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"I Don't Let Self-doubt Stop Me"

April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mary Castillo is now employed and supporting her family after graduating from Opportunity Junction, which is supported by United Way

Here is an inspiring success story from United Way grantee Opportunity Junction:

Mary Castillo had her life all planned out. She married her husband when she was 20 and spent the next 35 years staying home and raising their four children while her husband supported them.

All of that changed when her husband was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Mary spent the next two years taking care of her husband and living off their savings. She didn’t want him to worry, but Mary knew she couldn’t support herself, or her youngest son who was still in high school, when her husband passed away.

“I knew I needed to go to school or receive training,” Mary shares, “but I didn’t want to leave my husband. He thought our families would take care of me, but I needed to take care of myself.”

One month after her husband passed away, Mary saw an ad in the paper for Opportunity Junction, a United Way grantee that fights poverty by helping low-income adults gain the skills and confidence to support themselves and their families.

“I knew this was the place for me. I needed to start a career, and I needed to start it now.” Not only did the Job Training and Placement program at Opportunity Junction offer Mary the skills she needed to enter the workforce, it also was therapeutic during her grieving process.

“Being around other people, getting up and being productive, learning that I could learn new things all helped me grieve my loss and prepare for my new future,” said Mary.

Right before graduation from the program, Mary was handed another challenge–she gained temporary custody of her four grandchildren ages 2-10. She now had four more people depending on her. “For the first time ever, not only was I a working mom, I was a single working mom.”

As part of the Opportunity Junction program, Mary accepted an internship with hiring partner GWF Power Systems as an office administrative assistant. Although the temporary position was supposed to end in February, Mary proved herself in the workplace and had her position extended. Just last month, her hours were increased and there is the possibility of her position becoming regular/full-time in the next couple of months.

“Because of Opportunity Junction, I have what I need to be successful,” Mary says. “I know how to make myself indispensable, and I don’t let self-doubt stop me from supporting my family.”

Learn more about how Opportunity Junction is empowering people to be financially self-sufficient at www.opportunityjunction.org.

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West Marin Mom Blossoms as a Community Leader

March 24, 2010 By 1 Comment

Elvira de Santiago first learned about the Shoreline School Readiness program after giving birth to her fifth child in 2007.  She took advantage of Shoreline’s insurance enrollment assistance, the car seat program and parent education workshops.

United Way funds the Shoreline School Readiness program, a child-services collaborative that serves hundreds of families in West Marin, as part of our efforts to prepare the next generation for success.

Elvira is a natural leader, who is eager to learn and help not only her family, but also the surrounding Latino community.  She quickly emerged as a parent leader at Shoreline, called upon frequently by other parents for advice about how to access services, where to get food and housing assistance, how to obtain free car seats and much more.

The staff at Shoreline quickly recognized Elvira’s potential and hired her at their Point Reyes site as the “Baby Gym” coordinator, a position that allows her to bring her baby with her to work.

Over the past two years, Elvira has enrolled in Early Childhood Education courses and used her new knowledge to strengthen the Baby Gym program.   The classes now have much more structure, and attendance by local families has increased dramatically.  She works closely with parents and their children to develop fun and engaging programs that keep local families coming back for more.

This past summer, when Shoreline’s Family Advocate position opened, Elvira was a perfect fit.  She now works 24 hours a week, with benefits, doing the work that comes naturally and that she absolutely loves.  In addition to helping to support her family financially, she has been instrumental in the success of her five children.   Her oldest, Lorena is attending Cal State Hayward.  She has two sons in high-school, a younger son in middle school and her youngest started at Shoreline Acres Preschool this January.

“We are so thrilled to have Elvira join our team! She is a true role model and makes a wonderful addition to our staff,” said Alex Porrata, Shoreline School Readiness Coordinator.

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Making Kids Smile

March 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

3-year-old Doug is one of more than 2,500 children who have received low-cost or no-cost dental surgery at PDI

Three-year-old Doug was recently referred to the PDI Surgery Center, a United Way grantee, after Baby Bottle Tooth Decay badly corroded his teeth.  This kind of tooth decay is most often associated with young children who fall asleep with bottles in their mouths, allowing sugary liquids (juice and milk) to pool around their teeth.

All told, Doug needed 11 teeth capped and two incisors removed — treatment that required anesthesia because of his young age.

“I didn’t realize tooth decay could begin so early,” said Doug’ mother, Elly, as she prepared for Doug’s oral surgery. PDI coordinated and paid for Doug’s transportation to the surgery center, and a PDI case manager accompanied him through the surgical process.

Doug emerged from the surgery just fine, and was back to his chipper self in no time.  His mom says she learned a lot from the experience and recognizes the importance of cleaning teeth at a young age. She is now very aware of the potential trouble that Sam, her one and-a-half-year-old son, may face without proper dental hygiene during the early stages of his teeth’s development. She vows not to make the same mistake twice.

PDI Results

United Way’s Bay Area Community Fund supports the PDI Surgery Center, which provides dental surgery to low-income families from Marin, Napa and other North Bay counties.  Many of these families have neither health nor dental insurance.  PDI’s work aligns with United Way’s efforts to ensure young children enter school healthy and ready to learn.

Since January 2008, PDI has treated over 2,200 children, provided transportation assistance through its Patient Sponsorship Program (PSP), and dental education and outreach to over 10,000 children and their parents.

Filed Under: Road to Recovery Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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