Maria’s Story
Maria is a student in our Healthcare Pathways program with El Centro. She works nights so she can attend classes at Sharing Life during the day. She has 2 school-aged children and is the sole earner in the family. During the school year both of Maria’s children eat breakfast and lunch at their neighborhood school, but in the summer they go hungry some days. Last summer Maria signed both children up for Sharing Life’s Summer Food and Fun program. For 12 weeks both kids received a backpack full of easy to prepare breakfast and lunch items like granola bars, peanut butter & jelly, and microwaveable soups. In addition to the food items, each backpack also included age-appropriate books and educational activities to keep their brains sharp during the school break. Maria completed her courses at Sharing Life in the fall and is now a certified phlebotomist at a local hospital.