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My name is Kiana and I am 14 years old in the 8th grade. I would like to give you a brief snap shot of my life and the hardships I endured, but most importantly would like to end this with my present and future goals. My sister Aaliyah passed away in 2005 from cancer at 12 years old. It made me feel frustrated to know that I would spend the rest of my life without my role model and my best friend. As a result I shut down and my grades suffered terribly.  I never thought I would recover.

When I came to StepUp, I did not want to talk to anyone. I would get angry and frustrated not understanding that the volunteers and staff members were here to help me. Ms. CC is the Children’s Program Manager at StepUp. I remember when Ms. CC pulled me aside and told me that here at StepUp, I didn’t have to be afraid. She said that she would always be open to talk with me and that she would never give up on me!  When I heard this, I felt relieved and surprised that there was actually a place that understood me for who I am and what I was going through. I began to feel valued. Through StepUp I learned that I mattered!!

I am happy to say that StepUp gave me the confidence to campaign for Vice President at my school, which I can happily say I hold the current position.  I have A’s and B’s currently and would like to be a Criminal Justice Attorney when I grow up. I am a proud graduate of the StepUp Children’s Program and hope to enroll in a Raleigh Charter School in the near future.

I would like to tell Ms. CC and the entire StepUp staff thank you for believing in me! I believe that my family cycle has been broken with the help of StepUp and I now believe in myself!   Thank you to God and to StepUp! God Bless!

Good morning. My name is Jeweliana. I am 13 years old and I would like to share a little about my story. Grades have never been an issue for me, but in school I would struggle to be understood. My teachers would never let me defend myself and I felt like I didn’t have a voice. My mother left me when I was 12 months old and I never met my father. I grew up depressed, thinking my mother and father did not love me and that it was my fault they left me. For the longest time I could never understand how a mother and a father could leave their child, until I met Ms. CC, the Children’s Program Manager at StepUp. I realized that I was not the only one. She shared her story with me and made feel that I was not alone in my feelings.  At StepUp I found a place where I could openly share my feelings as a child, and get help with them at the same time.

When I first arrived I was extremely reserved and put a defensive wall up. I have been hurt so many times that I didn’t want to open up and risk begin hurt again. I really didn’t believe that StepUp could help me.  My life changed when Ms. CC came to my school and sat down with my teachers, counselors and principals to discuss a plan of success for me. On my behalf, she helped my teachers really understand me. To this day, I have not had to deal with any other negative reactions from my teachers. I had no idea that StepUp would go that far to support me!  I felt relieved!  I finally believe that things would improve  for me.  Teen Talk is a program supported by StepUp staff members and volunteers that gives teenagers a chance to openly talk about what we feel. I couldn’t believe that I was finally going to be able to talk about things that really affected me. I think this part of the program helped me understand myself the most. I am thankful for StepUp’s Children’s Program because it gave me a place to belong.

I am happy to report that I continue to make straight A’s in school and that I have  been  recently  inducted into the National Honor Society. My dream is to enroll in the North Carolina School of Science and Math first and then to attend Harvard and study physiology and law. I would like  to thank StepUp for always supporting me and helping me to embrace my circumstances. Thank  you and God Bless!!

StepUP Ministry in Raleigh expects this year to serve about 700 unemployed, low-income and homeless individuals and families, including 125 veterans, up from a total of 600 clients in 2010.

Making that increase possible will e a new Job Center the interfaith nonprofit opened Oct. 10 at its offices at 1701 Oberlin Road in space donated by White Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Read the entire article.