Help vulnerable families to succeed in school and in life!

Families Forward teaches young children the building blocks for school success, including early language, math, and reading skills, as well as the social-emotional tools they need to thrive in an elementary school classroom. Join me in supporting Ready to Learn at Families Forward!

Just a small donation will go a long way to helping me meet my goal for Families Forward Learning Center.

Four years ago I was given the opportunity to work with low-income children helping in classrooms at an organization that was then called “Mother’s Club”. This opportunity intrigued me, but never could I have ever expected the volunteering experience to impact my life in such a great way. Families Forward, then Mothers Club, is a non-profit in Pasadena California that is working on educating low-income families through the process of educating the parents at the same time as their children, a process entitled “duel education.” Growing up in Los Angeles, I had never viewed Pasadena as a place where people experienced poverty, being that all I had been exposed to in Pasadena was privilege. Working at Families Forward not only taught me about the conditions that people around me are living in, but it also was a place where I was able to grow up and mature through the love and support given to me by the children, teachers, and parents.

My first year I formed a beautiful relationship with a young mother named Maria, who had two children, Melanie and Diego. Melanie was just two months old when I started taking care of her in the infant's room, and Diego was four at the time. Whenever I came back to Families Forward I was greeted by smiles and huge hugs from Diego. The relationship that I created with this family was a bond that went beyond socio-economic stance and was based on love, acceptance, and conversation.