Since 2004, Point Loma resident and attorney Kathryn Vaughn has dedicated herself to Just in Time for Foster Youth, an organization that provides transitional services for foster youth who have “aged out” of the system. On May 6, her efforts were recognized by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver, who named Vaughn as California’s Volunteer of the Year at the second annual Medals for Service awards ceremony in Sacramento. Over the last six years, Vaughn has grown the organization from a handful of motivated volunteers to a thriving nonprofit corporation that has multiple programs serving thousands of youth. Although she stepped down from her role as president earlier this year, she remains on the group’s advisory board, and her legacy is still evident in the current leadership. “Kathryn was, and is, a ball of energy,” said Don Wells, executive director for Just in Time. “She is so passionate about this whole area of helping foster youth … having that caring heart, but then having the determination to do whatever it took to help [foster youth] succeed in life. Those two things together just make her an irresistible force.” Vaughn first got involved with the organization when a colleague asked her to help two sisters who had just been emancipated from the foster-care system. The girls were facing a sudden plunge into independent life, including a move into an empty apartment, without a consistent support system. Vaughn and her family stepped in to help the girls find furniture and decorate the space. That initial involvement spurred Vaughn to do more. She started College Bound, a Just in Time program that gives transitioning foster youth the resources and guidance they need to succeed in college. Vaughn invited 14 such students to her home for the first College Bound ceremony, where she and her husband presented each of them with a laptop. “[These youth] would attend maybe five high schools and still have a 3.6 grade-point average, go to a great college and have no computer,” Vaughn said, noting that nationally, only 3 percent of foster children graduate from college. “You can’t compete. At every single college, you walk into a classroom and they all have computers. We thought that that would make a difference.” To date, the program has helped more than 100 participants transition into college. This month, nearly a dozen youth whom Vaughn has worked with personally will graduate from universities across the state, she said, including one of the sisters who Vaughn originally helped when she started working with the organization. Since winning the award, Vaughn said she has been inspired to work even harder on behalf of youth. “It is symbolic that if you have a dream or a plan and you step out on faith and make a commitment to it, extraordinary things can happen,” she said. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.jitfosteryouth.org.