve years, I decided I wanted to take on the whole foster care industry, the whole foster care system.
I can do more good.
You can be great.
I gets it. That's why I'm here.
You get it right, because we were already great. We had We were so good our homes. We had three homes all together, La County and Orange County. We were so good that we had other states on a waiting list because they wanted their kids to go to our independent independent living home. Because I started, we were the first Internet based computer base where we had our own what do you call it?
It's just like Facebook.
We house basis and community network on the internet right way before Facebook. To battle wasn't the smartest as as a Zuckerberd.
Right, imagine what look where you are now? Exactly a my with your location is not your destination? Would you start and where you got to finish, you better catch it because it's.
High absolutely and so you know, that's how we we form the foundation. So it didn't matter if the kids, because kids that are in the foster care system they usually move minimum of seven times up to twenty times while they're in the system. What yes, that's average seven And are you going to talk to out of if you have ten kids standing there, four of them will tell you they moved at least twenty times while they're in the system.
I learned so much attending the thirtieth anniversary celebration, like one I didn't realize it was highlighted more about inconsistency. And when we talk about building somebody up for success, we know the key is consistency. And if you don't even have that instilled in you just because of whatever your circumstances of not knowing, then furthermore about it when it comes down to being prosperous. And that's why I love your organization. The name of it living advantage. So
many of the youth are at a disadvantage simthing. They don't even have paperwork. You had a gentleman speak up talk about how he graduated and could not get a job simply because he didn't have a birth certificate.
Things I feel as though, you know.
An everyday person may take for granted and to say, oh, well, you're just lazy and then highlighting even further while a lot of people end up in the foster care system. Initially,
in my own ignorance is simply not knowing. I thought it was a whole situation that I shouldn't say always, but my mind, based on the lens I have always looked at, was thinking that Okay, a parent probably was on drugs or they just decided not to take care of the child, but not thinking one day I could have been serving the armed forces and something happened.
What if I had a car accident, it lost my mind?
Disability, mental illness, mental taste, care of the child.
Mental illness is a big one too. You know, you think somebody is being neglectful, but no, they have mental illness. You know, thirty years ago see mental illness learn not a big yes. So we can go on and on of the different reasons. And one of the things that especially when we first started, I found that that the social service agencies would really think the kids were, like you said, lazy or are being neglectful or you know, just being a bad kid. And a lot of times
that has nothing to do with that. They're the victims. They're the ones who are the children, and they need guidance and support. So again, that's what living and maas is all about, is taking all of our community, taking all supporters, and being able to set a platform so we can take our expertise, our experiences and transition to them. Therefore they can be, like you said, prosperous and they can be you know, also just think about supporting, having the support, just knowing.
That somebody I didn't That was another thing you realized that when you're in foster care. I mean the fact that you're in someone else's home. I don't like how this is going to come out of my mouth. Okay, make room for me, family, We make it room. Let me adjust it afterwards.
Yeah.
Is there is it wrong to have a sense of feeling as though somebody doesn't want you? Absolutely?
And I didn't want to just spit that out and put that over people, but how could you feel wanted when you have no place to call?
Absolutely, and you know that these people that are here in the household are being paid to just ensure it or to what do you say, take care of them?
Right, They're can be paid to do that. So who who are feel comfortable?
Who are feeling transaction?
Yeah, yeah, you're a transaction.
So you know another one that we didn't cover because we're talking about the LGBTQ, Yes, youth.
That was it.
That's it's I can tell you a story about that really quickly. So I never thought about so I'm I'm an unconditional person and I didn't learn that until like to like got into the nonprofit sector. I didn't know that I was an unconditional person. And when you think about a child that sometimes there are family disowns them because you know their LBGG status, the conditions, right. So
I never looked at it like that. I never even once thought or saw a child not you know, being in the system because they weren't wanted from their family because of their sexual preference. My whole thought and that was who cares who? At the end of the day, when you look at the average amount of time people have sex, if you get lucky, you're having sex a half an hour.
Guess what, that's only two percent of your whole life.
That's only two.
Percent so you got ninety eight percent of your whole life and people want to base it off who they're sleeping with.
It reminds you, let's take a consideration that being part of the community doesn't mean all.
That you do is have sex. What a life? It's just a simple pass exactly.
And so kids, but sometimes you know disclose that the reason why their family doesn't want us because you know their sexual preference. And that to me, just it would break my heart because why would I not love you because of who you might be attracted to her?
Not because who you ate, but because who you love and love is the way.
Absolutely, how'd you go? Absolutely?
I learned a lot.
I learned a lot.
Well, I've been doing it for thirty years, but I learned a lot about me and my personality.
Time.
Why we're so good? Why live an advantage? Is so good at this?
That's why I want to tell me why, because that's why you gotta come read my book How to Capitalize in the foster care system? Right and people say capitalize, what does that actually mean? So I'm gonna get I'm a divulge into that in a second. But when you just think of the thirty years I've been doing it. I learned a lot about myself. I started when I
was thirty. I'm sixty years old. Come on, you've got a day, you know when you think about what how I've grown and how I've transitioned into being the being the great provider that we that we are, but how to take it and then have the community have our
supporters also be great supporters for our kids. Right, So if it's living advantage as an organization, imagine having three thousand, having one hundred thousand people taking this movement and everybody being a mom and dad's of foster care and the kids being able to see that. Can you imagine if the kids can see three thousand people got you, I got you? You imagine how they would feel and how they would how they would take home to that and then just be the better person that they can be.
And if yeah, and if you got sense, you would care because these are the people that's about to take it down as are That's right.
These are the people.
That's going to get these policies together, that's gonna sit out there in March.
Who's gonna sit there and make a plan. Who might be the next person to might be a cure.
Yes, might be your next president or just you know, I always look at it to your next doctor, your next lawyer, you know, your next service provider. Right, So we have to be able to start thinking about that and how we can grow as ourselves. A lot of people people have to be passionate about and they become donors or supporters.
Right.
So I always think of being passionate about what you like to do. So what's your favorite, Hobey, what's your favorite pastime?
Yeah? I like to speak. See, that's what I know. I know we can better on anything.
Put me in any room, in front of any person, at any time and anywhere.
What I will do is speaking.
And so isn't that interesting? So let's say, for instance, you went and you talked in front of ten people, and we said, well, what's your passion You said speaking? Right, And then the kids take that, they understand, get to understand what that means, what that's about, and sometimes they you know what, I'm a good speaker too, and we talk.
We have our let's say real estate agents, right when they say, I'm passionate about selling homes not for the money, but for the transaction and being able to give people a place home right giving them their dreams.
So I would love to give a person their dream come on.
And then again it just transcends, transcends to growing that passion and that motivation and a part and then again consistency being consistent with being able to give these different notations and opportunities to our kids. So that's what it's all about, just taking what we already do and then finding how we can be more passionate.
And amplified and create the opportunities. And I love what you said. You know, I constantly say your location is not your destination. And oftentimes when I think about disadvantaged communities is the fact that there's a lack of resources simply not knowing or not having access.
It's not in reach.
And we understand, you know, doctor Seuss has one of the books, All the Places You'll Go, and it's like with our young people, let them know the places you can go, and when you go, that means you're growing, you're becoming more than what you are right now. And you know, just highlighting when we think of foster care, I'm immediately thinking of the disadvantage. And that's why I further love the organizational name living advantage.
How can we live our lives to the advantage? There you go.
Okay, we're gonna finish this conversation. We're gonna take a quick break, all right. I want to talk to you about your book you have coming out. Okay, uh, and tell us the title again.
It's called how to Capitalize in the Foster care System.
Capitalize. That seems like you're taking advantage of somebody living advantage.
You better catch it. Miss Pamela ain't called to play with you all today. Listen, let me be right back. Let's get some money and we can continue this conversation. All right, Hold time. It's the Vitamin D for Dante podcast by This.
Is Vanessa mel callaway peace.
What's up everybody?
This is Trade Chain and you are listening to Violent Dean with Donde.
Okay, I told you I was gonna be right back. I have a special guest in the studio with me, Miss Pamela Clay. She is the executive director for the non profit organization entitled Living Advantage, Inc. Yes, and tell us why Living Advantage is so important.
It's it's important because we have to think about our future. Our kids are our future, and when you have kids, that don't really have that strong foundation of a family support. They end up homeless, incarcerated, you know, unfortunately caught up in you know, illegal, you know, illegal circumstances because they're
usually trying to fight for survival. They're trying to understand, you know, think about emotionally, when you don't have a mom or dad, or your mom and dad are not available, they don't support you, think about the emotional and mental capacities of where they are so living advantage. Job is to show them that people do care. You know, you might have you know, it's nobody. You can't replace a mom or a dad, but you can show them that there are people.
That can be figured, that can be yes.
And I can understand that My mom transitioned when I was twenty five, and as i've you know, grown up, had so many people of my friend's mothers who stepped in and just say I got yes.
And it means a lot. Y'all know, I'm from datchis all.
My family is in Detroit, so the time, even being in New York shortly after my mom transitioned and coming to LA, I've had so many people come forth just to be like doing I got you, even some of the FM listeners. Hey, family, I appreciate you all have just said hey, I got you right.
That means everything. It means at least when you wake up.
I have a part of So I have my book how to Capitalize in the foster care System, and part of the book talks about think about when you wake up every morning. As as adults, let's say us that are successful, Sometimes you wake up you'd be like, oh man.
I got to face this day.
You might have a circumstance, or you might have a challenge that you're working on, but you know that you have a support system. You know that at least my mom or my dad, or my brother, my sister, and my friends. You know that somebody is there to just hold you up or be there as a listener.
Well, imagine not having that.
Imagine waking up and literally don't even know where your next mill is coming from.
You know, I had a friend, A few people like currently in my life and surrounding have been part of the foster c system. So this is conversation is right on time for me as well. And one thing that she shared with me, and I didn't think about it at first, she said that Dawn I don't save numbers in my phone. I said what, because at first I was offended. I'm texting who is this? When we started barking our friendship, I'm like, well, girl, do you know
that I caused? You were like hey girl, And she said out of habit because growing up she was constantly changed in new people in your life. It's like, why I'm going to put a place for you and there's no place for you to stay.
I've never heard of that one before. I never never thought of that. But isn't that sad?
Even down to the factory that she was saying, and even down to the fact where she was speaking about, you know, when we think about the different traumas, and we talked about how mental health is something that we're
bringing to the forefront right now. She has shared a time of, you know, the baggage that a lot of these kids are, these young people trying to process adult feelings of having the police come to the house because where is your mother and here you are trying to be let's just say, eight nine ten years old, the
adult not wanting the police to come in here. And when we think about a child that maybe eight nine ten years old, you have this big man or woman because they're bigger people than you, guns in their hands, flash lights, they're bamming's noise, and then all of a sudden you get put in the back of a police car.
Is anybody thinking of.
What it's like to constantly be displaced, to be taken and then let alone when there's the whole notion of being a transaction. So when you say to me how to capitalize off the foster care system, what do you mean by that?
Miss Alma?
So when you look at capitalized capitalization, it's usually investing into a product or service or investing and then somebody gains wealth. Right, capitalization. We have a capitalist system society, So it's usually you have a product or service and you market it and you receive money for it. Capitalize So us as people, we are already of wealth. We're investment, we're successful, meaning that we just like primes them, we have an idea, we have a motivation of what we're
going to do in the morning. We're happy or whatever. Our situation is, right, but our kids are less at a disadvantage, right, That's why they got them disadvantage youth.
So what we do, how we capitalize is that.
We're able to extend or transcend our expertise, our experiences, our passions to them. They grow, they they gain advantage, they gain wealth, right, they gain experiences, and then we capitalize as they capitalize, and as they grow and become better or more prosperous, or we grow and become better.
So we do this together. Each one's teach one, each one reach one.
And you know, I think there is a point where we talk about reaching there's a level of relatability. And I'm just thinking about you and I the excerpts that you have provided in the book, like one, I love how you highlighted how the reason you're here is God, and your belief in God has gotten you in the way because just as some of these youths who may have had, you know, trying time when it comes to coming up in the education system, were lacked thereof you
can relate to that. And now you're at the forefront of saying how important choice is. So tell us a little bit about what we can expect in the book and what was it like for you growing up.
So I'm glad you brought that up because God is first place. God is the reason why I'm here. And so we know your cross, thank you, and you know that when you had that strong belief in God. I grew up with both of my my mom and my dad's side were Christians, okay, And so when you grow up in a Chrystal household, it's embedded.
And then when you pray and your prayers.
Come into it comes into light, and you know and you trust and believe. And I talk about that in a book where I was fortunate enough and blessed enough to have the light come to me at a young age.
And so when you know for a.
Fact that that being at that system, that that that God is there, then you're.
Able to transcend that again to others. And so the main.
Reason of the book is to let people know, or to let our kids know that there is a stronger, you know, a stronger sense that they have to start identifying with. They have to start making that connection. That's super important. Yes, it's great to connect with us, you and I, but they have.
To connect with God. They need to find that that.
Yes, because what happens, what happens if something happens to us, right, what happens that they if they get attached to us and we make a connection and it's something happens to us again.
By the grace of God.
So who is the main main, you know, main reason or the main thing that they need to be connected to as to God. Once they have that connection, then they'll know that everything else is just a blessing and just sometimes like you said, it's just a matter of it's a reason for it, you know what I say. Everybody's not it was for the season as a reason.
There's a reason for every season exactly something.
Yeah. Yeah, So they have to start understanding that.
And so to me, if they have that connection with God, first connect with the people that love them, that support them, and then it'd be easier for them to make the other connections in their life to be able to grow and prosper and be have a better quality of life and be happy. The main thing that I think all of us want, it doesn't matter how much money you have, is to have that peace of mind.
And to have joy and to have peace of joy. Yes, those are the main things you have to have.
I love how you said joy and not happy, because happy it's forever fleeting with joy.
Absolutely, it resides, yes, absolutely.
And we have to talk about when we're coming from that good place of where that joy is to reside. Now, one of the things that you had talked about or from the experts that you showed me is your whole passion for saving others. What do you mean by that? Why you want to save everybody? Have you saved yourself?
So, you know, it's interesting.
I'm the type of person that I'm pretty much the same kill even kill. All the time you got us, I had one hour sleep, ten hours sleep. I'm usually the same. I have this certain piece right when your birthday three to three trade trace six track okay, yes, three March the third, and so yeah, it's like, I know, you know, over the thirty years, how many people if I saved. I haven't counted them. I haven't put the sticks. You know, I can't tell you a hundred, I can't tell you a thousand.
But overall, I know.
For a fact that we can save a lot of souls and a lot of a lot.
Of dream dream a lot of lives.
Yeah, save opportunities and create possibilities.
Absolutely.
And you know it's interesting because when we talk about possibility, I think of choice. You have choices of these possibilities. But listening to your story. And you grew up in a two parent household, Yes, I did.
That was another thing.
I grew up with a mom and dad, brothers, sister, kat dog. You know, I grew up with the whole gathering aunts, uncles, cousins. So I didn't even know. We opened our first home group home for foster youth, I didn't even know what that really meant. I literally did not understand it. Yeah, I didn't know. I had no idea what a foster kid was. I didn't know when our first one of the first kids that came into the home, I literally asked them.
Well, where's your mom dad?
And then I thought, well I know that much, Well where's your social work away?
I didn't even I didn't even ask.
I didn't even know how to ask the proper questions because I literally had no idea that, you know, people didn't have home. That's how you said we talk about ignorance. That's how ignorant I was when I first opened the home thirty years ago. Had no idea. So I, like I said, I've learned a lot because again that was my mom's you know, she was the founder, this was
her passion. I was just supposed to be the you know, the silent investor, right and my unfortunately mom got ill and I said, oh, well, how hard could it be, you know, to run a home with kids, because I'm really good with kids. And of course we're here today, thirty years later, with getting hundreds of thousands of people to support our kids. Take it to the next level, have a movement, you know, just like how it is
with Red Cross. Everybody knows what Red Cross does, right, Everybody knows the importance of when you have a disaster and people have to be helped and saved, right, well, living advantage is going to be the mom and dads. We are the mom and dads and foster youth, and your support will allow us to say, hundreds of thousands of kids across our country.
Imagine the kids. Do you know. I've had other countries approach.
Me, other countries, people countries.
So we have a software application that maintains vital records, birth certificates, social Security cards, right, medical medical papers. There are certain countries that don't have a social security system. They don't have a tracking system. That's why sex trafficking is such a big deal because they can't track people.
That like prime example, a mother can have a kid and they.
Could take the kid and it's not traceable. It's no, you can't prove you had that kid because you don't have any social security Social Security number is a really big deal.
A lot of times we don't. Again, we take it.
I granted, we thought about it exact because how would somebody know I can't snatch and say give me your blood sample.
Oh my gosh.
So anyway, a lot of things we take for granted here in our society that we don't think about because it's natural, it's part of our system. However, but think about when a child is born, he's taken away from his parents, then how do you know who he is?
So I've had kids.
That didn't even know their own birth birth date because they didn't have their birth certificate. So they really didn't know when they were born because they didn't have any proof of it.
And imagine living a life of not even having your own ideas exactly what does that look like?
Exactly what kind of future does that build?
So they're a foundation foundation.
So when I started, when I took over the nonprofit, when I took over Caring for Aposter, you, my background again is solving problem I'm really good at solving problems. So you give me a problem I was solving in two minutes and keep it pushing. Right, So when I'm not my backgrounds is not a social worker. My background's not you know kumbaya. You know education. I was so bad in the school. Even in college, they would call my parents.
I was just right because I'm gonna take several community colleges. Oh you wanted to go to LMU Yoyola Marramount University Beach, but they rejected.
Yeah, they rejected me. Well because my grades were too low in high school and my behavior was a trust you.
Oh you was a wild thing.
That was a wild thing. Okay, Yeah, I was one of those bad kids in school.
Why were you bad?
Because I did what I wanted to do. I had a mom and a dad that supported me. They're super educated and the smart. Again, when you read my book, it tells you about my family background and my dynamics. So just I'm gonna give you a little So my father was the first American documentary to ever walk across the United States.
Wait what yes, so again you.
Got to read my book to know a little bit more about that. But actually you got to read the next book to know more about my dad. But my dad has a book called The Big Walk. It's about African American man that walked across the United States. He was doing a survey to see whether or not if integration was working. And as of today twenty twenty three, is integration working?
Mmm?
But what's the light bulb?
Can red?
Can Red have put the light.
Backw can you put the light over the light book?
Oh?
Wow, but that's a whole nother sea. That's a whole other book.
So how did you overcome you? So? I know you said you have aspirations of being a millionaire.
Yes, absolutely, Well you know I've done that a few times over. However, Wow, I invest my money back into my kids. I invested back into the So it.
Ain't like you taking this in your own pocket.
You are truly for living living advantages again, the legacy and what all of us in the community are going to bring to our kids. Now foster youth, of course, tell me about as six hundred you know, a little bit less than a million kids in America right, Well, look at out the disadvantage. There's so many disadvantaged youth that are in our society that need us probably just
as much as our foster youth. Imagine us taking our kids and transforming them into whatever they want to be, but a good, better version that again can can just transpire into them growing.
And what happens with.
Us, We grow because we're lifting while we climb right, each one teach one and each one reach one. Absolutely, it's so interesting while we say that our children are our future, how we need to relate to these kids because for so long, from as early as they know, they didn't know that the future was possible because they're living day by day, sometimes not even having a suitcase. They just got a bag in which they're keeping their clothes in from one spot.
To the next.
Yes, and it's so important that we highlight to show gratitude and definitely give a grace. And we know what grace is a space to exist with the possibility of resources.
When you say teach one, you know, we we said reach one, teach one, So you know, are we teaching on youth when they say youth are our future? So are we really taking the time out to do that? When you think of you know, your listeners here today, do you really take time to teach or give inspiration to our young people. You know, what type of what are you called tool? What type of way are we doing that Living advantage gives you that space. We've been
doing virtual services way before the pandemic, way before. We were doing it back in twenty ten, doing virtual services because I like to go where the kids are.
The kids don't have to come to me to get services. We make it where we go to them wherever they are. Because sometimes you have kids that are homeless, how are they going to be?
Sometimes you have kids that are homeless, they don't have an ID, So we still say that.
These kids are experience, ain't seen homelessness. They're by themselves on the streets. What do you mean, how would they even access living advantage or to know about it? Do you guys ride around and see how does that work?
So what happens is that when we had our group homes, we were able to of course, kids come to us consistently, but we realized there's over half a million kids over it's oh, I think about six hundred thousand kids in America. So the reason why we transition to more of a public service where we are able to have contracts with the Apartment of Children, Family Services, our size unified school District, the County of Los Angeles Probation Department.
We were cal fresh. You helped me at their own EBT. Call your partner with Ralphs. Yes, yes, you just had something with Amazon. Yes, yes, yes, Living advantages outside.
Yeah, So how do you get We go to them many that you know partners, So we have different spaces where they're able to reach us. Again, they can reaches on all of the different social medias. They can give us a call, they can text us. So we're in the schools, so we reach them one way or the other. You know, it would be great to go around to reach out to them. But right now, that's why I support is so important. That's why our donors are so important,
our corporate sponsors. I mean, they need to be able to invest into living advantage. So we're infesting in our kids and it's not always monetary. Again, showing up at our events, you know, being there talking to our kids. I'm doing ours. We do zooms with our kids on different workshops. We have workshops from art to three D modeling, all different types.
Of Well, let's take a quick break.
When we come back, let's share with the family on how they can support Living Advantage.
Let's tell them about the thirty thirty Club. Yes, yes, let's tell about.
The upcoming of it in August. Okay, and in all all the other awesome stuff you got going on. Absolutely tell me you're ready to pull up. They say, if you want to show up, you got to show out. They say, if you want to make change, it got to make sense. You're ready to open your pockets for this? You stay ready, You ain't got.
To get ready. That's right.
All right.
We're having a real conversation with a real person doing some real things in the community right now. And so when we come back, we are going to further this conversation with our very own executive director of Living Advantage, Inc. Miss Pamela Clay, during Foster Care Awareness Month's all right, holds on b R B.
Hey guys, it's Jaden Michael. Everybody your boy and around now. You're boomed in with Don Day.
Get your dose of Vitamin D with Don Day, and get excited about your life. What I said, Hello, somebody, somebody, Hello, guess you're back.
Hello. That's miss Pamela Clay.
She is the executive director for the nonprofit organization Living Advantage where she's allowing foster care youth to live their lives to their advantage. How about that, And she's doing it by shedding and spreading her life.
Yes, I like that.
I'm at them, so this is being recorded, right, I'm gonna have to go back and pick up somebod these sayings so I can be as articulate and eloquent as Don Dae.
Because you got to catch it.
Yes, yes, yes, that's one reason I'm here, because I got to pick up all of these sands that Don does.
So thank you so much merchandise coming out so on stand by Sailbirn so word. Before the break, we were talking about how supporters needed okay, because there is nothing more fulfilling to know that somebody says I got you. And when we talk about these young people, especially those who are experiencing homelessness, who are in the foster care system, they need somebody to raise their hand and say I
got you. One thing you said and I want to highlight more as you talked about how Living Advantage is the mom and dad of the foster care system. Yes, you have a membership and call thirty three thirty Now you told us your birthday was Mars tharn.
I'm a summing. It has something to do with which birthday.
So tell us about support what that looks like in the thirty three thirty Club club.
So thirty three thirty was it's based off my birthday. I do it like I'm all threes. I was even born. I think it was sixty. I was born at six o'clock, six thirty nine, So everything is thre's for me. So I just and you know threes.
My mother's birthday is the visibly three. She was born in June sixth in nineteen fifty one. See fireplus one is six June sixth and six.
Okay, there you go, so you get it.
You know the threes.
You know I said, father's son, Holy go low somebody and even know the threes. So a three person. But what the thirty three thirty Club does is it allows us to have a platform where we are supporting. So the minimum amount that you can donate is three dollars and thirty cents. Everybody can do that. We should go out and get a million people to donate just three
dollars and thirty cents. But what it does it allows us to be in front of our kids and to be able to show our support transcend our expertise or experience, and it says it allows us to be there for the kids because it's not always about money. Again, money is one source that allows us to go out and have more staff to.
You can always get more money, yeah, they can make more exact, but what we doing with the time exactly? They said, that's one of our most valuable assets because one suspend, it's going forever.
Right, what are you doing with your time exactly?
So your time is what we need by you being a supporter. What we found right when you go to look at statistics and you know when people donate, they have a tendency of being more obligated committed. So if you're committed, you'd be willing to come to a virtual workshop, come out to the schools to talk to the kids. You know, send me a video of a three minute video just saying hey, I got you, we love you,
I'm here to support you. You know, whether you're supporting by three thousand dollars a month or three and thirty cent, you're committed to making sure these kids are having a better quality of life.
That's what it's all, So.
What can this three dollars and thirty cent really do?
What it does is it tells you, hey, I'm a part of a three thirty three thirty club.
I'm donating to support these fosters. You need to do it.
That's enough money if you got if you got three thousand people don'tname.
We can have three hundred kids a year.
So how much does it cost for each child?
It's on an average about seventeen hundred dollars a year, depending on specific services that we're doing.
PI.
We spend that much money on a maationship for a screaming side exactly, insurance on a call. That's why we say it might even for some clothes to get your hair and your nails. Did mean while we talking about a life exactly livingadvantage?
Inc?
Is it dot org dot com, dot org dot org? Pull up?
Yeah, secure out how you can be a member of the thirty three thirty club. Yes, Now, what are some of the advantages of those who actually uh become a member?
It was this week is really great. We had a I call it the VIP career match. Right, it's not a job fair, it's a VIP career match. What we did was again, these type of services are tailored specifically by living advantage. We don't do job. You don't come out and half a bunch of people out there passing out applications. What we did is it's a two day a week for at least four weeks. On Wednesdays, they do aptitude tests so they can figure out what their
strengths are, what they believe in, what they like. Then they do a resume build because most kids in high school don't have a lot of background, so their resume is based off their aptitude or what they like and what they don't like. Let's say if they were dog walkers as a kid, or babysitters, or they like to play games a gamer. We figure out what it is
that they're good at or what they like. And then once we have that built, then we go to our supporters, which everybody that is at the VIP Career are supporters. So we have Karen Bass yet she's there, her team is there, and all of our supporters are our career match and so now they donate and they're also given their time.
They're at one of the schools.
We have over a thousand kids that are going to participate, but we have our VIP kids that are intending both sessions. Wednesday is the Aptitude aptitude resume building Thursdays when they actually go and match. Now, a lot of our employers, a lot of our supporters are not even there physically. They're there virtually and they've already signed up. So they tell you what positions they have available. They do like a one two minute little video explaining what it's about,
and the kids get to match. So it's vi PR supporters with their VIP kids who want to be a part of it.
And this is a great way to even start a new community. People would like minded individuals. So that could we can evoke. But shyes, change in the great publicities, just to say you're out here.
Yes, all of all of our supporters they have the press release we have. Yeah, so Katie, Katie isn't want to us.
That's my girl.
Yes, So Katie. What she does is she puts all of the different like we might.
These are more corporate when you look at the sponsors on the back of the shirt, those of course our corporate supporters. Usc USC is one of our number one supporters, one of our number one sponsors.
I mean from that is awesome.
Yeah, Well what my main guy, my main senior case manager, he's a SC graduate.
A lot of our staff are SC students and graduates.
And so when you look at our corporate supporters, but then how about all of our smaller organizations that support us, even individual people. Well, what we do We put them on a press release, It goes out, it gets published, and then we call all of the news stations saying you better, like you said, you better pull up, pull up, you better pull up and see how we're making change.
And so now we're advertising for our organizations, our supporters, so we're advertising for them, and then we get to showcase our kids.
So again everybody wins because each one, each one, each one teach one.
Capitalizing and the foster care system.
And it's a good thing because when we talk about capitalization, talking about taking it to advantage exactly when this time we're talking about the lives of our young people. Yes, so they can start living at their advantage, living advantage. Come on, yes, you think I'm playing, well, I'm just telling you the truth. This is what we're doing, one person at a time, one life at a time. Now, you mentioned some of these organizations and I just want
to make sure that we highlight them. You got La rams on here, Yes, yes, what was it like partnering with Ralph? So somebody can check out and donate?
Yes, So when you go on our website you can click onto the routes.
All you do is sign up and click Living Advantage as the nonprofit organization that you want to support in and every time you go shopping, we get a small percentage of that. So you don't have to do anything special, anything unique. You do not have to put any money. You're already shopping at routes anyway. So you go to the website, click on you click Living Advantage and automatically Rouse gives us a couple of you know whatever, the small.
Percentages, but it matters.
But it matters absolutely because again, when we get three thousand of you guys all signed up, look at it'll do for our kid.
I remember we talking seventeen hundred dollars that can save somebody's Yes, we're talking about change the trajectory. Were we talking about a life that may actually can cure cancer? Yes, any type of disease. Invent the next car, save the you know, do something different with the technologies. Yeah, three dollars and thirty cents. That's it is that something that you can commit to absolutely and.
Look what your commitment does though, Look at what your commit how it impacts some of some of the some of the most what do you want to call what I do? I want to say, I don't like my kids are always so special to make.
So well, here's something that I think is important. We talk about giving a possibility so kids can live their advantage. Another thing is to highlight of the countless of celebrities that I've came through the Falster care system. I just learned yesterday after doing my research. Eddie Murphy was in the Falster care system for a year. Did you know Olympic gold medalists some Mo Biles was in the Foster
care system since she was three years old. I also, when I attended your thirty year anniversary celebration, I saw the video from Tiffany Adams. These are people who are at a point where they didn't have consistency, but somebody was.
In the background.
That's somebody that could be you to say, ah, got you right, and now they looked at their dreams and said I'm possible. Somebody that may have said Oh it's impossible. I'm possible because my location is not my destination. If I fall down seven times, get up a and most importantly, when these kids are looking up at a disadvantage, if you can look up, you can get up.
So family, are you ready to get up? Get up?
For our young people. It's time for everybody to live at their advantage, and they can do that with living advantage in Now. If somebody wants to check out the website to follow you guys on social media, miss Pamela, where can they check you out at?
Okay?
Well, definitely go to you know www dot Living advantage i nc dot org. Once you go on, of course the social media, uh information is there.
I think I had it on there. This is Katie's part.
So you know I'm looking at instagrams Living Advantage there you go, and on Facebook it's living advantage inink.
There you go.
So all you got to do is that there advantage. How you want to live to my advantage? Put it in a Google search. You'll find it.
What they say asking you shall see see if you shall find knock and the living advantage door will be open to you.
Better care well lit, Parrol, Thank you so much.
Absolutely my pleasure. For sure, this was an absolute honor. I really appreciate the work you're doing.
Yes, thank you, I appreciate that.
I appreciate you having me on and I look forward to more more of your your wisdom and more of the ways that we can expound on it and make sure that these people are understanding that all they need is three thirty cents, three minutes.
Of their time. Minutes, so you remember it's all Now.
You'll be teaching the kids, if the kids are a future. Now you have direct access to the future. And imagine, hey, you.
Go to a tarror call reader, like go to somebody to tell you. But right now you have the opportunity to create, to ship. You got the advantage to play a role in our future. So what you're gonna do, that's right, what you're gonna do?
You do?
You better catch it because it's high.
Yes, it is.
Thank you so much, Thank you. I appreciate you again.
For more information, if you'd like to check out Living Advantage and how you can support a youth in the foster care system, be sure to visit Livingadvantage ink dot or Yes m Miss Pamela is shedding their life and you know, we just amplifying yes, because there you go, you know, just because I usually have our guests right before they leave to leave a dose of Vitamin D.
That can be a song, that can be a quote.
Maybe anything that keeps you inspired. Is there anything that you can leave us with that inspires you to keep on keeping on a method, a word, anything?
Well, you know what I always think about. I always think it's kind of cool, you know, to be the mom and dad to foster you nationally.
Imagine being the mom and dad you literally would be tag trademark. You would be a mom and dad would foster you. And all you have to do is minimum three minutes of three dollars.
I mean, what's up?
I mean, imagine what that would what that would do for our kids.
That's what I leave, all right, three dollars and thirty cents. Come on, make it makes sense so we can make this change. All right, family, I'm getting out of here. I want to encourage you. If you're enjoying this podcast, tell somebody to tell somebody else that doing Good Day got a podcast and it's entitled Vitamin D with da'nt Day,
and it's available wherever you get your favorite podcasts. In fact, if you would like to be a guest, or perhaps you need some advice on your relationships, your career, what have you? Shoot an email Vitamin D at dawn daispeaks dot com. I want to be clear with you. You know, Vitamin D is all about shedding light on the good and the bad. Because if you want to be better and you want to do better, guess what, Miss Pamela, You're gonna have to be able to see better.
So I'm gonna keep it real with you because that's all I know how to be.
And if you would like to catch up on some pass interviews and stuff, make sure you follow us on all social media. Vitamin D do one day and it make sure you're right in comments so somebody can see it and say, oh, I like that. I want to be about that.
We got a movement going on. I also want to remind you that we take Vitamin D Live.
We're live on our social media as of right now Tuesdays and Thursdays. Pull up on me at five thirty and soon we're gonna have the guests coming live. We're gonna change the time, we might do some locations. I'm just saying if you're stay ready. You ain't got to get ready.
And of course, if you want the original source of vitamin D, that be me. Baby. You gotta follow me on all social media at Dawn d A. I speaks all right, Dan Dan Dan house kids here. I gotta get out the studio, all right.
You know I always said, yes, I'm in the business of making dreams come true, and I damn so, I ain't gonna forget about mine. So until next time, family, always remember you are your greatest ass at get your right in
Indy, right here with me, and get excited about your life.