When your family’s constantly struggling to make ends meet…
having friends at school seems trivial.
Eddie didn’t care that he didn’t have any friends – after all, when your family’s always struggling to make ends meet, everything else seems trivial. Eddie’s mom worked herself to exhaustion trying to earn money for rent, which didn’t allow much time to help him with school work. They lived in constant fear of homelessness.
With the family’s financial troubles, it’s not surprising that Eddie struggled in 1st grade, performing far below grade level. His stress bubbled to the surface at school, where he was disruptive and quick tempered. To make matters worse, he quickly became isolated, because none of his peers could understand his behavior.
At his teacher’s referral, Eddie enrolled in our after-school program early in the year. The change in Eddie was nothing short of astonishing. At the Opportunity Center, Eddie found many other kids who had the same struggles as him. And our staff understood him, too.
For Eddie, feeling understood and accepted made all the difference in his attitude. He started taking initiative in doing homework and eagerly absorbed everything his tutors threw at him. From tutoring, Eddie discovered that he was actually a quick learner, moving onto harder assignments and even second grade material before the end of the third quarter.
Through our adult support programs, Eddie’s mom was able to find a way to afford stable housing for them. Feeling far more secure, Eddie entered second grade as a confident, successful student with friends.
Imagine what the rest of Eddie’s education would have been like without understanding peers and mentors. To help a child like Eddie make a permanent change for the better, donate now.