Project Description
I work at an after-school program with a group of 12 teenage girls, and one family in particular needs some help.
The family has been through many difficulties. The father of the oldest child committed suicide. The mother never graduated from high school. On top of this, since she now has three children under the age of 12, she has not been able to hold a job that can support her family, so she has been on the public aid system for 17 years.
This month, I called and asked if she wanted to pursue a GED (General Education Degree) and complete a job-training program. She said that she didn’t have any clothes to wear or bus fare to get to any of the programs. Her reasons included paying for back bills and bus fare for her oldest seventeen-year-old, but also paying for clothes for all five of her children.
The proposed assistance in this situation (using the $250 Cathy’s Cup grant) is for the following: $75 for a CTA bus pass for a full month of training; $50 to cover training fees and books for both the GED and job training programs; and $125 to buy business attire for job interviews. If these funds are not available for her, she will not be able to start this program, nor start searching for a job.
Timeline
This will start immediately and be completed by January.
Why This Is Important
This mother has been one of my consistent parents for years (in the after-school program), but has very low self-esteem since she has not finished school and never worked during her children’s lives. I would pray that this opportunity would be a boost for her and her family.
Desired Outcome
The outcome of this opportunity for would be to support her family totally and after 17 years, help her to move off of public aid. I believe this will also add to the relationship between me and her family.
Measure of Success
I will consider this effort to have been a success when she completes both of the above-mentioned programs.
