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Transforming Lives Through Car Donations in Arkansas
Cars for Kids AR, a reputable 501(c)(3) nonprofit car donation charity, is dedicated to making a significant difference in Arkansas by supporting teenagers facing educational and life challenges. Partnering with America Can! and local Arkansas organizations, we provide essential educational and support services to at-risk youth nationwide.
MARIO'S STORY
Though my life has balanced out now, it has not always been one that is comfortable.
I grew up in what many would call the ghetto. Not only were we poor, but we lived next door to the neighborhood drug house.
My name is Mario, I am 15-years-old, I’m currently a sophomore at Texans Can Academies and this is my story.
Having that house beside us, made a poor neighborhood, dangerous. I witnessed drive-by shootings, people being shot, drug overdoses and our house was robbed frequently.
As a kid, I could not even play outside because there were always guns. One time, I remember that during a police raid, they used a flash grenade and I was outside and it hurt my ears. My dad had to come get me and carry me inside. It was very painful.
Living next to a drug house gave me many opportunities to use drugs, but I had made the choice early on to never take anything. I had watched my brother go down that path and I saw how hard it made things for him. I knew that I wanted more for my life and that I could do better.
We eventually moved and I started high school at South Oak Cliff. I was doing well, but was struggling to pass the TSI test. My goal is to join the infantry directly after graduation and pursue a career in the military. I knew that I would need to pass the ASVAB for military entrance and if I was struggling to pass the TSI, the ASVAB would be even harder.
My sister, who also graduated from Texans Can, told me about the school and the focused help I would receive here. Now I am currently working hard to gain the knowledge needed to successfully pass the TSI so I can move forward. I am also working closely with my advisor and the career transition coordinator to get assistance with the ASVAB and will take it towards the end of my second year.
I came from the ghetto, but I will not remain in the ghetto.
Though my journey is just beginning I can already tell the difference in the students and staff at Texans Can. With the help from my teachers and others I will not only graduate, but I am set to graduate early.
I am excited for this and have big plans for myself, my life, and my service in the military. The support people give to Texans Can helps give hope and impacts the lives of kids just like me.
My name is Mario and I am set to be a Texan Can graduate in June 2019.
Byron Del Pinal
Things changed for Byron after the second move. He started skipping school and his grades suffered.He remained in the same high school his junior year but finished the year not passing one class.He began his fourth year at that same school as a junior rather than as a senior and saw no hope of graduating with his class or joining the military which was his dream.
After visiting with Marine recruiters, he decided to go to Guatamela and get his high school diploma there. He was very successful and graduated in October of 2009. He returned to the ready to fully engage in the military lifestyle but was shocked when the Marine recruiters said that they could not accept his Guatemalan high school diploma for admission to the Marine Corps.
Determined to achieve his dreams, Byron visited with Tony Swafford, principal of the Fort Worth Can! Academy River Oaks campus, about completing the coursework he needed to meet the credit requirements and pass the TAKS tests to qualify for a Texas high school diploma. Swafford outlined the five credits he needed to meet graduation requirements, established his daily schedule, and made arrangements for him to get the needed tutoring to prepare him for the TAKS tests.
In less than one school year with Fort Worth Can! Byron earned 1.5 credits and passed all three TAKS tests he needed to graduate.He now needed to finish the 3.5 credits required for graduation during the final quarter of the year.Normally, students can earn 2.0 credits during one quarter.Byron worked closely with Stanley Carr, River Oaks credit recovery lab teacher, and was able to finish the 3.5 credits.He walked across the stage to receive his diploma June 4, 2010 in front of his very proud family and Fort Worth Can! teachers.
Byron’s dream came true entering the United States Marine Corps soon after graduation and has since finished his thirteen week basic training.Byron recently returned to the River Oaks campus to thank the teachers and staff for helping him reach his dreams and to remind the students that anything is possible if you are only willing to work hard to achieve it.
Perseverance Pays Off for Graduate
DESTINY'S STORY
My story begins when my mom was 15-years-old. She was raped by my father and that is how I was conceived.
Soon after I was born my mom was diagnosed with postpartum depression.
When I was two weeks old I had trouble breathing and my mom found out I had a tumor in my throat. I had to have surgery to remove the tumor and then was sent home to recover. Not too long after I went home somehow when I was in my crib all my stiches in my neck ripped open. I am thankful my grandmother came to check in on my mother and I because when she did my mother was standing there watching me bleed out and not doing anything to stop it.
I believe my mother was so still so angry and resented me because I reminded her of her rape. My grandma ended up picking me up and holding my head to my body and getting me to the hospital in time.
This was my beginning.
When I was about 3-years-old my mom married my stepdad. They had my little sister and then my little brother.
From as early as I can remember my parents highly favored my siblings.
I remember one time we were back to school shopping at the flea market when I saw the coolest pair of high top Vans I had ever seen. They had checkers and so many bright colors. I had never seen shoes like that before. I picked them up and asked my stepdad if I could have them.
He looked me straight in my eyes and said no, yet he turned to my younger sister and said, “Would you like these shoes?”
It broke my heart so much because I could feel him using my excitement for the shoes against me. It was just another way to make me feel like I wasn’t as important as my brother and sister.
Drugs are another issue that plagues family for as long as I can remember. My mom’s pregnancy with my sister did not even stop her or my stepdad from consuming drugs day in and day out.
His drug of choice was heroin and my mother’s was meth.
The majority of my childhood was spent watching my parents do and sell drugs.
My stepdad became very violent and would beat on me and my mother on a regular basis.
I remember one time he threw my mother through our glass French doors. She landed on the back porch and in the process her two front teeth were knocked out. I saw all of this happen right in front of me. After her teeth were knocked out he would make fun of her all the time.
She became very depressed and tried killing herself in our bathroom. She locked the door and broke the mirror. She eventually let me in and I saw my mother bleeding from her wrists in our bathtub. Somehow my grandparents showed up and were able to get her help and she lived.
You might be thinking, ‘Where was Child Protective Services?”.
They were there actually. My family went through seven CPS cases while I was growing up.
It was basically hopeless though because my parents coached us on what to say to the CPS workers. They would threaten us with beatings if we didn’t say exactly what we were supposed to.
My parents also had us pee in their drug test cups so they wouldn’t be caught testing positive for drugs.
One time we were removed from our house and went to go live with my stepdad’s mother. She was mean herself and also resented me for not being her son’s child. Life with her was just about as difficult as life at home.
The violence between my mom and my stepdad came to a head one day when he showed up unexpectedly at our doorstep. He had been in jail and had gotten out and not told anyone.
He kidnapped my mother that day.
I called my grandparents and they came and got us kids and we went looking for them. Somehow, by the grace of God, we found them at an old motel on the Westside. My grandfather and uncle and the hotel manager broke down the door and we found my mother duct tapped to a chair. I remember the duct tape being so tight her skin was budging out. She was sweating and crying, but we couldn’t understand her because her mouth was duct tapped shut.
He was arrested and sent back to jail.
I wanted a better life, but things kept going downhill.
You see, all of this was happening while I was going to school or trying to go to school.
On the days I didn’t have to stay home and take care of my baby brother because my parents wouldn’t wake up, I would try attend school, but I always had to remember to cover up my bruises and be cautious to avoid questions from adults.
One day I ended up getting arrested and spend three weeks in juvenile detention. One day a school a girl who had been picking on me called me a bastard. See I didn’t know what that meant until a friend told me.
I became so angry. This girl knew my mother had been raped. I got into a physical fight with this girl and caused her to need a few stiches. I guess all my anger just came out that day because I had never been in a fight before.
I was later arrested and found guilty and sentenced to three weeks in a juvenile detention center. However, there was a good thing that came from this bad situation.
I told my entire story.
I told her everything, all the stories I just told you plus so many more I don’t have the time to tell today. This helped me get out of my parents’ house for good. This started the process of me being adopted by my grandparents.
In a way I am thankful for that experience because I was finally able to get help.
I went to two high schools before I found San Antonio CAN. I never felt like I fit it. When I was there I would miss my siblings and worry if they were okay. After the kidnapping incident my grandparents decided to legally adopt me.
I remember I was in class one time and shared with the class that I might be able to go to college since I was adopted I could get grants. The adult in the room asked me in front of the whole class, “Why are you being adopted? You/re parents don’t want you?”
It was like a punch in the gut.
Immediately after finding the Can Academies I didn’t feel lonely. For the first time, my teachers understood and helped me. They made me feel wanted. If it weren’t for them I don’t think I would be graduating. I finally found find the first place where I truly belonged.
My advisor Ms. Simmons and my English teacher Ms. Hatfield made me feel like they understood where I had been and that I was wanted.
If it weren’t for San Antonio CAN I don’t think I would be graduating from high school.
Now my life is different.
Although my mom will always be my mom and I can’t change the past, I can choose what I do moving forward.
My goals are to join the Army after high school and eventually earn a degree in education and come back to teach at the CAN. I want to help students like me find their purpose.
And as for me, I was adopted by my grandparents. My grandparents love me very much. I have a boyfriend who helped me get in my journey to get off meth and I found a great church that I consider a second home.
I am thankful for the Can, my grandparents, my boyfriend and my church. I am also thankful for those of you reading this today.
I found find the first place I felt I truly belonged, San Antonio Can.
I know now that I life of love, faith and hope to look forward to. Thank you for believing in me.
SOPHIA'S STORY
I can honestly say that San Antonio Can was one of the most life changing times in my life.
Most students at Can are a little broken, lost, and alone. But we all realize that we slowly become a family.
Unlike other student stories, mine is pretty different. We all struggled in our previous schools. When you aren't engaged and when you feel left out, most will of course lose their drive. In school I just couldn't find my place.
At home my parents were on and off, my father was in and out, and my mother got lost in a hole of depression.
When my dad officially left, my sister chose to take his side in this ugly split and move with him. My mother lost herself, her job, and our home. She decided the best thing for her would be to go home, to Michigan, so she could be with her mother.
Trying to be the supportive daughter, I of course encouraged her to go. I knew that I personally had a place with my boyfriend and his family. I didn't want to return to Michigan. I had finally found a comfort zone here, with my boyfriend, who has and continues to support me through all of the hard times.
I told my mother if she wanted to take care of us she would need to begin to take care of herself again.
I started to lose my drive for education during my sophomore year. My grades definitely dropped, but I pushed through regardless of what was going on at home. I didn't want to draw any attention from my parents.
When my junior year started, my dad had moved out, my mother had lost her job and never left her room. I would leave for school in the morning, but I wouldn't stay longer than lunch time. I would barely make it to 3 classes every day, out of 7 classes that was pretty disappointing.
I tried to keep up with my other classes via email, but once Thanksgiving break approached a counselor informed me that I wouldn't receive my credits due to my lack of attendance. The first option that came to mind was to just give up. I was ready to just drop out. I was going to have to start junior year all over again. I didn't want to do that. I've never failed at anything in my life, and hearing that I was about to fail, it truly broke something inside of me. So I immediately started looking into what my alternative options were.
The counselor knew I wasn't going to school, and she didn't seem to believe that I would change my bad habit so she suggested online homeschooling.
It seemed easier to just push me out than have me start over there. I was sitting in the school library one morning and another student mentioned getting withdrawn from our current school, and transferring to a charter school.
She made it seem so easy, explaining that its half day and you can graduate faster even if you are currently behind. It was sounded perfect.
I didn't want to stay another minute at my school. That same day I had my mother come withdrawal me. As I was leaving the office the women made a snobby comment to me that went something like, “make sure to bring us your transcripts when you want to come back.” It was so discouraging that these women didn't believe I would succeed or that they thought I would regret my decision.
I truly believe that in that moment my fire sparked up again.
When I started at Can I quickly realized the speed in which you graduate is based on each individual student and their personal drive.
This school is extremely fast paced. Every single day there is equivalent to 3 days at your regular schools. It honestly comes down how to much you want to achieve your goals and how hard you are willing to work. The teachers at this school are truly the best teacher’s you’ll ever meet.
It was the middle of their second term and I caught up fast which was intriguing to them. My algebra teacher loved my ability to stand in front of the class and preach my method, or my solutions. I loved helping my classmates.
My English teacher became a women I could rely on and she encouraged my dreams. I loved the responsibility of helping with lesson plans and reading to my class. I loved that when I would explain or summarize the passages we just read, it made it easier for students to comprehend and even get interested.
In all honesty, the person who had made the greatest impact on my life, was my history teacher. He took a great interest in me when he saw my passion for education.
With his help, I received commended scores in all five of my Standardized State Tests. I spent half of my school day in his class, absorbing every ounce of knowledge possible. His class is where I learned what Can is all about.
We all come from different backgrounds, we all weren't successful in our previous schools, and we all needed this last chance to make it right.
Most students at Can are ready to overcome this last obstacle of childhood and graduate, especially because most of us are already dealing with adult like challenges.
If there was ever any doubt in your mind, I'm proud to say that this school has been the greatest blessing to us.
Yes, it is every student's individual choice to accept this kind of help. We all accept that we can't change our pasts and where we come from, but the teachers and staff are ALWAYS there.
They never give up on these kids. They believe in us, they fight for us, they encourage us and because of them, we all graduate wanting nothing more than to make them proud of the people we choose to become next.
In January, I graduated Salutatorian of my class. I remember the principal telling me that he had to do the math multiple times between the valedictorian and myself because we were so close.
Now I dream of becoming a teacher and helping students achieve their full potential. I hope to start at UTSA, next year and Graduate from UT with a masters in teaching and child development.
Everything I learned about the students and myself at Can, has only made my goals crystal clear.
There will always be children in need, of love and encouragement, and we all just need someone to believe in us.