Los Angeles Non-Profit RaiseAChild Awarded 2023 AARP® Purpose Prize® Grant

Richard Valenza, founder and CEO of RaiseAChild, was honored as an AARP Purpose Prize Fellow

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RaiseAChild, a leader in recruitment and support services for prospective parents of foster-to-adopt youth, will receive a $10,000 grant to support its mission as part of the 2023 AARP Purpose Prize.

The organization announced today that its CEO and Founder, Richard Valenza, was named an AARP Purpose Prize fellow for his exceptional work as a nonprofit founder.

Based in Los Angeles and serving 14 counties in California, RaiseAChild recruits, educates and nurtures prospective foster families while partnering with agencies and the Department of Children and Family Services to improve the process of advancing foster children to safe, loving and permanent homes.

RaiseAChild is a recognized nationwide leader for LGBTQ+ families looking to foster and adopt. Valenza, 63, said he was inspired to found RaiseAChild after observing firsthand the glaring lack of diversity and inclusion within adoption and fostering services.

"As a single gay man who always dreamed of having a child, I felt an undercurrent of discouragement in the process of becoming a foster parent, the result of truly limited diversity in the foster and adoptive parent population," said Valenza. "Helping people overcome those obstacles is what our organization's all about, and we're honored that the AARP has recognized the substance of that mission."

In addition to the $10,000 grant, RaiseAChild will receive a year of technical support from AARP to help broaden the scope of its important work.

Valenza and other honorees will be recognized at the AARP Purpose Prize celebration event in October.

Launched in 2005, the national Purpose Prize award honors extraordinary people ages 50 and over who tap into the power of life experiences to build a better future for society. Purpose Prize recipients have proven they are using their life's knowledge and experiences to make a meaningful impact in people's lives by tackling some of the greatest societal challenges and also by helping to build a better future for us all

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SOURCE RaiseAChild