"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." - Booker T. Washington

Success Story:

Looking at Lidia now - a hard-working employee and a dedicated mother - it is hard to imagine the long, hard path that she had to take to get to where she is.

Lidia's two sons - both of whom have different fathers - were young, and she was unmarried. Neither father was around to help her raise her children, and feeling the pressure of being a single mom, Lidia turned to alcohol. Unfortunately, it was not long before alcoholism took over her life, and prevented her from being able to properly care for her sons.

With her severe alcohol problem spiraling out of control, Lidia soon hit bottom, and almost had her children taken away from her. She decided that it was time to change her life - if not for herself, then for her sons.

Lidia did what she could to try to get her drinking under control. In 1995, she went for treatment in the out clinic for 6 months, but she ended up going back to the alcohol. In 1996, she went for treatment again, this time for a year. The treatment helped her, and she joined an AA group, which she stayed a member of for another year. Although her efforts were all small steps in the right direction, Lidia still needed something more to keep her on track and help her battle the alcoholism.

Finally, Project Hire sent Lidia to school, and then to Sunnyside Center--where Lidia's children had already been attending daycare programs for years--for a job. On June 29,1998, Lidia began working at Sunnyside, and she has been a valued part of the staff for more than five years now. With much work and counseling from the Center, she has come a long way, both in her parenting abilities and her work skills.

Sunnyside worked with Lidia during the period when she needed it the most, and was instrumental in getting her the help that she so desperately needed. Sunnyside even went to family court with Lidia, and pleaded with the judge to let her keep her children, promising that Sunnyside would take responsibility to see that they were being taken care of. We are continuing to work with her on a regular basis, offering her support and guidance along the way so that she knows she is never alone.

Talking to Lidia now, she is an entirely different person than she was only five short years ago. She has not turned back to drinking for years, and she strongly insists that she is done for good. She has become a wonderful mother, and it is obvious just how much she loves her sons. Lidia is doing everything that she can to make sure that her boys have a good life, and she has even helped her one son get into college.

We are very proud of Lidia, and the way that she has turned her life around. Sunnyside Center shares the joy of Lidia's success, and we are glad that the Center has been able to continue to give her hope.

TutorWorks Success Story

The TutorWorks program has enabled Sunnyside Center to have a positive impact on so many students’ academic performances and self-confidence that it has become an integrated and invaluable part of our program. Shanel’s story is undeniable proof of the success that the TutorWorks program has generated in the life of one very special girl, and a glimpse of what the program has to offer other children in need.

Like so many of the children that Sunnyside serves, Shanel has experienced many hardships in her young life. She already faced the same adversities as the other children in her neighborhood: poverty, and the influences of living in a crime-ridden, drug infested inner city area. Then, tragically, her mother passed away while she was still in elementary school, leaving Shanel completely devastated and vulnerable. Not surprisingly, her performance in school decreased and her grades suffered. During this time when she was so susceptible to the pressures of her environment, Shanel needed a strong and guiding force in her life. The TutorWorks program was a means through which Sunnyside Center could offer Shanel the support and assistance that she so desperately needed to get her life on the right track.

Over the course of a few months, Shanel’s attendance in school improved and her grades slowly began to get better, increasing her self-confidence and giving her a more positive attitude. She developed positive relationships with the Sunnyside staff and the other children in the TutorWorks program, and her social interaction skills—along with her academic knowledge and technical skills—drastically improved.

Now, it is truly amazing to see what a wonderful, mature young woman Shanel has become. She currently attends the local middle school, and she studies hard and keeps her grades up. Even though she is too old to participate in the After School & Summer Programs that Sunnyside offers, she still comes and volunteers her time at the center. Shanel has started her own Sunnyside Drill Team, where she instructs other students in the After School Program and provides them with a role model who they can look up to.

Shanel is doing well in school, she is developing a sense of self-confidence, and she is giving back to the community by volunteering at Sunnyside. She has overcome so many of the obstacles that she has encountered, and it is more than obvious that the TutorWorks program has had a lasting and beneficial impact upon Shanel’s life.

Working Poor Day Care Success Story

The Working Poor Day Care Program has allowed Sunnyside Center to provide many children—and their parents—in North Central Troy with opportunities that they otherwise would not have had. With the assistance made available by the Working Poor Day Care Program, Willie is the third child in his family to start in Sunnyside Center’s Day Care Program and continue through Sunnyside’s After School and Summer Programs as he got older.

Through the Working Poor Program, Sunnyside Center was able to offer Willie and his brothers a safe place to go while their mother was at work. Like so many of the other children who Sunnyside has had the privilege to serve, Willie was given the opportunity to participate in a program that facilitated his social, emotional, cognitive, and intellectual development. Years ago, as a youngster in the Day Care Program, Willie learned social interaction skills, played with other children his age, and spent his days in a positive and healthy environment. As he grew up and entered the After School and Summer Programs, Willie was able to take part in a variety of different types of activities—from homework help to outdoor recreation, arts and crafts to academic enrichment—none of which he would have been able to do without the Working Poor Day Care Program.

Through this program, Willie has grown into a fine young man who makes his mother very proud. Without this truly wonderful program, parents like Willie’s mom would not have the opportunity to work and make a living to support their children, or they would have had to place their children in less than desirable environments. The Working Poor Day CareProgram provided Willie’s mom—like so many other parents—with peace of mind that while she was on the job, her boys were receiving the supervision and care that they deserved.

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