I'd like to share a story about two families.
I'll start with my own. Tonight, we will pack up our car.
Hopefully, it won't be this crazy! Tomorrow, we will move our oldest daughter to George Washington University. The year will be packed with exciting opportunities to continue her education, pursue her passion, make new friends, explore new places, and anticipate great things to come. Our biggest challenge will be fitting everything in our two-row car without burying her sister under all of the clothes, school supplies, and laundry detergent! She's our baby, and while I'd love to freeze time and keep her here, I know it's time for her to fly.
The Bachman family's weekend will be different. Even though Sara graduated the same week as Brooke, she will watch her friends and neighbors move away. Her parents will see all of the Facebook posts of packed car trunks and tearful hugs. They will comment and add smiling emojis while their hearts break inside for what Sara won't experience.
While Brooke attends classes, grabs meals in the dining hall with new friends, and embarks on her next chapter, Sara's life will change in different ways. Her school bus won't come anymore. Her learning opportunities will come to a halt. The social activities she benefitted from in school will be discontinued.
In a week or two, the new reality will set in. With it will come loneliness, social isolation, and skill regression. Remember Covid lockdown? It's not uncommon for depression and anxiety to follow.
But, what if we could change the story? At Integate for Good, we believe every student deserves an exciting next chapter. We know how to make that happen with our innovative Empowerment Lab, Opening Doors on Campus, Leadership Incubator, and Corporate Engagement programs.
Unlike other nonprofit organizations that bill the county government for their services, we rely on your donations to change the game for young people with disabilities.
We have an incredible opportunity to receive a $25,000 match from the Independence Foundation and we are at $21,789.20 as of this morning! By the time we move Brooke into college, we can raise a total of $50,000 to make sure that students of all abilities have exciting next chapters where loneliness and exclusion are replaced with belonging and opportunity.
We can do this together and we can do it today with your support! Thanks for being part of our success!