Help Me Turn Around Young Lives

I'm lucky. I survived an awful childhood. Sadly, I'm one of the few.

My name is Justin. I grew up surrounded by drugs, drug dealers, prostitutes and thugs. I never knew my father although, I did see him once when I was 7 years old. My mom was an alcoholic and drug addict. When I was in middle school, my mom got deep into crack. My little sister and I took care of each other from then on. Mom died when I was 17 years old, so my sister and I moved to my Aunt's house. It was more of drug den than a house, but at least we had a bedroom to share.

I graduated from high school and was able to attend Kennesaw State University. Between school loans and working almost full-time, I was able to somehow pay for it, barely. Sadly, my little sister followed my mom's dark footsteps. She overdosed on Heroin and died during my freshman year at college. It was a very hard year for me but, I stayed in school and worked hard to stay focused. Last spring, I received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree. Since graduation, I have been doing programming work as a contractor.

I know how lucky I am to make it out. I have known many smart, good kids that didn't make it out because they simply didn't believe it was possible. I want to change that.

I want to help under-privileged kids open their eyes and see a future for themselves beyond their broken homes, families and neighborhoods. I want to open a tutoring and computer education service for these kids. Their schools in these poor areas, are unable to provide any significant resources. I know too well, that the needs of these kids extend beyond just education. My vision is an organization will be able to provide these kids with some emotional support, guidance and mentoring in addition to the computer education.

Obviously, these kids won't be able to pay for my services, which is why I am here. I don't have the startup capital needed to get this off the ground. I do have the commitment and "know how" to make this happen. I also have a deep understanding of what these kids need. If I can get enough funding to get this off the ground, I am confident that with some demonstrated success, I will be able to acquire ongoing funding.

I am hoping that enough people will read my story and want to help make a difference in these kids lives.
Thank you,
Justin