I’m a bookkeeper and financial manager, and a single mom with four children. At the schools my children attend-SLUH, St. Frances Cabrini and The Soulard School-everyone chips in and does their fair share. For me, that’s what I remember about neighborhoods and schools. For all three schools that my children attend parental involvement is paramount. I volunteer at every single one of them as much as I can. Today and Tomorrow has helped all of my kids and now my oldest, a St. Cecilia alumni gets to pay that forward because at SLUH he’s on a work study scholarship so he gets to pay his own way.

St. Louis is a great city, but the education system and the education geography is just really tragic.

I love this city-the history, the river, the culture, the diversity-so what Today and Tomorrow does is allow me to stay in the city and still have my kids attend amazing schools. I’m not sure where I would have gone or what I would have done otherwise, quite frankly, Today and Tomorrow made this possible.

What I want most for my kids is for them to know that you can’t know what you can be. I want them to just absorb and enjoy the ride and be kids. There are jobs that are going to pop up for my kids that I can’t even imagine. I want my kids to think and to problem solve and one of the best places to do that is in the city and living life.

When I was teaching preschool I had a four year old boy tell me that when he grew up he wanted to be a doctor, a policeman, a pizza delivery guy or the guy that gets to go down and fix the sewers. I want all four of those options for my children!

I have immense gratitude for the donors and the foundation of Today and Tomorrow.