“The foster care system taught me resilience, but programs like UMPS CARE Charities showed me hope. They reminded me that there are people out there who believe in us, even when we sometimes struggle to believe in ourselves. This scholarship didn’t just help me pay for school—it gave me confidence, resources, and a community.”
At just 10 years old, Jaskirat Kaur found herself shouldering responsibilities that many adults might find overwhelming.
She helped raise her younger brothers, managed grocery shopping and getting to and from school. The challenges only grew when she got older, and by the time she was 13, she was in foster care.
Moving between placements, attending court dates, and meeting with social workers became her new normal. The instability was overwhelming. She recalls helping her brothers with their schoolwork while tackling her own homework, trying to give them the support and guidance they needed despite their circumstances.
One of the hardest parts of foster care was being separated from her brothers at times. She said she felt a deep sense of responsibility for them but had no control over the situation. It was heartbreaking to know she couldn’t always be there for them. The foster care system also came with a stigma—a label of being a “ward of the state.” She was hesitant to share her circumstances with classmates or teachers, fearing judgment or pity.
Eventually, she was adopted by her aunt, who, along with her grandparents, helped raise her.
Despite these challenges, she refused to let her circumstances define her, and she knew education was her best bet for change. Jas got through high school, but the transition to college was a whole new ballgame.
And that’s where UMPS CARE Charities stepped in.
“The UMPS CARE scholarship truly changed my trajectory,” Jas told told the crowd at our 19th Annual Golf Classic in Phoenix, where she was honored as an UMPS CARE Charities All-Star College Scholarship program graduate. “It relieved the financial burden that so often forces foster youth to choose between survival and their goals. It gave me the freedom to excel academically.”
Through our All-Star College Scholarship program, UMPS CARE provided $10,000 per year to support Jas’ college costs, but the added value of ongoing mentorship from retired MLB Umpire and UMPS CARE President Gary Darling and recently retired MLB Umpire Paul Emmel proved invaluable to Jas’ success. Paul and his crew invited Jas and her family to meet the umpires before a San Francisco Giants game, and both Gary and Paul provided inspiration when Jas needed it.
Both Gary and Paul were in attendance at the Golf Classic at the Foothills Golf Club to support Jas.
Jas’ journey through college was not an easy one. She started at UC Davis and eventually landed at San Francisco State University. But she had support from UMPS CARE along the way.
“The foster care system taught me resilience, but programs like UMPS CARE Charities showed me hope,” Jas said. “They reminded me that there are people out there who believe in us, even when we sometimes struggle to believe in ourselves. This scholarship didn’t just help me pay for school—it gave me confidence, resources, and a community.”
Jas graduated in May 2024 with a biology degree from San Francisco State University, and she is working as Certified Nursing Assistant. Already, she has been accepted to five of the eight nursing schools where she has applied.
We know she will continue to make our UMPS CARE community proud.
To date, UMPS CARE has funded more than $410,000 in college scholarships to children adopted later in life, and we are proud to share that since we have incorporated a mentorship component to this program in 2015, we have had a 100 percent graduation rate. We also are proud to say that this program began by funding one student per year, and this year we are funding three students. Special thanks to Deloitte and Umpire Focus, two major sponsors of this program, and our donors for making this program such a success.
Congratulations, Jas!
