It was a chilly January afternoon when third grader, Janiah, climbed the oversized steps of the Camp Freedom bus, her light pink backpack pressing on her puffy coat.
Tears welled in her eyes.
“What’s up, Janiah?” Albert checked in from the driver seat, serving in his dual role of program director and bus driver.
“My family is moving,” she told Albert. “This is our last day at Camp Freedom.”
She was preparing to say goodbye to her UrbanPromise friends and a community she’d come to love. She was devastated.
When they arrived at Camp Freedom, Albert reached out to Janiah’s father, letting him know that when kids move or when they change schools, we figure out a way to transport them to program and back home. We would find a way to keep Janiah and her brothers engaged.
The relief was palpable. Her father was deeply relieved to know that, amid instability, UrbanPromise would remain steady.
Since then, Janiah’s family has moved four times.
Four houses with their own quirks, noises, sleeping arrangements, and unfamiliar neighbors. Not knowing how long they’d be in one place and whether they could allow themselves to settle in. Maybe the biggest challenge for kids is the unpredictability of seeing friends, or making new friends and being accepted.
“Poverty can be brutal for kids to navigate. Homelessness and frequent moves are very real for some of the families we serve,” shared Albert.
Transporting kids is costly, both in terms of money and time. But our commitment to providing transportation helps ensure that kids don’t slip through the cracks. When a child’s life gets complicated, we want to be there for them, especially then. In seasons of transition, transportation becomes a tangible way to facilitate belonging.
Amid Janiah’s transitions, one thing remains constant: she and her brothers still come to Camp Freedom.
But our capacity is limited.
Currently, transportation depends on a small group of staff – most of them senior leaders.
“If one of us gets sick or needs time off, programs can shut down because there is no one else who can legally drive. There’s no backup.” Albert shared, “That means dozens of kids without programming, families scrambling, and our teenage StreetLeaders losing a day of work.”
Transporting youth in vans, mini-buses, or school buses (which we use the most) requires training, testing, and medical clearances for a Commercial Drivers License (CDL).
Adding more drivers to our roster will drastically reduce pressure on the current drivers, keep programs open, expand our ability to provide new experiences, free up time for senior leaders to focus on other priority areas, and most importantly, will support our ability to stick with families!
Nine staff are ready to begin CDL training this spring — and we need to secure $13,500 to make it happen.
It will cost $1,500 per trainee. The investment that lasts for years — most of our CDL drivers have been behind the wheel for more than a decade!
Will you partner with us to make it happen?
For our families, the peace of mind that comes with reliable transportation is priceless.
Thanks in advance for your support–
Lindsey Markelz
VP of Finance & Development
P.S. If you have a CDL and are able to volunteer time with UrbanPromise, we would love to hear from you! Give me a call at (484) 744-4886.
P.P.S. Anything raised beyond the training cost will support our spring transportation budget.