We celebrated the graduation of three Leaders on April 24. It was a lively evening of food and celebration! We also welcomed new Allies. Thanks to all who came to enjoy the evening and support the Thrive! community. 

On April 24, three new Leaders graduated from our initial Getting Ahead training and were matched with Allies.

One of our new Leaders, Shelly, posted this to Facebook that evening:
“This certificate means more to me than probably my high school diploma, if we are being totally honest. Tonight was graduation night at Thrive!. There are 3 new leaders in the Thrive! community, me being one. Here's to the next 2 years of changing my life. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. I couldn't have asked for a better team to be a part of.”

Statements like this from our Leaders make my heart sing. Over the past three years, Thrive! has impacted the lives of 25 Leaders and their families. Sometimes what we do seems like small work. We meet once a week. We have a meal. We spend time together in community. We build on current resources and learn a few new skills. But when you put all those pieces together, we are effecting significant change for all involved. Allies have a chance to form relationships with individuals they may never have met without Thrive! and learn about issues facing those in living in financial poverty in our community. Youth see their parents setting and achieving goals, changing the future for their family, while they work to learn new skills themselves. Leaders have the support and encouragement needed to reach for their dreams. One person at a time, we are working to end poverty in our community. 

Congratulations to our new Leaders and welcome Aimee Berges, Marcus Slack, and Shelly Steenbock! Thank you to our new Allies, Pam Beardsley, Betsy Draper, Cassandra Schnarr, and Nicholle Schiebe. As I said at graduation, once you join the Thrive! community, you are part of our family! 

— Jayme Morris-Hardeman, executive director

​Would you like to better understand how living in poverty affects individuals
and families? Are you interested in volunteering as an Ally for Thrive!? If so,
please join us for Bridges Out of Poverty training.​

This workshop is designed for those who want to be matched with a Leader and serve as an Ally on one of our future Thrive! teams. The next session is Tuesday, May 8 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Harris Activity Center, 530 Poyntz Ave., Manhattan. Please RSVP to Jayme at jmorrishardeman@gmail.com.