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University Communications

First Lady Anne Holton to speak on 'Improving Foster Care in Virginia' at the Jepson Alumni Center Jan. 24, sponsored by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement

January 11, 2008

First Lady of Virginia Anne Holton, a former juvenile and domestic relations court judge and founder of the For Keeps Initiative serving foster children, will discuss how to improve foster care Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at the University of Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center.

University President Edward L. Ayers will introduce Holton's program, titled "'For Keeps' Families for All Virginia's Children: First Lady Anne Holton on Improving Foster Care in Virginia." A dessert reception will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Center for Civic Engagement at (804) 484-1600.

The For Keeps Initiative seeks to strengthen the voices of youth in foster care and foster parents, find permanent families and family connections for older children in foster care or at risk of entering it, and improve family and community support of all children.

"Through my work in Virginia's juvenile and domestic relations courts before becoming Virginia's first lady, I have had the opportunity to meet many remarkable young people in foster care," Holton says.

"I have been particularly impressed by older children striving mightily toward becoming successful, independent adults, but I also have seen how much they still needed the love and support of stable, lifelong families. Sadly, many of them lacked that support, leaving foster care without the permanent, strong family connections that we all need throughout our lives," she says.