Local teen beats all odds for chance at college (not)

BENICIA—The story of a teenage homeless girl who had overcome a life spent in and out of foster homes, and won a full four-year scholarship to Spelman College, inspired many who wanted to help and encourage her.

But a foster care advocate who took in the girl said the donations that poured in after the Times-Herald ran a story on Channell "Candy" Carney July 16 are being returned though she adds the teen needs help now more than ever.

College officials say Carney, who was living in a San Francisco homeless shelter before coming to Benicia two weeks ago, is not enrolled at the school, and has not received a scholarship. Carney did not return calls to her cell phone from the Times-Herald Monday.

Lori Cohee, who founded Foster a Dream in Benicia to help foster care youth, said she raised $3,000 for Carney since July 16.

A letter dated Friday from the Atlanta-based Spelman College to Cohee notes: "... It is with great disappointment that I have to inform you that I am unable to locate any information on Channell Carney's enrollment to Spelman College."

Cohee said Carney's desperate need to believe her dream of going to Spelman is a byproduct of the abuse and neglect she's experienced growing up in the state foster care system since birth. She said she doesn't believe Carney was trying to "pull a scam" because the teen didn't seek her out for help. Cohee said she went to her and offered assistance.

"I'm not angry at Candy. I'm more determined to try to help her," said Cohee who said she has been calling Carney continuously on her cell phone to find out if she is OK.

"She is once again on the streets, homeless. My biggest concern right now is not what other people are thinking about her. She's a sick young lady," Cohee said.

The Times-Herald ran a story July 16 on Carney's feat of maintaining good grades while living in dozens of foster homes. Dozens of people wanted to help Carney out when they read her descriptions of her life which included a battle against sickle cell anemia.

Carney said she had been a straight "A" student since the sixth grade, intended to pursue a double major in physiology and chemistry, and then attend medical school at Stanford University.

But Cohee said when she heard from Spelman on Friday, she confronted Carney. "She said there was a mistake. I would never tell a lie,' " Cohee said the girl told her. The teen left Friday, saying she was going to Dublin to obtain proof of her Spelman enrollment, and has not been heard from since, Cohee said.

Cohee said she learned about Carney during a meeting with other agencies that help foster care children. That day she went and picked her up and brought her to live in her home. She also gave her a job at Foster a Dream.

Cohee said she has seen stacks of medical records confirming that Carney has sickle cell anemia, and asthma, and suffered "severe abuse" as a child. She's been in and out of many Bay Area hospitals throughout her life, Cohee said.

Other parts of Carney's story don't seem to have panned out, however. Carney said she had graduated from Logan High School in Oakland. However, an admissions office worker said that while Carney has attended the school, there are no records she graduated there.

Further, she also did not apply to University of California at Berkeley, according to the university admissions office. Carney said she had been accepted there but chose Spelman instead. Cohee said she's also learned in the past few days that Carney's GPA is barely a 2.0, which is more typical for foster children who grow up in numerous homes, and attend different schools.

In a letter to the many people who sent in donations, Cohee wrote that Carney is a troubled girl who needs help.

"Candy did not manifest this story for any monetary gain; she simply wanted to feel a sense of belonging and personal accomplishment. She wanted others to believe she was successful, so much so, that she convinced everyone she knew and herself that she was really going to Spelman. She actually has a plane ticket and will probably still go there just so everyone believes in her," she wrote.

Arlene Cash, Spelman College vice president for enrollment, said the school never sent Carney an enrollment application, nor did it ever receive her high school transcripts.

"I knew we would have remembered a foster child from California who had a 4.0 GPA and scored 1500 on her SATs," Cash said.

The July 16 Times-Herald story spread through Spelman College's alumni organization, prompting numerous college graduates across the country to pledge money.

Once Spelman alumni calls came in to Foster a Dream, Cohee said she called to confirm Carney's enrollment. In her letter to donors, she said she should have checked Spelman's enrollment records sooner.

Though some people want Cohee to keep their donations in case Carney returns, Foster a Dream will be sending checks, reimbursing donations, to each person who sent in money, Cohee said. Cohee stressed the incident will not weaken her nonprofit, but only strengthen her resolve to help troubled foster youth.

"I will not give up. I have been through hell and back to build this organization. This has only strengthened my belief that these kids need help so badly," she said.