The Gift of Giving- A Life Changing Sponsorship by Angelina Gonzalez

How has your sponsorship impacted your life? We asked this question to several of our students and not surprisingly they all had very different responses. Many spoke of the strong relationship they had with their sponsor, others mentioned financial support that allowed them to play a sport or pursue a hobby and some others viewed programs like our college tours and tutoring as being most beneficial. This is Angelina's story about how the kindness of one person, her sponsor, altered her path in life.

On September 23rd, 2019, I became a recipient of an A Bridge for Kids sponsorship! 

A few weeks after my interview with Randi Shanken, I submitted my personal statement to A Bridge for Kids. Soon after that, I was called into the office to speak with the Founder and CEO of A Bridge for Kids, Michael Nance. 

I remember feeling nervous because nobody told me why I was going to the office and I have never been called to the office. Since this was about two years ago, I don’t remember his exact words, but they were something along the lines of, “I want to congratulate you on receiving a sponsorship.” Almost immediately after, I was able to contact my sponsor, Sharon. 

My sponsor and I were able to establish a sponsor/sponsee relationship over email. We’ve talked about a variety of topics such as family, holidays, and even quarantine. I really appreciate her attentiveness and her willingness to help others who don’t have the resources necessary to succeed. 

With my sponsorship I was able to purchase school supplies such as the laptop I am using to write this article. Prior to the purchase, I used my phone to work on school assignments and I struggled to do my homework effectively.  A common struggle with texting is making spelling errors due to clicking the wrong letter key, but it's manageable because you normally aren’t texting essays to people. I had to master how to text essays on my phone. At times, it was very frustrating and often discouraged me from wanting to do any work at all.  Once I got the laptop, I used it to complete assignments from school at home. I say “used” because in addition to completing homework on it, I now go to school from my laptop, courtesy of the stay-at-home order caused by the pandemic. I am really fortunate that this opportunity has allowed me to perform tasks for school. 

Before Quarantine began, A Bridge for Kids was offering a college trip to students who were interested in visiting college campuses in California. Although it was cancelled because of COVID-19, I am looking forward to participating in next year's college trip. 

During quarantine, A Bridge for Kids hosted the Quarantine Contest. On week three of the contest, I won the first-place price of $1,000. The money I won from the contest helped me develop many interests that I would like to incorporate into my future career aspirations. This money helped me buy baking supplies that I have used to help improve my baking skills. In college, I hope to study agriculture and business so that I can produce my own baking ingredients and become the CEO of my own cafe.

Recently, I received news that my sponsorship has been renewed for another year. This sponsorship will help me enhance the quality of my schoolwork and will pay off when I begin to apply for universities during my senior year. 

I am really grateful for the help that I have received from A Bridge for Kids. Not only does it promote a better academic career for students such as I, but it has helped inspire me to work towards a better future for myself and my family.