When he was growing up in foster care, Andrew Bridge had a "fortunate set of skills" that helped him take the step out of a system that trips up many children.

"At a young age, I liked the feeling of doing well in school," said Bridge, author of the best-selling memoir "Hope's Boy." "That was where I looked for attention and the sense of being worth something."

Bridge, a graduate of Harvard Law School, will be in the Richmond area tomorrow to share his experiences with a panel of young people who have their own stories to tell about foster care.

He will speak at the Great Expectations Education Forum at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Anne Holton, Virginia's first lady, will moderate a listening session with foster-care youths.

The forum begins at 10:30 a.m. It is free, but registration is required. Register at www.GreatExpectations.vccs.edu or by calling (804) 819-4961.

Great Expectations is a community-college program designed to help foster-care youths continue their education.

An estimated 8,000 children are in Virginia's foster-care system. Virginia has the highest percentage of youths who age out of the system without permanent family support.

Bridge said making sure foster-care youths get a good education is crucial to their future.

"And sadly, we don't do that right now," he said.

Bridge won a full scholarship to Wesleyan University after spending 11 years in foster care in Los Angeles beginning at age 7. His memoir of those years describes how his mother, Hope, battled schizophrenia.

But he said his mother, despite her troubles, "did one of the big jobs of a mom."

He went into the foster-care system knowing he was loved -- and that's a benefit many children in his circumstances don't have.

Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or kkapsidelis@timesdispatch.com.