Success Story –
excerpts from a letter of a former
Meadowbrook “kid”
“I became familiar with the community center when I moved to the neighborhood back in junior high. My best friend had been living in the neighborhood since she was young, and would bring me to the community center after school and on Wednesday night when Linda Trummer, several of the older volunteers, and the high school students from the neighborhood would gather for dinner, games, conversation and laughter.
For many of us who came from broken homes and family situations that were hard to deal with, time spent with people from the Collaborative were our saving grace. I continued to spend a lot of time at the community center throughout high school, just hanging out and volunteering with many of the after-school activities.
In my junior year of high school, I came to realize just how special the relationships that I had formed with many of these people were, and also came to realize the true mission of the Collaborative. My family had been evicted from our home, and with no place to go, Linda Trummer, the police officer from the community center, several of the volunteers, and many other people with whom I had formed long-lasting relationships with over the years came to my rescue, first finding a shelter where my sister and I stayed for a night, and then finding an elderly couple who graciously opened their home to me over the next four years.
Throughout my involvement with the community center, I always knew that these people were there for me, no matter what-with arms wide open, ready to help whenever I needed it.
It is now over 5 years later, and I can’t imagine how different my life would be right now had I not had the Meadowbrook Collaborative in my life. I am now in graduate school, and owe a large part of my success in life to the work of the Collaborative and the countless number of people with whom I have formed lasting relationships with….”
Thanks,
Sara Hamilton
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy Student Pharmacist, Class of 2008