Sarah* is a scholarship recipient who devoted 300 hours of service learning during high school. She also was one of only four students in the country selected by Jobs for America’s Graduates for the honor of placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
But before those successes, she had some stumbling blocks – like when she had to step over her father who was passed out on the floor from a drug overdose.
Her father later was arrested as part of a UNITE drug investigation, which was Sarah’s first encountered with the organization. But UNITE’s efforts in her life did not end there. If they had, her story – and his – might have turned out differently.
Her father went to jail, but UNITE provided a voucher for him to enter long-term treatment. After he successfully completed treatment, he addressed an assembly at her high school. Sarah confessed that she was proud of him for the first time.
Sarah is now headed to college, and her father is making strides of his own with his recovery.
The day after she received a UNITE scholarship, a gentleman called UNITE inquiring about funds to get a Celebrate Recovery group started in his home county so he did not have to travel to a neighboring county to attend. He explained he did not know anything about computers and was illiterate, so he would need help downloading and completing the forms. That man was Sarah’s father.
*Her name was changed to protect her privacy.