“I have braces now, so I don’t like smiling,” Kace admits. The loquacious 17 year old is hoping to get them off in time for senior prom next year. She beams when she talks about her volunteer work at the Afterschool Program and Super Saturday. “I want to help because Children of the City was my whole childhood.” She and her older sister Rosa were rescued from a devastating home situation and placed in our Guardianship Program when Kace was only 3 years old.
She refuses to dwell on her past, but speculates that “I’d probably be out on street or dead without Children of the City. I want to help kids that are similar to my past… or worse. I like to let people know what is happening in the community and help prevent my story from happening again. “Knowing that I was safe here was so important.”
One of her favorite duties is to read through the Winter Wishes and Santa letters that the kids write in late fall. “For some of these kids it’s the first present that they ever get in their lives. It so nice to see them get something that they really want.”
Acknowledging that so many of the children ask for clothes and warm coats throughout the year, Kace has developed a special tradition. She sits with them and talks about their future as they try on something new. “Clothes are about change. You can become a new person. Every day is a new day. What you wore yesterday does not define you. Today is a brand new day. You can start over.”
Kace is applying to several colleges in the tristate area, and intends to major in Social Work.
“Maybe I’ll end up here, working for Children of the City. “