one was on the phone for me. (She
was letting me use her phone to
apply for jobs.) I ran next door. It
was Mr. Demauro.
the hours from 1:30 to 5:30. When I
said that 30 minutes just wouldn't
give me enough time to get to both
locations in time to pick up all three
of my kids, he told me I didn't have
to worry about the boys because they
would be at the Boys & Girls Club
with me. When I said that my
day-care vouchers wouldn't be
enough to pay the fees, he said,
"Don't worry about it. One day you
will [be able to pay]." Once again,
heavy tears streamed down my face.
second home for my children.
Thomas, who has Asperger's Syn-
drome, went from making Cs and Ds
on his report card to making honor
roll the first semester he started
coming here. He went from having
no friends at all and constantly
having meltdowns to being this
phenomenal, compassionate and
ambitious young man who has
friends and smiles and laughs often.
Now 14, he's in the Navy Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps and
has big dreams of graduating from
high school and going on to college.
team, plays two instruments and
lives to come to the Club. Angeleah,
8, looks forward to getting on the
bus after school every day to come
to the Club.
"church-hopping" for several years, I
asked myself one day, Why don't I go
Army? I already know firsthand the
wonderful work they do. So I tried it,
and unlike at other churches I had
visited, I didn't feel like a visitor. I
felt like I was home. Christopher
looks up to our corps officer, Captain
Mike Harris, so much that he is
learning to play the tuba because he
wants to be just like him when he
grows up. And Angeleah is so proud
that she is a Junior Soldier.
very successful Street SMART Gang
Prevention Program. I serve three
counties and more than 3,000
children. I love my job. It means
the world to me that I am making
a positive difference. A few years
ago I was offered a local law enforce-
ment position with a higher salary,
but I decided not to take it because
my heart just could not convince
me to leave my work with The
Salvation Army.
tional Mom in America. The award
University of Phoenix, where I will
be pursuing a degree in criminal
justice with a concentration in
human services, so I can continue to
serve and help at-risk children.
pened to my children and me since
we came to The Salvation Army
Boys & Girls Club of Hickory, this
would end up being a novel. But let
me say this�I know for a fact that
The Salvation Army saved us. Eight
years ago I was an empty shell, with
no faith and very little life in me.
Today, I am reborn... a new woman
overflowing with faith and life
because The Salvation Army has
restored my children and me. I
believe that part of my purpose is
to share my story with others so
that I can effect change and maybe
save the life of another young
woman like me.
appearing in Priority, Fall 2012, Vol. 14,
No. 1, used with permission.
Senior Soldier in The Salvation Army.