As we start another school year, we celebrate Sabrina’s success.
Sabrina is 18 and on her way to becoming a nurse. She left our care last month with a high school diploma, a job, scholarships to help her earn a nursing degree, a savings account, and a plan for independence…all because of her stay with us at the Children’s Home.
Before Indiana’s social services agency placed Sabrina on our campus nearly two years ago, she knew her life goal was to help others.
But Sabrina was lost.
Society and her family had let her down.
“My home-life was an unhappy one. I was in a foster home for a while and then I went to another residential facility. I felt like I kept getting passed from place to place.
When I came to the Children’s Home, I felt like I finally had some safety and it felt like a nice place to live,” she told us.
Sabrina thrived at our on-grounds school. She earned A’s in her classes and became a leader on our campus. “I liked the attention I got at the James E. Davis School. It was nice to have just a few students in the classroom, as opposed to 35 students.
I previously felt overwhelmed in my large school. I was amazed how much attention I received at the Home’s school. Their interest in me made a huge difference in how I did,” she added with enthusiasm.
Her favorite subjects were physical education (PE) and history. “I loved learning about our founding fathers and how our country started. I also loved PE. Miss Parsons (PE and health teacher) really helped me focus.” She fondly remembers many of the fieldtrips the school took, and her favorite memory was a special pottery class.
Sabrina was on the school’s morning announcements committee and gained personal confidence while broadcasting on the school audio system. She found joy volunteering as a school Santa’s Helper and led other students in decorating the school building for Christmas.
She has worked at a local restaurant for an entire year and is proud that she has a savings account to help secure her future. The Hoffman Family Scholarship and Sue Davis Memorial Scholarship, that she received from our Foundation after graduating, will also help her achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.
Sabrina added, “I like to help people. I can look in their eyes and see if they are hurting. I know that when I am a nurse, this will really come in handy.”
In summing up her experience at the Home, Sabrina said, “I would have to say that the James E. Davis School, paired with the Teaching-Family Model (behavior strategies modeled in our family-style homes) really helps us kids succeed at the Home. I would tell every kid to never give up. Be yourself.
And listen to the staff,” she added. “They know what they are doing,” she confidently said with a smile.
Thanks to God’s grace, our donors, and our highly-skilled staff, youths like Sabrina are succeeding in our school and finding hope for the future every day.
That’s our mission.
Often youths arrive on our campus far behind their peers in the number of school credits they have earned. Some haven’t previously felt safe, so didn’t get a good night’s sleep to be ready to learn. Most didn’t have study skills or confidence in their own abilities. Our teachers help them catch up, so our youths realize they can learn. Their mental health improves, and they begin to thrive and plan for their future, knowing they will graduate. Many proudly tell us they are the first person in their family to graduate from high school. Some confess they previously didn’t even think they could learn.
With your help, we provide a quality education, teach skills for independence and give our youths hope for the future. What a difference your gift will make!