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When you think of Thanksgiving most think of a relaxed, fulfilling time with family and friends. Our biggest problems are usually debating between leftover turkey sandwiches or eating another slice of pumpkin pie. It’s almost too easy to enjoy our time and never stop to think of those who may need help during this Holiday season, yet more than 1 in 5 families across the country and over 260,000 individuals in Broward County are unable to provide themselves with a meal that many of us may end up taking for granted.

These families are not far from home, but are often your neighbors and fellow community members. These are the families of students we serve every day here at Firewall. This Thanksgiving, we strived to meet more of the needs of our students by also serving their families. A partnership between Calvary Chapel Plantation, Harvest Drive Florida and Firewall Centers Donors collaborated to bring over 150 Thanksgiving Day meals to Firewall families all over Broward County.

On behalf of all the families that make up Firewall Centers, we would like to give a BIG thank you to our generous partners for sharing in something special for our community. Calvary Chapel Plantation and Harvest Drive Florida are paving the way in servant leadership and we are humbled to have been a part of serving with you.

Giving Tuesday was a great success for Firewall Centers with generous donors offering to match dollar for dollar your end of the year donations. We are thankful for all your support!

With the end of the year approaching quickly, there is still time for you to double your impact by participating in our matching challenge. From now until December 31st, every dollar given to Firewall will be doubled.

Consider donating so Firewall can continue transforming students into servant leaders.

We are so excited to impact more lives with your help!

www.firewallcenters.org/donate

Firewall Family, meet Nick. Nick is one of our Americorps mentors and has been working at Plantation High School for over a year. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2018 and is currently applying to Medical School to pursue his dream of becoming a Pediatrician.

One of Nick’s students is Abdullah. Abdullah has been in Firewall for the past five years. He has always been a bright student who has put a lot of effort into his academics. As he has worked with Nick, Abdullah has found direction for his future career.

“This year we started doing career planning sessions with students, and I think these have made a huge difference for Abdullah. Even though he was always scoring high and taking a rigorous course load, he didn’t really have an understanding of what he wanted to do or how to get there. I remember feeling this way during high school as well, and it can become overwhelming when you get to college and still don’t have a plan,” Nick said.

“At each session, I am able to understand Abdullah’s interests, as well as his strengths and weaknesses. This has helped us narrow down choices for his career so that we can start creating concrete steps to get there. It’s also nice to give Abdullah advice because I’ve been in his shoes, and I wish I had someone to tell me what I know now.”

“I knew the sessions were paying off when Abdullah came in the other day saying he wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. When I asked him why he said it was because he wanted to be like me. When he told me this it made me realize how much of an impact I have on these kids and how important these sessions are for them”.

When we asked Abdullah about these sessions he described how they have helped. “From the beginning, I always had interests in business and professional careers, but Nick helped me map out a plan to achieve these goals. He gave me the foundation and in the end, I was able to make a well-informed decision on my own.”’

“Firewall has helped so many kids by changing the trajectory of their lives, and I’m just happy to have been apart of the process. It’s a large responsibility to shape a child’s future, and it’s an experience I’d recommend to anyone passionate about helping underserved communities for the long haul.”, said Nick.