Within a five-mile radius of University Park Campus, foster youth communities live in the same neighborhoods as many USC students. Living Advantage, Inc. supports at-risk foster youth through approaches such as innovative technology, social networking and media.

USC took Living Advantage under its wing and provides the nonprofit with peer-to-peer mentoring, academic support and reentry services to kids in the foster community. Over half of Living Advantage’s team are USC graduates, students, interns and work-study participants.

The organization is partially funded by the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, which raises money for grantees and allows faculty and staff to collaborate with local nonprofit organizations.

Pamela Clay, executive director of Living Advantage, took over the organization in 1996 from her mother, who founded it. Clay said providing meaningful mentorship to their kids is a main goal of the nonprofit, as funding is only one component of tackling systemic issues.

“You drop a billion dollars right now, is that going to solve the challenges [facing foster youth]? No,” Clay said. “[The kids] need support. …  They need to know that we’re here and that we care about them. … Mentorship is when you’re raising your hand, saying, ‘Hey, I’m there for you. We want to see you succeed.’ … Most young people succeed because they have a support system. … That’s what Living Advantage is about.”

Living Advantage partners with organizations such as Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services, the She Ready Foundation and the Los Angeles Unified School District, working together to make the youth center a “hub” for various opportunities. Elizabeth Smith, the strategic partnership director at Living Advantage, said these kinds of opportunities encourage kids to think about the future, especially in vocational jobs.

“Everything is right now technology- and [artificial intelligence]-driven, but we don’t want to lose the ability to keep using our hands,” Smith said. “The construction aspect is important in the reentry programs we have with our juvenile justice kids, who we’re pushing into a transitional life where they’re not just sustained with what has happened, but where they’re moving towards. ”

Effie Turnbull Sanders, vice president of civic engagement and economic partnerships at USC, said the Good Neighbors Campaign helps push organizations like Living Advantage further in their impact and recognition.

“For Living Advantage, there are really important stories that are hard to measure but really easy to see in terms of their impact: how many lives were changed as a result of funding, and how organizations use our funding,” Turnbull Sanders said. “They may receive $10,000 from Good Neighbors and use that as proof of their ability to attract dollars, then ask another foundation to match it or support a program. … We’re like a force multiplier.”

Turnbull Sanders emphasized the importance of organizations like Living Advantage in encouraging students to involve themselves with hands-on experiences within the surrounding community.

“The importance of education is not just in a lecture hall; having experiential learning is so key,” Turnbull Sanders said. “The first thing you should do as a student is volunteer in the community … by building up those skills of support and help, you start to develop … who you are as a person, and you’ll carry that for the rest of your life. … It’s a unique opportunity for USC students, and it’s something that AI can’t replace: human connection.”