When a student’s air conditioning broke in the middle of a 110-degree Texas summer, she didn’t know where to turn. She was concerned her cat was overheating, and the apartment complex said it would take 10 days to fix the unit. In another instance, a student fell $100 short on rent after missing a week of work due to illness.

In both cases, help arrived quickly, thanks to a network of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members who participate in the Friends of PUSH program, which supports University of North Texas students with lived experience in foster care.

“I reached out to Friends of PUSH and asked for fans, and they had two within 24 hours, which was amazing,” said Brenda Sweeten, UNT’s foster care liaison officer. “[When] I had a student who was $100 short on rent, ... within 24 hours again, we had $200. The generosity is really amazing.”

Those small acts of kindness illustrate what UNT’s Friends of PUSH program does best: meeting students’ needs quickly, personally and with dignity.

What challenges do PUSH students face?

Students in the Preserve UNTil Success Happens, or PUSH, program share one defining experience: time spent in the foster care system.

There are about 300 UNT students eligible for the program, and many arrive on campus with few resources and limited support.

“We have students even as young as 17 that come to our campus,” Sweeten said. “If they’re coming out of foster care directly, those tend to be our more vulnerable students in a lot of ways because they’re coming from this very structured environment where a lot of decisions are made for them.”

Suddenly, those same students must manage their own finances, schedules and responsibilities. This transition can be overwhelming without guidance and trust.How does Friends of PUSH make a difference?

That’s where the Friends of PUSH partnership comes in. Members provide hands-on support to PUSH students. Whether it’s buying groceries, donating fans or showing up for game nights, their efforts bridge the gap between institutional resources, such as tuition and fee waivers from UNT, and human connection.

“One of the things that is really important to us about this relationship is how customized it is in terms of being able to meet ... individual student needs that are very specific,” said Jordan Williams, Senior Director of Lifelong Learning & Community Engagement. “The amount of generosity ... our members have is enormous. Being able to have ways to channel that, where we can really meet specific needs, is a very special opportunity.”

How do these connections change lives?

Sweeten said trust takes time.

“Our PUSH students come from hard places,” she said. “For them to trust people is something that doesn’t come easily.”

The partnership with OLLI has existed for almost seven years, and that trust has grown immensely.

“We are definitely seeing our engagement [increase],” Sweeten said. “We have a lot of repeat students now. [Friends of PUSH] does a great job of providing not only entertaining and fun activities but dinners. ... It’s been really fun to see this relationship grow over time.”

Williams said the impact extends to the OLLI members themselves.

“Many of [our OLLI members] come to us with a preexisting desire and interest to give back,” he said. “After they’ve retired, they reassess what they want to do with their time and what kind of impact they want to have. I think that’s really one of the main things they feel. Even just being able to put their name in the hat and say, ‘Please reach out to me when there’s a need’ [is impactful].”



Additionally, Williams explained how Friends of PUSH encourages people to have intergenerational conversations.

“One of the things that really resonates with our members is when they’re able to have conversations with folks who see past age, ... and just see them as a person who has life experiences and their own quirks ... and humor,” Williams said.

That humor is especially seen during Friends of PUSH game nights, where students and members play charades, themed trivia, Name That Tune and more.

What’s next for PUSH?

The PUSH program is continuing to grow. Of the approximately 300 PUSH students eligible for support, the program regularly engages about 100 each year. Sweeten hopes to increase participation, expand mentoring opportunities and deepen community involvement in the future, ensuring that no student feels alone in their journey.

Click here to learn more about UNT’s PUSH program and how you can get involved. Click here to learn more about Friends of PUSH.

The above story was produced by Multi-Platform Journalist Sydney Heller with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.