The Gift of Giving - Ananely Alonso and her Mother's Story of Hope and Support

"I wanted the sponsorship. I needed the sponsorship. During November of 2019, my brain came to the realization that I needed to pay off 4 AP exams ($63 each). I did not know how I was going to do it. My school set a deadline for students to decide whether they would take the exams or not. I knew I wanted to take my exams, but the problem was paying for them. I come from a low-income family who lives paycheck to paycheck. Everything counts. I went to my counselor and asked if my school offered some type of scholarship and she said no, but that she would get back to me on my financial situation. A few days later she called me into her office and said that she found a program that would give a sponsorship of $1000 along with a mentor, SAT preparation, and more opportunities. Of course, this program was A Bridge for Kids. I could not believe the amazing opportunity that my counselor brought to me, it sounded too good to be true. But there I was being told that I was going to be interviewed for a spot in the program in the next few weeks.

I was so nervous the day of the interview but my interviewer, Michael Nance, was amazing. He made me feel welcomed and excited to speak about my family, my interests, and my goals. A few weeks passed and once again I was called to the office by my counselor. I had been extremely nervous during those weeks because I desperately wanted the sponsorship. As I walked in I saw Mike and couldn’t keep the cheesy smile off my face once he told me “Congratulations Ananely, this is the first time anything like this has happened in the program.” I was confused but then he explained to me that my application was chosen out of a pool of applicants from a group of people from La Jolla County Day. It was the first time that a pool of people chose one application to sponsor, and that application was mine. Due to the amount of people that chose me Mike explained to me that I could not have 30 different mentors so he would be my mentor. I was happy, relieved, and most of all excited to have such an amazing opportunity.

This sponsorship allowed me to pay off all of my AP exams as well as buy my first and very own laptop. It is an amazing Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 and I love it so much. Before I would do most of my homework and other applications on my phone. At times this was not possible so I would either go to the library during lunch or I would stay after school. I was in desperate need of a laptop, but my family was not financially stable enough to buy me my own. During this global pandemic, I have been putting my laptop through even greater use. I use it for online zoom meetings, school, scholarships, and my college applications. I even help my parents with filling out paperwork and at times my aunts call me over to help them out with their paperwork as well. My laptop has not only helped me out but my family as well. I don’t know how I would have been able to do it if it weren’t for A Bridge for Kids.

Before the pandemic, I was very set on taking my SATs. They were extremely important to me at the time because I knew that they would be an important factor for my college applications. Again, due to my financial circumstance, there was no way that I would be able to purchase material. I was studying by using Khan Academy and online exams. Once admitted into A Bridge for Kids I was given free material and courses to take with a program called Revolution Prep. It was awesome. Revolution Prep offered tutoring hours, class days, test material, and review test and practice days. I was very grateful and having these resources made me determined to get a top score. Sadly, SATs were canceled due to the pandemic, but if I would have taken the exams I know I would have done great because of the resources offered by A Bridge For Kids.

The great opportunities that A Bridge for Kids offers did not stop there! They then began to make raffles, contests, and games throughout the beginning of the pandemic. I have won multiple Amazon gift cards. In the beginning of the pandemic, these gift cards helped my family pay for groceries and disinfecting products. Due to the pandemic, work had been very slow for my dad, which added more weight on our shoulders. But thanks to all the contests and raffles I was able to help out my family by buying supplies like napkins, shampoo, groceries, a vacuum, and even dog food. This past Christmas I had won another gift card and with the money, I bought everyone in my family a present. It was the first Christmas that I was able to get everyone something that they would appreciate. I loved the feeling of being able to give. And I know A Bridge For Kids LOVES that feeling as well.

A Bridge for Kids is such an amazing program. I love this community with my whole heart. They have helped me through many hardships and setbacks. Thank you so much to each and every sponsor that has reached out to ABFK. You truly did make a big impact on me and I know you did the same for my fellow ABFK peers. Thank you once again and keep up your hardwork and HEARTwork."

Ananely's mother:

"I remember the days that Ananely would stay after school to do her homework and I especially remember the days that she would do her homework on her phone. As a parent, I was hurt and affected by this because I knew my daughter deserved a laptop. But our financial status did not allow us to do so. My child has always been great at her schoolwork since she was a little girl, but not having a laptop did hold her back. Once she bought her laptop thanks to ABFK I had seen how excited she was. She was more ready than ever to learn and dive into topics and projects. Thank you for this. My daughter, Ananely, is an A student who is always pushing herself. This was seen when she wanted to take numerous AP classes and exams. The problem with this is that the exams at her school were $63 dollars each and she was taking 4 of them. The money added up and I told her that she would need to drop at least two of them because we could not afford it. When the words came out of my mouth... I was hurt once more. Our financial status didn’t allow me to give my child what she wanted. Thanks to her awesome efforts she came across ABFK and with her sponsorship paid off all of her AP exams. I am extremely proud of her. Every day at home I see her in zoom classes. She works hard each and every day. Thank A Bridge For Kids for helping my daughter. Everything you do is amazing and I could not be prouder of the ABFK team."

If you are interested in giving a “hand up” to students like Ananely or another “at-risk” student like her please contact Grace Jo @ gjo@abridgeforkids.org for more information.