Making A Difference

The story I am going to share with you is a true story, although I will not name the heroine of this story.  This is a story of the difference that can be made in the life of a person when a mentor and positive role model enters the picture.  The success in this story began about twelve years ago, but before I get to that part, I think you need a little context.  A beautiful young teenager was unhappy at home.  She discovered an “older” boyfriend who could take her away from the less than supportive environment.  Soon she was pregnant with her first child.  She kept going to high school but soon got pregnant for a second time.  By the age of 16 she had two children and by 17 she had added a third.  Through this all she stuck to her guns and was able to get a high school diploma.  This accomplishment speaks to her tenacity and will. 

She applied for an opportunity to participate in AmeriCorps, an organized program that allows people to give back to the community.  For this young woman it also gave her a breather, provided her with a small monthly stipend, medical insurance for herself and child care for her children.  She elected to serve for two years.  During that time she connected to a role model and mentor who believed in her.  And slowly over that two years, she began to believe in herself.  After she completed her years of service she was hired to work in an afterschool program and she realized that she could be a mentor for middle school girls in a way that others could not.  She worked with the girls, shared with them the challenges of being a teenage parent, and as she helped them believe that each of them could succeed, she began to believe it for herself as well.  All the time, her mentor stood by her and encouraged her. 

She used her AmeriCorps Education Award to get a college education.  She has successfully changed not only her own life but the life of her four children (she had one more after AmeriCorps), and she has reached hundreds of people with her story and by becoming a role model and mentor to others.

It is not difficult to imagine how this competent and compassionate young woman could have ended up a negative statistic had she not found a person who was willing to invest in her, to spend time with her, to support her, and to believe in her.  You have the opportunity to contribute and help Entrusted Legacy create more stories with this happy ending.  People who work with youth need to be trained and mentored so they too can pay it forward.  Contact us at support@entrustedlegacy.org or check out our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org.