About Us
Cycle Breakers is a student organization that helps current and former foster youth. Only 3% of foster youth graduate from college, 20% experience homelessness once they age out of care, many become pregnant or incarcerated, and most are unable to support themselves financially by the time they are age 25. We partner with other organizations to identify and meet the needs of this population. This past year, we spent 40 hours supporting former foster youth identify the best areas to move to given income, healthcare, disability, and other constraints. This holiday season we are hosting a toy drive to benefit current and youth who have aged out of the foster care system. Many foster kids do not receive any presents from their foster or biological families. Youth who have aged out often receive no presents during the holidays. Together we can bring a bit of light to these children and youth this holiday season.
​Cycle Breakers was founded by Aleksander Nikolov whose mom aged of foster care. He attends Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
CASA-NYC plays a crucial role in assisting New York City's overburdened Family Court to meet the needs of the city's most vulnerable children. Family Court Judges assign CASA to a case when they are concerned that a child is at risk of “falling through the cracks” because they are not getting their needs met while in foster care, at risk of languishing in foster care longer than necessary, or aging out of foster care without housing, an income, or services they need to live independently.
Our small staff of licensed social workers and attorneys recruits, trains and supervises a team of 300 citizen volunteers to give each child the individual and consistent attention that the child welfare system is not always able to provide. CASA staff members carefully match each child’s case with a volunteer Advocate who is the best fit for the child and family.
PublicPalette is a non-profit, fully student-run organization that supports children’s mental health by creating art. PublicPalette mainly creates murals in areas accessible to children, such as hospitals, schools, foster homes, and daycares. Currently we are preparing a mural for a family care center that aims to improve the connections between foster parents and children. PublicPalette also hosts fundraisers and events in which we sell custom portraits to parents and children, aiming to spread joy.