Make It Better – Success Story from The Joseph Fund of Camden
Paris has a long history of charitable donations with a particular emphasis on helping those in need. Make It Better was established so that employees could partake in giving back on behalf of Paris. One of the organizations Paris is proud to sponsor as a part of our Make It Better program is The Joseph Fund of Camden.
We were happy to share this recent success story of how The Joseph Fund is helping students!
At the age of three years old, Erianny Reyes immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, with her then-pregnant mother to settle in Camden, NJ, where her father and maternal grandmother had been living and working for several years. Her parents worked hard to cover the tuition which provided Erianny and her younger brother a quality education. Both children attended St. Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral School on the east side of Camden beginning in Kindergarten and through middle school. In the critical middle school years, Erianny began struggling with math and would require additional outside tutoring. Unfortunately, her parents could not afford an after-school program to help.
Erianny heard about the youth center, LUCY (Lifting Up Camden’s Youth) which is supported by The Joseph Fund of Camden. “I solely went because I heard they helped with homework at no charge”, says Erianny. At first, her parents were skeptical of the program. However, once they saw how her test scores and grades begin to improve, they were filled with joy at the tremendous progress she was making.
Erianny continued to attend the youth center, LUCY for help throughout middle school and high school. This program would be instrumental in making her dream of attending college come true. With guidance from former afterschool counselors to acquire information and books to prepare her for SATs and ACTs, and assistance with the college application process. People like Keegan Woyurka, from LUCY, aided with every step of the application process for each college she applied to.
After graduating from Camden Catholic High School, Erianny became the first person in her immediate family (and first person in her whole family on her mother’s side) to attend college. She finished her freshman year with a 3.63 GPA. She is currently a sophomore living on campus, at Villanova University, with plans to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Erianny credits Joseph Fund Trustee, Cindy Margraf, for being such an inspiration and resource in ensuring her college experience. Erianny is just one of more than 600 individual examples in which support from The Joseph Fund of Camden is transforming lives through the power of education!
Because of and through the generosity of donor support from The Joseph Fund, Erianny continues to SOAR!
Congratulations Erianny for all your achievements, and we wish you continual success for the future!
Paris is proud to support The Joseph Fund, and thanks them for all their effort and hard work for Making It Better. For more information about this organization, please visit their website: josephfundcamden.org
Make It Better was established so employees could partake in giving back on behalf of Paris. Employees can nominate local charities that are near and dear to them. The nomination is then reviewed by an employee panel to be sure it fits within certain established criteria.
We also welcome suggestions. If you have an organization that you would like to recommend, you can do so through our through our Contact Us page.
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