The Best Education for Tara

Hello out there.

My name is Stevie, yes thats my nick name, short for Stephanie. I am happy to say that I am a mother of a wonderful almost three year old daughter Tara. She is absolutly amazing, even though I know every parent says that about there kid.

As much as I love my daughter I can't pretend as if it's been easy, cause it hasn't been, nor do I believe it should be. Here are my circumstances.

I was in a bad relationship. The biological father of my child is an abusive psychopath and is now in jail facing trials for his crimes. Luckily I left him and seperated myself from him before he dragged me in to his dramas and manipulations, but that left me as a single mother and I faced pregancy and birth alone and had to work to support myself up untill my due date.

The first year was hard, I ran through my savings qucikly, had to go on public assistance, and I had a string of horrible minimum wage jobs waiting tables, sales, you name it. Child care, transportation problems, everything that typically makes it difficult for someone in my situation, I dealt with.

Let me briefly describe my employement situation. Please keep in mind I am only 27. from 2006-to early 2010 I held down a full time job in CNC Machining Milling & Turning Job Shop, I took home $30,000 annually and had full benefits. I worked 16 hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. Then the economic bubble burst in the end of 2009, the manufacturing industry came to a screeching halt, and by April I was laid off and filing for unemployement. When I recieved unemployment I got $260 twice a month for about 6mths before they cut me off and never accepted me filing again. I was wasting too much time filing for unemeployment and not enough time looking for a good job. By the end off 2010, I got evicted from my apartment I could no longer afford, had to turn my car in to be reposesed, and exhausted my little $5000 savings. After accomplishing so much I found my self turing 23, sleeping on my friends couch, all of my personal possesiones limited to a handfull of boxes and bags, my confidence crushed, even more so cause I couldn't get a job making pizza or waiting tables. Why, you may ask? Because I had no experience. Crushed I did what most most people did at that time. Go back to moms house.

Of course, the area where my mother lived is a small town rural area, with less jobs then San Diego, where I live now and was employed before. Also an area know for murderes, pshycopaths, heroin and meth, racisim, and UFO sightings. The perfect place in my vulnurable state to be sucked in by an abusive manipulator. Of course he was awesome, untill I moved in with him. But withing the first month he switched and became verbally abusive, contradictory, short tempered, controlling, and exposed his severe OCD. It wasnt long before I had had to leave everything except a back pack and the clothes on my back and ride a greayhound back to San Diego broken. And of course pregenant.

When my daughter was a year old I met a wonderful man. We have been together now ever since. Eventually when I was in between jobs me and my daughter moved in with him and his seven year old daughter. If it wasn't for him I would not have made it this far. He is a wonderful father and has picked up the slack when I have been unemployed. But last summer I spent it at home with the kids. It was his daughters transition between kindergarten and 1st grade. Over the summer and since I have tutored her. Over the summer I taught her how to read and she had propelled upward ever since. Halfway through first grade she went from average in her class to the top group. Spending time at home with both kids has been good for all. Tara before she is even 3 recognizes all 27 letters of the alphabet, digits 1-9, shapes, square, triangle, diamond, hexagon, rectangle, star, heart, colors yellow, orange, purple, red, pink, green, and is mostly talking in complete sentences. She decided to potty train herself three weeks before she turned 2, and has been going ever since. Occasional Accidents, but never in bed.
She goes to toddler yoga once a week, but is way ahead of kids her same age, and runs the roost. She really needs to be challenged and start going to school. I could get state assistance to put her in the Headstart program, but that program is horrible, inadequate, and not three blocks from my house. Our local Montessorri School is, and that is the kind of education she deserves. Especially since the local public emelemntary school here, the one my boyfriends daughter goes to, is a Magnet School. It is an International Bacclaureate and I want Tara to be prepared for kindergarten when she goes there. 

Becuase of the support of my boyfriend and community I have been doing a lot of volunteering. I am a docent at a local Modern Art Museum, which is a non profit.  I am on a committee there which plans quarterly events. The last one we did was the most successful yet with 1000 ppl who attended. The one before was just over 700 ppl. The next one is in August. There is potential for me to get a paid positon here. This place has been called a Standout Organization, and after all the crappy jobs and mismanaged places Ive worked for the only reason I can say ive gotten anything done there is cause they are so organized and everyone there is a team player and there is a lot of appriciation and gratitude that goes around.

I am also contracted as Community Liason to another Peding 501(c) Non-Profit. Im only making $100 bucks a mth right now, but I have worked with my friend who started this two years ago from the ground up and it's taking off. If I raise more money than we can afford to pay more people and be self sustainable. We have created a community of 40+small businesess and residents who are in the area of my town called "The Village". We raise money for local causes by bringing awareness to our local economy through social, athletic, recreational & wellness services and activities for those who live, work, and play in the area.

After having so many dead end pointless jobs, I have found my niche, working in the non-profit sector with emphasis on organization that raise funds locally through the arts, wellness, social, and copperative attitudes.

What I need help with: If I could raise enough money by August to pay for a years worth of tuition, I know I can turn my volunteer work and contract work in to steady realiable income and be able to pay for the rest of her preschool untill shes ready for kindergarten public school, which is free. Then I can start saving for her secondary education.

My boyfriend is paying most of the household bills and rent. My little income is pitifull in comparrison, but does help. It would be a big weight off his shoulders too. The kids would have thier education and I could focus on being able to contribue 50/50 to the household, perhaps even further my own education and go back to school.

I hope you had the patience to get through my long story. I hope that you see im asking for a leg up, not assitance to keep my head above water. 1 years worth of preschool tuition will not only buy my daughter the education she deserves, but also the resource of time I need to be sucessful, not just as a parent, but as a person, a significant other, and a member of my community.

Just a breakdown of my cost.

Registration fee. $350.00

Years Tuition: $8750.00

total:  $9100.00