H.O.P.E.
Homeless Outreach Prevention & Empowerment
Maria* is a high school sophomore who at her young age has had to face more of life's challenges than most of us ever will. Her mother struggles with substance abuse and other issues, which has meant that she is in and out of shelters, and Maria alternates between Section 8 housing with her mother and foster care without her.
Maria started the school year living in Mid-Del, but her mother moved them to a new apartment out of the district within a few months. In the meantime, Maria tried out for girls' basketball at her Mid-Del high school and made the team. She was lucky enough to also meet a basketball coach who cared.
Federal money for homeless students covers some kinds of school expenses, but not others. The Mid-Del Public Schools Foundation's Homeless Student Education Fund is there to help with the latter. Mid-Del has 1,900 students who qualify as homeless. School is often their only constant, yet sports teams require shoes, uniforms and physicals; ROTC requires fees; art clubs require supplies; and the list goes on. Homeless students don't have the resources to cover even small costs. Caring teachers and staff sometimes help out of their own pockets, but the need is overwhelming.
This basketball coach opened her heart to Maria, knowing that remaining at this high school and developing her athletic talents could provide Maria with a little consistency in an otherwise chaotic life. She knew also that this effort might just give Maria a chance at a better future. So the coach picks her up every day for school, and takes her back home at the end of the day. She also purchased Maria's uniform, shoes and socks out of her own pocket. As a successful, caring and responsible adult, she is providing a great deal more to Maria than athletic coaching. The Homeless Student Education Fund helps her do what she knows needs to be done to give Maria an opportunity - and Maria is responding with good grades and behavior.
The Mid-Del Public Schools Foundation has been able to reimburse this coach - thanks to contributors to the Homeless Student Education Fund - for a portion of what she spent on Maria to help her participate in the basketball team. But since this is a special fund, we can only provide what caring donors invest in it.
There are hundreds of other homeless students right here in Mid-Del with equally or more moving stories than Maria's. Please consider donating to this fund to make a difference for students in great need.
*Not her real name.
Last year more than 1,900 Mid-Del students were impacted by homelessness. Often, school is one of the few stable and productive environments children faced with these challenges have recourse to. This fund helps them more fully participate in school life and access activities that help prepare them for a better life.
Your donation to this fund helps homeless students participate in school activities they wouldn't otherwise be able to due to their family's economic situation, and that aren't covered by federal funds.
Maria started the school year living in Mid-Del, but her mother moved them to a new apartment out of the district within a few months. In the meantime, Maria tried out for girls' basketball at her Mid-Del high school and made the team. She was lucky enough to also meet a basketball coach who cared.
Federal money for homeless students covers some kinds of school expenses, but not others. The Mid-Del Public Schools Foundation's Homeless Student Education Fund is there to help with the latter. Mid-Del has 1,900 students who qualify as homeless. School is often their only constant, yet sports teams require shoes, uniforms and physicals; ROTC requires fees; art clubs require supplies; and the list goes on. Homeless students don't have the resources to cover even small costs. Caring teachers and staff sometimes help out of their own pockets, but the need is overwhelming.
This basketball coach opened her heart to Maria, knowing that remaining at this high school and developing her athletic talents could provide Maria with a little consistency in an otherwise chaotic life. She knew also that this effort might just give Maria a chance at a better future. So the coach picks her up every day for school, and takes her back home at the end of the day. She also purchased Maria's uniform, shoes and socks out of her own pocket. As a successful, caring and responsible adult, she is providing a great deal more to Maria than athletic coaching. The Homeless Student Education Fund helps her do what she knows needs to be done to give Maria an opportunity - and Maria is responding with good grades and behavior.
The Mid-Del Public Schools Foundation has been able to reimburse this coach - thanks to contributors to the Homeless Student Education Fund - for a portion of what she spent on Maria to help her participate in the basketball team. But since this is a special fund, we can only provide what caring donors invest in it.
There are hundreds of other homeless students right here in Mid-Del with equally or more moving stories than Maria's. Please consider donating to this fund to make a difference for students in great need.
*Not her real name.
Last year more than 1,900 Mid-Del students were impacted by homelessness. Often, school is one of the few stable and productive environments children faced with these challenges have recourse to. This fund helps them more fully participate in school life and access activities that help prepare them for a better life.
Your donation to this fund helps homeless students participate in school activities they wouldn't otherwise be able to due to their family's economic situation, and that aren't covered by federal funds.