Donating Your Car in Pennsylvania

Ashley was put into foster care as a young girl. Over six years, she was placed in seven foster homes in three different cities and attended 15 different schools. “I’m not saying those schools were bad or that I was getting into trouble,” Ashley said about her decision to attend Austin Can! Academy, “but I needed a school that was smaller, that didn’t have as much peer pressure.” At TEXANS CAN!-Austin, Ashley quickly got involved in extracurricular activities such as basketball and track. In addition to working full-time, Ashley attended classes four hours a day. She talks about the differences she experienced at Austin Can! “I became much more positive about myself. Teachers knew my name. They worked with me one-on-one. People said nice things to me; gave me encouragement. That just doesn’t happen in foster care.” Her transformation was exhibited through her sky-high performance. Ashley earned straight A’s and earned Winner’s Circle awards numerous times. “My friends and my real family encouraged me,” Ashley said. “They knew that I didn’t have to come here … I wasn’t in trouble with drugs or anything. But they are proud of me for doing so well and setting a good example for others.” As a graduate in 2006, Ashley reflected on her experience. “Austin Can! Is a really good school,” she said. “The staff is great. They taught me to stay with it and never give up. And most importantly, it made me a better person.”

There was a time when Ana didn’t have much hope for what her future might hold. Her days were filled with severe bouts of depression, sadness and even thoughts of suicide.

Today, Ana is a new mom, wife and a young woman who sees a positive outlook for herself and her family’s future. She credits Houston Can! Academy Hobby campus for helping change her life and providing the foundation she needed to pursue her dream of becoming a registered nurse. “When I was going to South Houston High School, I was always fighting, hanging out with the wrong crowd and not going to class,” said Ana. “I knew if I stayed there I wasn’t going to be able graduate so I could better my life.” Ana, like many at-risk students who attend Houston Can! Academy, just needed an educational environment to give them the hope to become somebody extraordinary despite the challenges they have faced in their life. “I came here three years ago in the middle of tenth grade,” she explained. “The environment has been really good. There haven’t been any fights and the teachers really care and take time. My favorite classes were reading and parenting, which was very helpful, especially since I was about to have a baby and I learned a lot.” Ana found teacher expectations to be high, but that they were always there for support. “I failed the TAKS once the science part, but I passed all the other subjects on the first try,” she said. “The teachers gave us a lot of extensive tutoring for the test which helped. If you want to come here and take care of your business, you can definitely do it here.” Part of the first graduating class of 2008, Ana didn’t wait to get her diploma before starting to take a few nursing classes at San Jacinto College. She says she is up for the challenge of finishing the four year program while juggling school, work and motherhood duties for her son, Julio Jr. “My sister died of AIDS and I wanted to be a Doctor, but that was going to take too long, explained Ana. “I still wanted to be in the medical field so that I can help others, and nursing is a good way to make a difference.”

Frank has an incredible smile and a great attitude. He graduated in June and is hoping to enroll in community college and is interested in studying to be a pharmacy technician. 

Frank heard about Houston Can! in a commercial and thought it sounded like a good choice for him. His school was too large. He was making good grades but he said his friends were not a good influence on him. Some of the teachers at his previous school tried to talk him out of leaving – but he knew he needed to get away from friends he had there. He lives near the Hobby campus but thought it would be exciting to go to school in downtown Houston. He rode the bus to school and back every day. He said it was a lot of fun and really unusual to go to high school downtown. He really loved going to school there.

Erica has a beautiful smile, is very bubbly and very positive. She graduated in June and has been accepted to Texas A&M. She went to a large public high school before enrolling at Houston Can! Her grades were good but her mother had a baby and needed Victoria to help babysit so she couldn't attent school. Her mother also became ill, had several surgeries and a long recovery period. Victoria’s grades began to slip. 

A friend told her about Houston Can! so she enrolled because she could attend school a half day and babysit her new baby sister the other part of the day. Erica said the past few years during high school were a very, very difficult time for her. She is very close to her mother and was worried about her. And she was also caring for a newborn infant. When her mother returned home from the hospital she required a lot of bed rest and Erica was responsible for her care, too. 

Without the schedule at Houston Can! and the support of her teachers and advisors she said she doesn’t know what she would have done it. Erica is very excited to have been able to graduate from high school and is really looking forward to moving to College Station this August. As a result of her life experience, she plans on studying nursing.

The impact Eddie’s mentor made on him stays with him to this day. Now, seven years after graduation, Eddie is an award-winning store manager for AT&T, a company he has stayed with since he graduated. He has traveled abroad, and he has purchased his second home. Because of his experiences at school and help from Texans Can - Cars for Kids and the success he has known since, he wants to give back, being a mentor to young men who, like him, have had to go without the love and guidance of a father.