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Through its Successful Children and Youth priority area, United Way invests
in programs that provide children, their parents and caregivers the tools,
support and opportunities they need to be successful in school and beyond.
From the United Way:
‘A Tale of Guiding Young Fathers’
The following story from the FatherCare program at the Elizabeth Cellotto Child
Care Center at Wilbur Cross High School demonstrates the value of United Way’s
investment in preparing youth to become independent and productive members of
our community.
Jose Alvarez is a 17-year-old father with a one-year-old daughter, Shaileen. A grant from United Way of Greater New Haven’s “Project Graduation” collaboration with Sikorsky Aircraft is helping him get the support he needs to be a responsible father and plan for his family’s successful future. After being involved in the Elizabeth Cellotto Child Care Center at Wilbur Cross High School for two years, he recognizes that he is “one of the few lucky ones.”
When Alvarez describes the director of the FatherCare program, Rich Bryant, he says that Bryant is always there to talk and be a mentor. “He [Bryant] has helped me turn a negative into a positive, which is something that I had great difficulty with when I entered the program,” says Alvarez. “Since that time, I have done a complete 360. I used to find the easy way out and struggle with stress and balancing my life. I have become a completely different person, in a good way.”
Alvarez is not the only one who enjoys the FatherCare program. “My daughter loves to go to day care,” he says. “She walks in with a smile and leaves with a smile every day.”
Bryant says he is proud of Alvarez’s accomplishments, “Once he has a diploma, he can do anything. I have helped several young men, and he is a shining example of motivation, talent, and understanding of what it means to be a father.”
Alvarez now has a savings account for his daughter and plans to go to Gateway Community College and earn his degree in automotive mechanics. Eventually, he hopes to open his own automotive shop. In the meantime, he is receiving assistance with job applications for local companies.
The Student Parenting & Family Services program was created in 1992 to respond to the large dropout rate among teen parents in high school. Its FatherCare program recently received a grant from United Way of Greater New Haven’s “Project Graduation” collaboration with Sikorsky Aircraft, designed to conquer the multiple barriers that teenage fathers face in completing their educations and becoming self-supporting. The program has plans to expand, enabling a case manager to provide intensive services to 15-20 teen fathers, targeting high school and post-high school success as well as child development and parenting success.
Each year Yale faculty and staff give generously to United Way through the annual campaign which runs through December 2007. This contribution is invested in Greater New Haven programs such as FatherCare. Your contribution to the Yale-United Way campaign can help make a positive change in the Greater New Haven community. To make a plege, visit www.yale.edu/unitedway.
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From the United Way: ‘A Tale of Guiding Young Fathers’
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