Foster Care 2026 High School Graduation Celebration, Fairfax County, VA

Bernie L. Bates Foundation Celebrates Fairfax County

Foster Care Graduates

By Brother Antonio Coleman

Director, BLB Inc.

FAIRFAX, Va.  The Bernie L. Bates Foundation, Inc., continuing a partnership that has flourished for nearly a decade, proudly supported the 2026 Fairfax County Foster Care Graduation Celebration held Friday, July 31, at George Mason University’s Student Center – The Hub.

The celebration recognized 16 remarkable young adults who completed important educational milestones while navigating the challenges associated with foster care.  The graduating class included high school, trade school, college, and graduate-degree recipients, including three trade school graduates and one young adult who earned a master’s degree.  Their accomplishments reflected Omega Psi Phi Fraternity’s Four Cardinal Principles: Manhood: Scholarship, Perseverance, Uplift, coupled with determination, and the power of a community willing to invest in their success.

Representing the Foundation during the celebration were Directors Hector Sheppard, Norris Middleton, Kenneth Younger, and Brother Tony Washington.  Their presence continued a longstanding tradition of Bernie L. Bates Foundation and Psi Alpha Alpha Chapter representatives attending the annual event, encouraging the graduates, and personally demonstrating that their achievements matter to the broader community.

The Bernie L. Bates Foundation was recognized in the official graduation program and publicly thanked for its continued commitment to Fairfax County youth in foster care.  Ms. Tamie Tanner, Fairfax County Independent Living/Permanency Coordinator, expressed tremendous gratitude and excitement regarding the Foundation’s support and the success of the event.

This year’s celebration embraced the theme “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, inspired by the well-known Dr. Seuss book.  Community partners were invited to select a quote from the book and explain its meaning for the graduates’ lives and futures.

The Foundation’s message centered on the encouraging words:

“Kid, you’ll move mountains!”

The message reminded the graduates that difficulties may arise, but those difficulties do not define them.  Their character, perseverance, faith, and the people standing beside them can help them overcome every mountain placed in their path.  During the ceremony, Director Sheppard, Vice President,  incorporated the Foundation’s selected quote into remarks to the graduates, further extending its message of hope and possibility.

For approximately ten years, the Bernie L. Bates Foundation has supported this annual celebration through personal attendance, certificates of achievement, gifts, and direct encouragement to the graduates.  The Foundation’s consistent participation has become an

anticipated part of the program and has established BLB as a trusted Fairfax County community partner.

Preparation for the 2026 celebration included coordinating with Fairfax County, reviewing the graduates’ accomplishments, preparing 16 personalized Bernie L. Bates Foundation Certificates of Achievement, arranging Foundation and Chapter representation, and ensuring the graduates would receive recognition reflective of their individual educational journeys.

The partnership began again this year when Ms. Tanner invited the Foundation to participate and thanked BLB for its continued generosity.  She emphasized that the foundation’s support has meant a great deal to Fairfax County youth over the years and expressed a desire to continue strengthening the relationship between Fairfax County and the Bernie L. Bates Foundation.

The success of the July 31 celebration affirmed the value of that partnership.  More importantly, it affirmed the graduates themselves, not merely for the diplomas and credentials they earned, but for the resilience, courage, and promise represented by each accomplishment.

The Bernie L. Bates Foundation believes every young person deserves people who will believe in them, invest in them, and remind them that their future is greater than their circumstances.  Through its continuing partnership with Fairfax County, the Foundation remains committed to celebrating these young adults as they move forward into employment, higher education, service, leadership, and lives filled with possibility.

For these 16 graduates, July 31 was not simply the conclusion of an educational chapter.  It was the beginning of the many places they will go and the many mountains they are prepared to move.

Manhood.  Scholarship.  Perseverance.  Uplift.