Mission:
The Mathis Foundation for Children serves disadvantaged youth in order that they become contributing members of society.
Purpose:
To guide, encourage, and facilitate life changing opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
Values/Guiding Principles:
Integrity
Transparency
Diversity
Perseverance
Respect
Goals:
To assist youth to understand and realize their full potential
To support youth unconditionally to advance their human dignity
To engage youth respectfully to encourage their desire to achieve
To provide youth with exceptional experiences to develop life learning skills
To provide guidance and information to youth caregivers to enhance their ability to parent
Vision:
Mathis Foundation for Children will become Greater Cincinnati’s primary resource of educational support for youth living in substitute care.
With the belief that all children are the future of our community, Mathis Foundation for Children will train committed mentors, improve educational stability and connect at-risk youth to community resources.
History:
Established in 1996 to fulfill the Mathis family’s dream to create a better world for abused and neglected children, the Foundation has supported Greater Cincinnati’s at-risk youth through foster-home placement, adoptions, scholarships, mentoring and self-sufficiency programs promoting safety, well being and success.
Mathis Foundation for Children was established to be a fundraising nonprofit organization to support Mathis Care Foster Care and Adoption Agency.
Mathis Care placed at-risk youth in safe, caring homes and facilitated adoptions until federal funding changes cut necessary funding in 2003. At this time, all Mathis Care foster youth and homes were transferred to Lighthouse Youth Services. After Mathis Care dissolved, the focus of Mathis Foundation for Children was no longer to raise funds to place children in foster care and to facilitate adoptions.
The new focus of Mathis Foundation for Children was immediately determined to provide scholarships and mentors for children in the foster care system, whether living in foster homes, group homes or kinship homes.
Scholarships were established at private schools with high percentages of at-risk students needing financials assistance. In addition to financial support, students were also provided with mentors, providing each child with leadership and guidance to assist them in their educational career.